Up here in Maine we have been tracking Sandy's path pretty closely. We decided to stay in the water and on board through the thick of it since by the time it makes up to us it should just be downgraded to a Tropical Depression. We did some extra preparations doubling up lines and crisscrossed some lines to the adjacent finger in case anything was to happen to ours.
For us, as of yet, Sandy has not reached her long fingers out to grace us our boat. Up here, we are currently getting the brunt end of a nor'easter. With winds out of the NE picking up speeds it was a rocky night as high tide encroached upon us around 11pm. At low tide we have a buffer ground between us and the channel that the sea can't come over so high tide is when it is at it's worst (as I write this it is just past high tide and still extremely rocky).
There are about 15 boats, sail and motor mixed, here in our Marina with people staying on them through the duration of the storm (most of which are liveaboards like us), it's a great community and everyone is looking out for each other.
Here's some tips if your boat is in the water and you're braving through.
* If you're concerned about your finger, tie lines back to the actual main dock from your finger. We tied to the vertical pillars under the main dock.
* If you happen to have an empty finger next to you, cross lines over to it's cleats. If your finger (god forbid) breaks, you are attached to another finger...i.e your boat doesn't float off!). Also this will help minimize the jerking of your boat. The boat next to us was just moved so we'll be adding another line from our stern diagonally to the cleat on the finger to our port side.
* Put soap or lubrication on your creaking lines on your boat. You will be much happier without the noise reverberating throughout your boat! If you have line shock absorbers, use them.
* Have a bag with your valuables ready. None of us want to abandon our boats, but your life is more valuable. If the worst was to happen and you need to flee your boat, grab your packed bag with things that are irreplaceable. We also have our foul weather gear, shoes and car keys all in sight.
If you have any other tips you'd like to share (land or water) please add below! We'd love to hear your preparations.
We'll be sleeping in the cabin tonight (one eye open perhaps) until we know the worst of the storm has passed by.
On a sad note, we have been following the sad story of the tall ship Bounty that sunk off the Carolinas and hope the remaining two crew members are found and brought to safety.
That's all for now, we'll keep you all updated on our status as the storm passes through. Stay safe all, mother nature is showing us her strength.
When Nick gets back with the camera we'll put some pictures up :)
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