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April 29, 2013
"Land was created to provide a place for boats to
visit."
Brooks Atkinson
Take another look at
this video, filmed while Tropical Storm Debby was pummeling the Tampa Bay area.
You can see how rough
the water is out on the bay and in the canal, but as the video pans around,
notice how much calmer the water is in the marina. That is Boca Ciega Yacht Club’s
(BCYC) marina. The one just further north, the Gulfport Municipal Marina, is
also very sheltered. The BCYC marina is sheltered north, south, east and west.
In stormy weather, where
you keep your boat can be crucial.
When I got my first
boat, I lived in a condo that had very reasonably priced docks. At first, I
thought that was great. Then one day we had a front come through. I looked out
at my boat, and that little thing was rockin’ and rollin’! I could only hope I
had learned enough about tying her up to keep her safe. As it happened, I had,
and she was OK.
But I thought about it,
and I looked at how the docks were built. They weren’t terribly stout. I
realized that if the dock broke, my boat would not be secure. In addition, I
was at the mercy of my dock neighbors and could only hope they had tied their
boats up well. As I looked around, I saw that not everyone had, including the
boat next to mine. So I had my beloved boat tied up at a flimsy dock that was
quite exposed to heavy weather.
So I moved my boat to
the BCYC marina. It cost a little more, but when the next storm came through, I
saw the boats rockin’ and rollin’ at the condo docks. I got in my car and drove
to the marina to check on my boat. I expected it to look like a bucking bronco,
but the marina is well sheltered and the boats weren’t moving at all. The bay
was all churned up, but all was calm in the slips.
This area also got
brushed by the edge of a hurricane in 2004. In the marina just west of BCYC,
multiple boats were severely damaged, because those docks were exposed in a way
that BCYC’s marina is not. Not one boat was damaged at BCYC in that storm. Being
sheltered counts.
In addition to the BCYC
marina being physically sheltered, everyone using it has to sign a lease that
includes instructions about how boats must be tied in bad weather. We actually
have club members walking the docks during storms, adjusting lines as needed,
so all the boats ride the storm out well. (That’s another reason to join a
club, and if possible, keep your boat there).
Consider more than price when deciding where to
keep your boat. Ask other sailors in your area, and they will be able to tell
you which marinas are sheltered and which are not.
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