Hurricanes aren’t the only storms that wreck boating

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

Another hurricane might hit Florida this weekend, just weeks after

Hurricane Charley wreaked havoc upon homes and boats.

Hurricane Frances is predicted to be a Category 4 storm with

sustained winds of up to 140 mph with high-water-surge levels. Boat

owners are scrambling to find shelter for their vessels, and many

larger vessels are heading out to sea to try to dodge the hurricanes.

The strong winds and the high-water-surge levels are what

contribute to the boat damage. The rising water breaks the docks

free, or the docks float up and over the tops of the pilings, and

many dock lines just snap. Eventually, a tree, or a house, or an

asphalt road or other boats will impede the passage of these runaway

boats and docks.

This is exactly what happened in La Paz, Mexico, when Hurricane

Ignacio hit the Mexican resort town in late August 2003 and was

followed by Hurricane Marty in September.

We experience some of these effects in Newport Harbor during

winter storms that hit our area. Remember the storm of Dec. 6, 1997?

This storm actually caused the harbor water levels to rise due to

heavy winds and storm water runoff entering the bay from storm

drains.

The runoff current in the Back Bay caused a couple of docks in

Dover Shores to break free, and then the docks drifted under the

Coast Highway bridge. The current carried the Back Bay navigational

buoys under the bridge and rearranged the mooring area off of

Bayshores. Some of you may also remember that the Rhine Channel was

closed to boat traffic from the debris that washed up into the

channel from the current. This storm and other storms keep the Harbor

Patrol busy chasing the broken-free boats and picking up navigational

hazards floating in the harbor.

Our boating weather, however, looks good this weekend with patchy

fog and the associated wind gusts on the fog’s leading edges,

especially in the morning hours. Also, you should watch for the seas

to possibly build on Saturday from a 3- to 5-foot westerly swell. The

west swell is predicted to decrease to 2 to 3 feet, but watch for up

to 2-foot wind waves with up to 15-knot afternoon winds.

TIP OF THE WEEK

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water is

accepting applications for safety grants. Local community

organizations may receive grants of up to $4,000 for projects that

focus on increasing the voluntary use of life jackets by recreational

boaters.

“While all applications to our 2005 Boating Safety Grant program

will be reviewed for a variety of boating-safety programs,

preferential treatment will be given to those that focus on

increasing life jacket usage,” said Chris Edmonston, director of the

foundation’s boating safety programs.

The program has nearly $40,000 in grant funding available, but the

deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2004, and the grants are being awarded

in late January 2005.

Over the past 15 years, the foundation has awarded more than

$615,000 in safety grant funds to organizations that develop

innovative projects that promote safe boating on local waterways.

“We believe that the creativity that goes along with a grass-roots

approach to increasing lifejacket awareness and education may yield

some very out-of-the-box ideas,” Edmonston said.

Newport Harbor’s yacht clubs, flotillas, squadrons and the Newport

Sea Base can go to https://www.BoatUS.com/

foundation to download an application and learn more about boating

safety grants or call (410) 897-0943.

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a

national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education and research organization,

funded by the voluntary contributions of 575,000 members of BoatU.S.,

the nation’s largest recreational boat owners association.

Recognized as the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation,

“Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” airs every Saturday

from noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell

and Eric Hovland on my radio show by calling the listener line at

(888) 344-1170, and you can listen worldwide at https://www.Boathouse

Radio.com. Let me know of your boating news or information.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to mike@boathousetv.com or visit https://www.boathousetv.com.