Hurricane Lessons Learned

The 2017 hurricane season brought larger and more frequent storms that caused significantly more damage than anyone thought possible. It also brought some hurricane lessons.

The latter days of summer still bring warm temperatures and typically good weather to enjoy being near, on or in the water. But they can also bring great storms in the form of hurricanes. In fact, although the official hurricane season is from June 1st to November 30th, the peak of the season is from mid-August to mid-September, when ocean temperatures are at their highest—fuel for hurricane development. What can we learn from the hurricane lessons of 2017?

What’s in a name?

A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone, i.e., a low-pressure area that only forms over warm water. It contains bands of showers and thunderstorms that rotate counterclockwise around a center (the eye) and extend outward for as much as several hundred miles.

Actually, the term “hurricane” indicates the strength of the storm. Hurricanes have sustained winds greater than 73 mph. Systems with winds between 39 and 73 mph are classified as tropical storms, and those with winds less than 39 mph are called tropical depressions. Hurricanes themselves are also ranked in terms of strength according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale—categories of one at the low end to five at the high end with sustained winds exceeding 156 mph. (Gusts can approach 200 mph.)

The greatest threat to ships at sea comes from the strong winds and the high waves they can generate. Stronger and larger storms will produce the highest waves. In fact, measured waves have exceeded 50 feet and, theoretically, a rogue wave in that environment could exceed 100 feet. In those conditions, a boat can easily capsize and sink, and keep in mind that rescue efforts are nearly impossible.

Skip the beach

For beachgoers, even if the storm is far off, swells can make for dangerous surf conditions. As the storm nears, waves become higher and more frequent, and strong rip currents can be expected. Along the coast, the greatest threat comes from the strong winds and, especially, storm-induced high tides. “Storm surge” is an inland rush of water caused by strong onshore winds. High waves on top of this surge can literally smash structures. Storm surge is highest with stronger and larger storms and maximum where the center crosses the coast. Hurricane Katrina produced a storm surge of nearly 28 feet at Pass Christian on the Mississippi Gulf coast, and the surge pushed inland at least six miles.

Even boats at a dock face risks. The risk magnifies with the strength of the storm and the proximity of the eye. Strong winds and high waves can batter a boat against the dock itself, and restraining ropes can break under great stress. A significant storm surge can drive a vessel far inland and as the storm moves by, the wind direction will change by as much as 180 degrees. A more sheltered, inland port is a better alternative.

As you move away from the immediate coast, wind can still do damage. In particular, trees are broken or uprooted, which can take out power lines. That was the case in Puerto Rico with Hurricane Maria. In addition, there is also a significant concern with the heavy rain that can produce inland flooding. Hurricane Harvey, for example, dumped over 60 inches of rain in the Houston, Texas, area last September causing the catastrophic flooding there. If this wasn’t enough, tropical cyclones, when they start affecting land, can generate tornadoes and are most likely to occur in the right front quadrant of the storm. Hurricane Harvey produced 57 tornadoes.

Be in the Know

There is only one official source of hurricane information: The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida. Media outlets and even private weather companies get their information from the NHC. The Center will send out storm bulletins every six hours or every three hours if the storm is endangering land. The Tropical Cyclone Public Advisory gives a plain language account of the storm, including current strength and location and forecasts for future strength and movement out to five days. This information is also provided in map form. The Forecast Advisory adds marine information for areas predicted to be in the path of 64-, 50-, and 34-knot winds and 12-foot seas.

The NHC will issue specific watches or warnings as needed. Watches mean dangerous conditions are possible within 48 hours and to take necessary precautions. Warnings mean a more definite and immediate threat (within 36 hours); seek shelter or evacuate if ordered. Besides tropical storm or hurricane watches and warnings, a storm surge watch or warning is for “life-threatening inundation from rising water,” and an extreme wind warning is for winds in excess of 114 mph. All of this information is also provided by local National Weather Service (NWS) offices. For marine interests, consult the marine forecasts issued by the NWS.

Flagged as Dangerous

There is a more traditional warning system used at select small boat stations along the coast: the U.S. Coast Guard’s warning display flags. Tropical storm warnings are indicated by a single red flag with a black rectangle in the middle. Hurricane warnings are represented by two of those flags. For more information on Marine Safety during hurricane season, go to nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/marine.php

By Ed Brotak Southern Boating August 2018

Hurricane Hermine: a look back

Hurricane Hermine damaged many marinas and public ramps that dot Florida’s shallow west coast between Homosassa and the Big Bend. Like many Labor Day storms of decades past, Hermine intensified as it approached the coast. Most of the resulting damage was due to tidal surge rather than wind. For nearly 24 hours, the Coast Guard restricted vessel movement with the issuance of Port Condition Zulu along the coast until the 80-mph winds had passed.

