HURRICANE: Thar’ She Blows

By Beth Leonard, BoatU.S. Magazine
With many areas still recovering from Sandy, hurricane season is upon us once again. Here are the resources you need to be prepared.

Superstorm Sandy, which walloped the northeast coast in October 2012, reminded all of us that surge can cause at least as much damage as wind. Sandy’s surge, which exceeded 10 feet in the hardest hit areas like Staten Island and northern New Jersey, overwhelmed the infrastructure at hundreds of marinas, floating docks off pilings, destroying fixed docks, and carrying away boats on the hard.

It would be easy to conclude that preparations didn’t matter this time around, that nothing could have prevented the devastation. But that would be the wrong lesson to take from Sandy. Our research shows that boats stood a much higher chance of surviving where marinas and boat owners prepared for the surge specifically. The real lesson to take from Sandy is that the right preparations, designed to address the real risks, can and do work.

So, as the 2013 tropical storm season begins, let’s look at what you should do to beat the odds should a hurricane come calling. – Read on