Special report Where to spend the hurricane season
WHERE TO SPEND THE HURRICANE SEASON, BY TERYSA VANDERLOO AND ERIN CAREY
Every year around June there is a mass exodus of yachts from the Caribbean and Bahamas ahead of the impending hurricane season. The hurricane zone extends from Cape Hatteras or the Florida/georgia border to Grenada, so cruisers who intend to spend the following season in this cruising ground have to make a choice: continue to cruise in the Caribbean during the hurricane season or leave the hurricane zone by going south to Grenada or north to the east coast of the USA. Unsurprisingly, most choose to leave.
Deciding where you want to go depends on how you wish to spend hurricane season as well as where you want to sail in winter. While many cruisers continue to cruise during hurricane season, others store the boat and visit family, travel, or live on land for a while.
Many strike a balance between the two options by choosing a ‘home’ marina from which they can work, send their children to school or summer camp, or simply live within a marina community. While both options are possible for cruisers sailing north to the US or south to Grenada, the experiences of each will be very different.
US EAST COAST
There’s no shortage of boatyards and skilled labour on the US east coast due to the popularity of sailing in the region, writes Terysa Vanderloo.
This is a good time and place to get boat projects done thanks to the huge chandleries, experienced workforce and excellent facilities.
The whole coastline, from Canada down to the Florida Keys, is highly conducive to cruising; the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) stretches the entire length and provides a protected inland route if conditions don’t allow for coastal sailing.
The ICW is a worthy destination in its own right, and many cruisers spend time exploring parts if not all of it.
My partner Nick and I chose to spend our time living in a marina in Charleston, South Carolina, which turned out to be an excellent choice. It’s only 400 miles from the Bahamas and so was easily accessible; finding a weather window for the three-day passage was straightforward, and a north-setting jet stream worked in our favour on the way there.
Charleston has many marina options, a good liveaboard community, an interesting culture and historic ‘downtown’ as well as excellent marine services including boatyards for storage.
We chose to store our 39ft monohull Ruby Rose on the hard during the peak hurricane months (August to October) and fly home, but otherwise based ourselves in the marina.
Others we met continued to cruise. Behan and Jamie Gifford, with their three children, continued to live aboard their 47ft yacht, Totem, as they sailed north from the Bahamas in 2016. Their priority was to base themselves near family in Connecticut and Boston, but still continue cruising, and they found New England (the six states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) to be an excellent option.
“We loved the old New England charm of Cuttyhunk, one of my favourite stops in a long list!,” says Behan. “The wild beauty of a disconnected island devoid of affectation calls you, gently, in to explore… The only place that
left a bigger impression than Cuttyhunk was anchoring off Liberty Island and seeing the lights of Manhattan come up at night.”
Many cruisers are drawn to the state of Maine, which borders Canada. While the distances involved may be offputting to some (it’s 1,200 miles from the Bahamas), the reward is one of the most popular and unique cruising grounds on the US East Coast made up of over 4,000 islands. Emily Whebbe, her partner Kai and their daughter have chosen this option for several years in a row between sailing seasons in the Bahamas.
“We found anchorages easy to come by, with multiple directions of protection within a few miles. The towns are really friendly, many with fresh lobster and local produce. We like Maine because you can be in a city one day with arts, events, good food, nice people and good wifi, and then be in a remote anchorage in a few hours of sailing.”
For those looking to remain in one marina for the hurricane season there are plenty of options. Michelle Duca Peacock and her husband Michael, along with their two sons, live aboard their
Lagoon 420 catamaran. They spent several years sailing between the Bahamas and the Caribbean, returning to the US for the hurricane season.
They chose to base themselves in a single marina as they enjoyed having a ‘home base.’ Michelle advises booking ahead if this is your plan, particularly if you have a catamaran. She also points out that terminology is important when contacting prospective marinas.
“I’ve found that you don’t tell people you want to be a ‘liveaboard’ on the East Coast, unless they offer liveaboard [which many marinas do not]. Liveaboard implies that you’ll be there year-round.”
We agree; it’s important to ensure the marina knows you don’t plan to stay permanently, as they usually have limited slips available for full-time liveaboards, but may well be happy to accommodate a cruiser for several months.
Michelle and her family based themselves in Hampton, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay, and subsequently in Wilmington, North Carolina. Choosing a marina can seem daunting, as there are so many options. Michelle looked for marinas that were relatively affordable (the Hampton marina was $400 per month; Wilmington was $800 per month), and close to a town, but advises booking early as, despite the apparent abundance of marinas, they can fill up quickly.
Costs for dockage on the US East Coast vary drastically, but it’s generally more expensive than Europe and the UK. Our boatyard storage was $12/ft/month ($468/month) and our monthly rate in the marina was $20/ft/month ($780/ month). This tariff was quite typical along the entire coastline. Electricity and water are an additional cost, around $10 per day. A mooring ball in Maine costs between $20-$40 per night, although lower rates can be negotiated if renting a ball long term.
