Cruising_World_2016-06-07

UNDERWAY

june/july 2016

cruisingworld.com

28

M

y wife, Barbara, and

I had been cruis-

ing the Abacos for

three months on Chamba,

our 1979 Gulfstar 37, and we

weren’t ready to leave. There

was still much more to see in

the rest of the Bahamas, but as

the temperatures climbed, we

were reminded that it was now

mid-June, and we were into

hurricane season. The arrival of

summer brought with it mas-

sive tropical thunderstorms,

dramatic sunsets, impressive

lightning displays and unpre-

dictable high winds. Since we’d

ruled out sailing home to Pad-

anaram, Massachusetts, we

needed a storm plan.

Our options included either

continuing to cruise, with the

aim of getting to a hurricane

hole in the event of a tropical

storm, or leaving the boat in

the water or on the hard while

we went home. Continuing to

cruise seemed risky — what if

the hole was already full when

we arrived? We didn’t want to

ride out a hurricane on board

the boat, so the hurricane

hole had to be near shoreside

facilities. That reduced our

realistic cruising options.

We could leave the boat in

the water, anchored or moored

in one of the Abacos’ hurri-

cane holes, but that seemed

like a bad idea with too many

variables: Who would make

that last trip to the boat to

snug up the lines? Who would

move the boat if necessary?

After sorting through these

considerations, we decided to

put Chamba on the hard for the

rest of the hurricane season.

Our boat insurance wasn’t an

issue. The premium and cover-

age remained the same whether

the boat was in the water or

hauled out. We had already

taken the big hit when we left

to go cruising, with our premi-

ums nearly doubling to include

Florida and the Bahamas.

With our decision made,

we now needed to find a yard.

Quickly. Barbara and I had

visited both Marsh Harbour

Boatyards (mhby.com) and

Abaco Yacht Services (go-

abacos.com/ays/ays.html) in

our travels. Both are modern,

professional yards. At AYS, I

had noted that they used tie-

downs for their boats — heavy

nylon straps that attached to

what looked like eye bolts in

the ground. This feature was

the decider for us.

Hurricane-force winds can

shake boats resting on jack

stands. Sometimes the jack

stands work their way out from

under the boat, at which point

the boat can fall over. If it’s a

crowded marina, the fallen boat

can hit its neighbor, and down

they go, like a row of dominoes.

The tie-down straps reduce the

movement and greatly help to

hold the boat upright.

The tie-downs were screwed

into the ground, and the yard

itself was paved with asphalt.

We thought this was a good

idea, as heavy rainfall would

tend to run off rather than

soak in and soften the ground,

thus giving the tie-downs

greater holding power.

AYS had other features go-

ing for it as well: We were just a

short ferry ride to the airport,

and we could live aboard on the

hard as we prepared the boat.

Within 15 minutes of our ar-

rival at AYS, dockhands helped

to maneuver Chamba into the

30-ton Travelift and slowly

raised her out of the water.

After the jack stands were

placed, it was time for the four

tie-downs, which attached to

the fore and aft cleats. A yard

worker took the other end,

hooked it onto the padeye on

the ground, and ratcheted the

straps taut, going diagonally in

turn to equalize the tension.

The last thing was to go

around the boat and check that

each jack stand was at roughly

the same pressure against the

hull. The yard manager made

sure she had emergency con-

tact information and a key to

the boat, then away we went.

It’s difficult to leave your boat,

especially in another country

during hurricane season, but

we felt confident in our prepa-

rations and comfortable with

the yard. — Greg Jones

LEFT BEHIND

An Ounce of Prevention

Here are the steps we took to prepare Chamba’s cabin and topsides

for hurricane season:

Interior airflow is key to keeping mold at bay. We lifted all cush-

ions and rested them on their sides, and opened all drawers, lockers

and floorboards to get as much air exposure as possible. We also

placed packets of desiccant throughout the interior. Upon our return,

they were all saturated, but mold and mildew were minimal.

I shut off the propane at the tank and turned off everything electric

except for the bilge pump.

To reduce windage and protect our gear, we removed the barbecue,

radar reflector, sails, bimini and dodger and stowed them below. We

lowered the topping lift and firmly tied the boom to the bimini’s frame,

with an old life jacket padding the contact point.

To keep out rain and bugs, we took the cowl vents off the dorade

boxes and screwed in the covers, sealed the hawsepipe, and cleaned

the gaskets on every hatch and portlight before closing them.

All running rigging that remained on deck was tightly coiled and

securely tied to the mast.

Webbing straps (left) led to attachment points (center) help secure boats on the hard. Chamba (right) is ready on launch day.

GREG JONES