The brunt of Hermine was felt on the southern and eastern sides of the storm, which pushed debris inland, eroded waterfront roads, filled marina ships’ stores with water, and decimated inventory. From a recovery standpoint, most marinas were able to limp back to business within a few days, although the normally busy Labor Day weekend was reserved for front loaders and trash trucks—not cruisers and anglers. The worst of the storm damage occurred in Horseshoe Beach located in Dixie County, where a 12-foot tidal surge destroyed the well-known Shrimp Boat Restaurant. Furthermore, Steinhatchee-based marinas all reported surge-related damage, including the municipal docks at the public ramp that were twisted upward by the surge and severely damaged.

At River Haven Marina, a nine-foot storm surge pushed mud, water and debris inside the ships’ store but didn’t cause any permanent damage to the floating wooden and steel docks. Despite inventory losses, the marina was back up and operating within a week of the storm’s passing. At the nearby Sea Hag Marina (Marker 47) the floating wet slips had plank damage yet remained intact. Storm surge lifted several boats from bottom racks and pushed them inland, where they settled on the hard. Before the storm hit, Sea Hag was nearly finished with construction of a new steel building intended to provide covered dry storage for 100 vessels up to 38 feet in length. The building was designed to handle hurricanes and easily handled the 80-mph winds.

Cedar Key sustained heavy structural damage to waterfront motels, cottages and the city marina. Cedar Key Marina II, its phone lines out, took to Facebook to post: “There was a lot of water damage, no boats that are stored at the marina were damaged, but operations took a major hit. Right now we are trying to recover and pick up the pieces that were spread across the marina floor. Please give us time to get back on our feet, so we can best serve you and make your boating/fishing experience as pleasurable as possible.”

Crystal River, known for its manatees and diving, also reported flood damage. Several vessels were ripped from moorings and tossed up onto shorelines or carried inland by the storm surge. “At one point we had about three feet of water in the middle of U.S. 19 in downtown Crystal River,” says Commander Buddy Grant of the Citrus County Sheriff’s office. Twin Rivers Marina at the mouth of Crystal River was without power for several days. The ships’ store was heavily damaged by flooding, but the marina docks themselves held up reasonably well even though they were underwater for hours. Resilient and laid back, all of the marina operators expect to have repairs completed by winter in time for the annual return of northern visitors.

By Alan Wendt, Southern Boating Magazine November 2016

When Hurricanes Come, the U.S. Coast Guard Goes Inland

With Hurricane Matthew barreling towards the coastal town of Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Prosser and his wife, Nicole, made the seemingly right decision to send their two young children out of harm’s way to the inland city of Lumberton. Little did they know that the small inland town was also going to take a beating.

Feeling confident about his choice (Lumberton is located almost 90 miles from the coast) Officer Prosser resumed his duties at the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina. Imagine his surprise the following weekend when he received news that floodwaters in Lumberton were rising rapidly while his children were at their grandparents’ home without running water or electricity.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Prosser and Master Chief Petty Officer Louis Coleman load Coleman’s trailer with donations during Hurricane Matthew at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington, Oct. 16, 2016.

“Lumberton has been the go-to safe haven during hurricanes for me and my family for about eight years now,” says Prosser. “But after the town was battered by Hurricane Matthew, following two weeks of unusually high rainfall, it became a dangerous place where water was suddenly filling the streets.” By Monday morning, the levee protecting Lumberton had broken, and Prosser was working feverishly with members of the sector command to determine how to best bring his children home.

“They [local officials] were confused as to why we were headed into town at first, but as soon as we explained why we needed to get in, they let us through,” says Prosser. “Most people were trying to leave town, not get in, and we began to see why. Damage from the hurricane became much more evident the closer we got to Lumberton, but I was blown away by the damage we encountered when we got within city limits.”

It quickly became clear that the area was too flooded to continue by truck. Luckily, Prosser and a fellow officer encountered water rescue teams from New York and New Jersey. Prosser found the town unrecognizable and struggled to get his bearings. “Eventually we approached a church that looked familiar. We saw helicopters overhead with people dangling from cables. They were hoisting people from the flooded waters to safety,” he adds.

Prosser was finally able to reach the children via SUV. “When we got there, my two children came running out the door,” says Prosser. “While it was a huge relief to know they were safe at that moment, I knew we were all still in danger. We needed to get out of there as quickly as possible, before we got trapped by floodwaters.” Meanwhile, Prosser and additional officials strongly encouraged others to evacuate the dangerous area. As part of the North Carolina family, Coast Guard Sector North Carolina personnel will continue their response to Hurricane Matthew’s aftermath and the subsequent flooding throughout the region.

