A ten-metre-long home-built cruising cat lies upside down with its deck on the ground. A neighbouring Sirius has slipped bow-first off the trailer. Next to it, other yachts have been blown off the bearing blocks or trailers. In autumn 2013, the day after hurricane "Christian", the Kopperby slipway looks as if a giant bowling ball had rolled through the rows of boats. One or two storm victims were probably totalled, while the damage to many other vessels was considerable.
Of all the coastal regions in northern Germany, Schleswig-Holstein was hit the hardest on 28 October nine years ago. At its peak, wind speeds of 180 km/h were measured. Countless cases of damage to harbour facilities and yachts were also reported from Flensburg, Kiel and Lübeck. On the North Sea islands, especially Heligoland, the storm was even stronger, with wind speeds of up to 191 km/h!
The German coast is now facing another hurricane in the coming days, as we reported yesterday on YACHT online.
Boat owners who have left their boats in the water or brought them ashore to an outdoor storage facility should be on the alert - and if in doubt, check that everything is in order as quickly as possible. In concrete terms, this means checking the mooring lines and reinforcing them if necessary, double and triple lashing the tarpaulins, clearing loose equipment from the deck and possibly moving the boat to another berth with greater water depth.
This is because hurricane "Christian" made it painfully clear to many owners at the time that the strong winds were not the only danger - at least for the boats that were still in the water. As a result of the storm, the water level between Flensburg and Rügen fell drastically by up to 1.2 metres in 2013. Boats that were still moored to the jetties were in danger of getting caught in their mooring lines. "We had to constantly readjust the lines," reported Thedje Anker from the winter storage and service company Anker-Yachting in Kappeln. The problem: "Many owners moor their yachts in a slip and use both ends on board," said Anker. It takes a lot of gymnastics to get on the boat.
Dangerous bathtub effect
Such a "bathtub effect" threatens again now. In other words, first the water recedes, then it comes back with a vengeance. Back then, the yacht insurers' phone lines were red-hot as soon as the storm had passed. Within 48 hours, the largest German boat insurance broker Pantaenius, for example, registered over 100 claims. Those who had not taken out boat insurance had to pay for the damage out of their own pockets.
The main ships affected were those that were already in open storage on land. In particular, tarpaulins and sprayhoods were blown away and torn, trees fell onto boats and in one case a sailing yacht sank in the harbour, Pantaenius reported shortly after the storm.
As great as the shock may be for many owners after such a disaster, much of the damage can be repaired. "Even ships that have fallen off the bearing block don't have to be a total loss," said Andreas Medicus from Hamburg-based yacht insurance company Schomacker in the aftermath of hurricane "Christian". However, he also qualified: "The repair costs in such cases will often be high."
Determining exactly how high this is in individual cases is usually the task of appraisers and experts. One of them is Uwe Baykowski. He reported that ships that were positioned on land with their masts upright were the most at risk.
Wind pressure causes boats to tip off the trestle
"The wind pressure in the rig becomes so great in a storm that the boats really rock up and then twist out of the bearing block," the expert explained to YACHT. Sooner or later, the whole boat tips over. "It can happen that the side supports of the trestle don't break or bend, but drill through the hull into the inside of the boat."
At the time, Baykowski strongly advised laying the mast down in winter and storing it separately. If it is lying lengthways on the boat and a tarpaulin is then stretched over it like a tent, the wind has an unnecessarily large area to attack.
Planning boats correctly and safely for winter storage
It is also known from the Netherlands that ships in outdoor storage are always orientated with the bow facing southwest. "Local open storage operators should also adhere to this. When it storms in winter, it's usually from the south-west," says Baykowski.
Owners and storage companies must also make sure that the bearing blocks are large enough. "If a trestle is too narrow, the support angle is not correct and lateral support is lost," explains the expert. "Also, don't fix the support plates to the hull with wooden wedges, but fit them with thick rubber pads. These are much more slip-resistant."
To prevent long boats from tipping over, don't hesitate to fit supports at the front and rear in addition to the trestle. "Anything that helps to prevent the hull from turning sideways is good," says Baykowski. Boats that are left on trailers on land should always be lashed to the hull. "A light boat is quickly blown off the trailer. Tipping it together with the trailer, on the other hand, requires significantly more wind pressure."
At least all yacht owners affected by the storm who have taken out boat hull insurance are in luck. They can assume that their insurance will cover the damage. Those who are not insured or have only signed a boat liability contract, on the other hand, are left with the repair costs.
Even if it was not the storm that directly caused damage to your own ship, but another yacht that has overturned, for example. This is because the opposing party's liability does not have to pay in such a case, as many mistakenly believe.
"According to the principle of fault-based liability, a boat owner or their insurance company only has to pay for damage caused by their own culpable behaviour," explains Thomas Gibson from Firmenich Yachtversicherungen. This means that if the injured party cannot prove that the neighbouring boat that tipped over onto their own boat was improperly rigged, they are left empty-handed.
So you're only on the safe side with a hull policy - regardless of whether the boat spends the winter in the water, in outdoor storage on land or indoors. But even then, you shouldn't sit back and relax at home when a hurricane hits. Owners must ensure that their boat is adequately secured. If they fail to do so, they may jeopardise their Insurance cover.
On the following page: The 3 commandments for a storm-proof boat in winter
1. less is more
The more surface area the yacht offers, the higher the risk of damage. High tarpaulins rigged as work tents and rolled-up genoas are particularly critical. Securing their reefing line in a curry cleat is often not enough. Instead, the clew should be tied down. If the sail is in a tarpaulin, this must fit snugly and be lashed down very carefully so that it cannot be killed. If in doubt, remove the headsail for longer periods. If the rig is standing up on land, the sails should be taken down anyway.
2. double is better
The wind not only puts more tension on the mooring lines, but also moves the boat. As a test (see YACHT 13/2010) has shown, damaged lines rapidly lose their breaking load. The greatest danger therefore comes from chafe marks. If possible, deflections in the lines should be avoided or at least minimised by using protective tubes. With shock absorbers or double mooring lines, the elongation of the ropes is increased, which reduces the load on the cleats. An additional set of loose mooring lines can also do no harm. This will keep the yacht moored if the main lines chafe through despite all the protective measures.
3. length is important
Strong winds are often associated with water level fluctuations. Therefore, run the lines as long as possible - for example crosswise and with additional springs so that the boat cannot be pushed against or even under the jetty. The leading lines should be tied to the jetty so that the harbour master can readjust them if necessary. Remember that high water is often followed by extremely low water and vice versa.
