Surge”), surge heights are dependent on
much more than wind speed. The 12-foot
seawall could be underwater in a storm,
in which case the boats at your marina
would be much more vulnerable. The
same holds true with the pilings for your
floating docks; entire marinas have been
destroyed when the docks were lifted off
the pilings by the surge. Ideally, pilings
should be 18 feet tall.
The Boat That Almost
Didn’t Float
said it swept up the bay in the direction of
Humpback Bridge and then veered toward
Palmetto.”
Since I was moving to the East Coast from
my liveaboard boat in Ventura Harbor,
California, I packed up my stuff, put it all in
large boxes, and stowed it in the aft cabin.
The plan was to carry it out to the truck
in the morning. I then filled my aft water
tanks so no mold or algae would grow in
my absence.
Hauling the boat out and tying it down
with earth anchors on high ground is the
best option while you’re away. There
are also professional captains who can
move your boat to a hurricane hole
farther inland or check on your boat if it’s
still in its slip (for a list of pro captains,
go to www.BoatUS.com/procaptains).
Wherever you decide to leave the boat,
make sure to strip the sails, dodger and
bimini off the boat before you leave—
even if you store the boat ashore.
Later that night, at about 2 a.m., I jumped
down off the forward V-berth into two feet
of cold Pacific water! Water was siphoning
into my 36-foot Trojan at a rapid rate.
“Mrs. D. L. Chapman from her Palmetto
home at 1026 14th Ave. saw the tornado
transform into its funnel shape. She
watched black clouds come from Terra
Ceia Bay, suddenly glimpsed what seemed
like a puff of white smoke coming up to
meet the clouds, mushrooming into one
large cloud which boiled, made one whirl
and in a second was a funnel some three-quarters of a mile from her home.”
The reason I remember this happening
is that the gas station attendant escaped
injury by being in the concrete block
portion of the station when the rest came
apart and the drive-in movie people put
up on the marquee by the road, “Now
Showing—Gone With the Wind.”
BoatU.S. Claims:
An Atmosphere of
Helping Members
I quickly abandoned ship with my little
dog and called the Harbor Patrol … since
it was an emergency, I called 911. The
Ventura fire department arrived with a
big pump and saved the boat. The Harbor
Patrol is closed at night, but a great off-duty guy arrived with the firemen and
helped shift my belongings to dry ground.
C. Henry Depew
Tallahassee, Florida
TowBoatU.S. Kudos
The purpose of this letter is to bring to
your attention the excellent performance
of Keith Sargis in dealing with our
insurance claim. We have been insured
with BoatU.S. for about 20 years and
had never had a claim. When this
unfortunate incident occurred and I
needed to file a claim, Keith was our
adjuster. He graciously and effectively
dealt with my inexperience and my
concerns both by explaining the process
to me and being a good listener. And
when, due to a valuation issue, the
normal rules dictated the outcome, Keith
went out of his way to take our case to
management for special consideration.
He didn’t have to do this; he could just
have parroted the rules and been done
with it.
It turns out it was just a loose hose going
out the transom for the little bilge pump.
Since it is usually above water, there were
no fancy safeguards. All of the weight that
was in the aft portion of the boat must
have pushed it under. I have taken several
boating classes, but no one mentioned
weights and balances for motor cruisers.
Please warn folks. Thanks,
Marcy Tripp
Ventura, California
While sailing offshore from the Chesapeake
Bay to Miami, the propeller shaft broke
about 40 nautical miles south of Charleston.
We had to turn around and sail slowly back
to Charleston. When we were about 25 nm
out, we reached TowBoatU.S. Charleston
to arrange to be towed into that very
busy harbor. Steve Little of TowboatU.S.
Charleston received our call and had one of
his boats meet us outside the harbor at about
midnight and tow us to an anchorage.
Gone With the Wind?
Instead, because he cared about his
customer, he put forth the extra effort.
He is a prime example of expertise and
professionalism.
Regarding waterspouts and tornadoes
over the water, there is a third type of
these phenomena: It is the waterspout
that comes ashore. About 50 years ago,
such a happening occurred in Manatee
County, Florida. A waterspout formed in
the Manatee River and went ashore west
of Palmetto and headed inland. Along the
way, a gas station was totaled and a drive-in movie theater lost part of its display
screen.
The next morning, which was Saturday,
he brought a diver out to inspect the
underwater gear and determined that the
shaft was broken. Steve then called several
repair yards to locate one that was capable
of doing the repair. On Monday, Steve had
his boat tow us to Pierside Boatworks,
where the repairs were performed. Steve
even stopped by the yard to make sure the
work was being done to my satisfaction.
Thank you for maintaining an
atmosphere in which these kind of
people can perform at such high levels.
Bernard Kaye
Yorba Linda, California
From the Bradenton Herald, Friday, Oct.
31, 1958: “Mrs. Emery Wilson, who lives
on Sneads Island, said she saw the storm
building off the island and then it headed
for Terra Ceia Bay. A resident of that area
Steve and his staff were very responsive
and did everything exactly when they said
it would be done. They were skilled in their
craft and very personable. They made an
unpleasant situation almost enjoyable.
Don Moore
Annapolis, Maryland