Onboard Security for Your Vessel

Siren Marine stands guard to protect your vessel with onboard security

On a quiet night in a sparsely populated marina, a 50-foot unoccupied trawler may seem like an easy target for thieves. The would-be criminals may already know the owner is away and few people are around. The timing for stealing a boat—or just getting inside to hunt for valuables—seems ideal. All that’s needed is to gain entry to the vessel.

Not so fast, however, if the boat is equipped with Siren Marine’s Pixie unit. This electronic boat monitoring system can send a text alert to up to four different mobile phones if an entry sensor is tripped or if the boat’s shore power is disconnected. In addition, a loud “Bloodhound” siren can be programmed to emit, scaring off any intruders.

“If the boat moves or someone gets in, you are going to know,” says Van Anderson of Fort Lauderdale, who installed a Pixie on his 2005 Nordhavn 55 Sunday Morning. Anderson set up a “GeoFence” for his boat so if it moves out of a specific range, the automatic GPS tracking of the Pixie lets him know. “I type in ‘POS’ in a text to my Siren Marine cell number, and in a few seconds I get a text back telling me where the boat is. There are also apps for iPhone and Android phones.”

Siren Marine is the creation of Dan Harper, a lifelong sailor who also has a long history with electronics and computers. Harper wanted to combat two problems that plague wooden sailboats: batteries and bilges. “A good, healthy battery can run bilge pumps,” says Harper, the founder and CEO, who runs Siren Marine out of his home office in Newport, Rhode Island. “The alert allows you to stay ahead of problems. A dead battery will not allow a boat to be started, or the bilge pump or other ‘vital systems’ to be operated in the event of an emergency.

“For Southern Boating readers a big concern is someone breaking into the boat rather than stealing it,” Harper continues. “Knowing that no one has gained entry and that the power is on is what a great majority of our customers tell us they like.”

When Harper launched Siren Marine in 2011, smartphones were not nearly as popular as they are today. Text messaging was the easiest and fastest way to communicate, and almost all cell phones had texting capability. “At the start we focused on a text-based system,” says Siren Marine’s chief operations officer, Jonathan Banks, who notes that the Pixie sells for $499, with a $180 annual subscription plan to Siren’s mobile network. “Fast forward five years and it’s a very different dynamic. Everyone has a smartphone or iPhone, and pretty much every product you buy comes with an app. The catalyst is the smartphone, as consumers connect through the Internet of Things (IoT) to their homes, cars and boats. The forecast is by 2020 there will be 5 billion consumer devices connected to the Internet.”

Each Siren Marine unit has a unique phone number and data is transmitted over GSM cellular networks. GSM conforms to a global standard, devices roam seamlessly with excellent coastal coverage, and the technology is extremely stable. Cellular modules are affordable and draw very little power. With the growth of IoT applications, the cost of cellular components and data is coming down.

“We have sold about 1,200 Sprite and Pixie boat monitoring units since the products were launched in 2011,” Harper says. Powered by the boat’s 12- or 24-volt battery, the unit can be easily installed in a locker by placing the Pixie (a little larger than a deck of cards) where it best fits and test the signal strength of the unit’s internal high-gain antenna. “If the signal strength is acceptable, that’s where it goes. Then you connect the leads to the monitoring unit to monitor battery voltage, bilge water level, motion, shore power status, temperature, and more.”

With the planned phasing out of 2G cellular networks, which the Pixie and Sprite use, Siren Marine is designing next-generation 3G and LTE devices, which will be launched in fall 2016 and will include added functionality. A NMEA 2000 interface, image capture, engine monitoring, and wireless sensors are new functions that will be introduced, and data can also be shared with boatbuilders, engine manufacturers and others through a customized Siren Marine portal.

“We take security of the data transmitted very seriously,” says Harper. “The company that is developing our cloud services and user apps also helped develop the international defense system after 9/11. Any crowdsourcing function is always opt-in by the user, and data will be stored locally on an owner’s device.”

Siren Marine’s greatest benefit, however, may still be those simple text alerts. Knowing right away that the shore power is disconnected can save boat owners a lot of hassle in terms of spoiled food and a horrible mess.

“My boat Sunday Morning was docked in Charleston at a marina and I was away,” says Anderson. “I received an alarm that the power was disconnected, so I called the marina and asked them to check on it, and hung up the phone.” It turned out another boat had come into the slip next to Sunday Morning and somehow disconnected the shore power. The marina attendant simply hooked the power back up.

“I knew right away the problem was solved,” Anderson says. “The Siren Marine unit sent me an alert that power was back on, so I knew the boat was good to go before the marina called me back.”

INFORMATION: sirenmarine.com

— By Don Minikus, Southern Boating Magazine June 2016