‘We found anchorages easy to come by’
HEADING SOUTH
For those who choose to stay in the Caribbean, one traditional option has been to head south. Grenada, the southern-most island of the Lesser Antilles, is widely considered to be a safe haven.
In the past 100 years Grenada has only been struck by a hurricane four times, although the Category 4 Hurricane Ivan in 2004 destroyed hundreds of yachts. Insurance policies do vary; some continue to place the limits of the ‘hurricane box’ at 12°30’N, which puts southern Grenada outside. Others define the southern edge of their named winter storm area as far down as 9°N, which includes Trinidad and Tobago.
However, with Trinidad lying within easy sailing proximity of just 100 miles south of Grenada, cruisers can take some comfort in the knowledge that Trinidad has experienced just one hurricane in the past 100 years. Therefore, most cruisers are happy to make a last-minute dash south part of their much-needed contingency plan.
Note that in response to a number of incidents where yachts have been boarded and robbed on passage between Grenada and Trinidad, there is now a convoy process that any yachts planning this passage can take part in. See noonsite.com for more information.
GRENADA LIVEABOARD
Known as the Spice Island, Grenada impressed us with its vivid sights, sounds, and smells when we spent eight months there, writes Erin Carey.
With ample facilities, including seven marinas and four boatyards, it’s an obvious choice when it comes to settling down for the season.
Centrally located, Port Louis Marina is perfect for those who prefer to stay at a dock. With slips for 160 yachts up to 300ft, a pool, bar, and restaurant, the lush tropical grounds are home to superyachts, charter fleets and regular vessels.
If you’d prefer to put your boat on the hard so you can fly home or carry out maintenance, Clarke’s Court Boatyard & Marina is a full-service boatyard offering haul out and launching facilities for boats up to 240 tons. Providing storage for
250 boats, the boatyard is typically busiest from August to October, but can be at near capacity all year round.
Manager Richard Murphy explained the protection the site offers: “The boatyard is located deep within the well-protected bay of Clarke’s Court, with reefs at the entrance to protect us from the worst effects of the sea. We also securely strap down each boat on the hard to large concrete blocks.”
Among those who choose to stay, Grenada is a popular destination for families, last season saw over 60 cruiser kids across the anchorages of Grenada. With kids swinging from halyards and scooting around in dinghies, hurricane
season in Grenada resembles a summer camp for children. With an active VHF children’s net, learn to sail classes and regular movie nights, there’s always something to keep the kids entertained after a morning of ‘boat school’.
Prickly Bay lies at the southern end of the island and is large enough to accommodate over 100 boats. It’s a mecca for cruising families with younger children and there’s a wonderful community atmosphere in the anchorage. For those who leave their boat on anchor and fly home, a local guardianage service can look after boats in the bay.
Secret Harbour is located in a secluded bay a little further east and has been more popular with teen boats and those without children.
Living in Grenada is relaxed and sociable. Perhaps one of the most popular activities on the island is the ‘Hash,’ a fun run throughout the lush mountainous countryside each Saturday afternoon. There are also numerous other activities almost every day of the week, ranging from volleyball to yoga, dominoes to bingo, and a vibrant music scene.
Grenada’s summer culminates in a flurry of feathers and diamantes during carnival! Conveniently scheduled during the height of hurricane season, carnival shimmies along the Carenage, Grenada’s picturesque harbour. With its raunchiness and sass, carnival is an experience you won’t forget.
INSURANCE ADVICE
Jonas Ball of Pantaenius explains that their Named Tropical Storms Clause offers insurance cover for the hurricane season (currently defined for the 2020 season as June 1November 30 in the Latitudes 10°N-37°N).
“Hurricane losses have reached a significant volume in recent years, which is why we have to link the cover to relatively strict conditions. Damages resulting from named tropical storms are only covered if the vessel is either at sea and not anchored, moored or aground, or stored on land where special precautions must be taken to keep the loss risk calculable.
“The cost of including the Named Tropical Storms Clause cannot be calculated on a north or southbound basis, but will depend on very different and individual factors. The type of storage is really the most decisive criterion for whether and how a yacht will survive a storm on land and we now have a great deal of evidence of this. We therefore make very specific specifications on how, for example, a cradle must be designed or how catamarans must be attached to ground anchors with tension belts.
“If yacht owners wish to be covered for damage caused by hurricanes, they should have this included in their policy well before the start of the storm season. We cannot recommend specific safe regions or so-called hurricane holes, but in the aftermath of Irma we have found that anticipatory route planning is essential.
“For bluewater sailors, and especially those living on board, it is often more advisable, in our view, to develop an individual ‘escape route’ than to fixate on supposedly safe bays. Irma and Maria, for example, despite their enormous wind speeds, were moving at a rather slow pace, so that sidestepping them would have been possible for any bluewater sailor.”
‘For bluewater sailors it is advisable to develop an individual escape route’