Boat owners advised to
plan ahead in event of storm
PHILIPSBURG--With five months still to go for the 2007 Hurricane Season, the local office of Disaster Management and Preparedness is asking boat owners to plan ahead and be ready to take action in the event of a storm/hurricane threat to the island.
Marine operators are asked to answer the question, which is the theme for this year’s hurricane season: “How have you prepared yourself for the hurricane season?”
So far two named storms formed in the month of June and with five months left, hurricane forecasters warn of a very active 2007 hurricane season. Mariners are warned that hurricanes have been the cause of many maritime disasters. Constant monitoring of hurricane potential and continual risk analysis when used with some fundamental guidelines become the basic tools to minimize a hurricane’s impact to vessels at sea or in port.
The GIS release stated, “Systems that are forecast to make landfall within 50-100 nautical miles of a particular port tend to be more destructive than those that approach the port from over land or parallel to the coast in the vicinity of the port. Also, ports located in the right front quadrant, based on direction of movement of hurricanes during landfall tend to have higher winds, seas, and storm surge.”
The release stated, “The decision to leave port for hurricane avoidance must be made very clearly and consideration of the latest safe departure time and likely avoidance routes must be balanced with a number of other factors. Most important of these is time versus distance.”
The risk of damage to a vessel at sea increases as the motion of the hurricane increases towards the maximum safe speed of the vessel attempting to leave port in advance of that system.
It is also recommended that considerations to remain in port during a hurricane include an evaluation of the amount of protection afforded by the port. The direction from which the strongest winds are forecast to blow along with the potential for storm surge must be factored in when deciding whether to seek haven pier side or at anchorage.
