CGSC moorings are not designed to withstand hurricane force winds and the waves they generate, storm tidal surges, and other such severe weather conditions. In hurricane conditions, the moorings are inadequate to hold your vessel, and vessels left on the moorings present a danger to each other and to property on land. Additionally, the bottom in the mooring area presents poor holding for anchors such that anchoring is not a safe alternative to mooring in this location. Prudent seamanship dictates that leaving your vessel on a CGSC mooring in the face of a hurricane is not a reasonable precaution, and that a vessel left on a CGSC mooring after a hurricane watch has been issued is not properly moored. Consequently, your responsibility as a boat owner, and to your fellow boat owners, requires that appropriate precautions be taken as a tropical storm and/or hurricane approaches. Therefore, the CGSC imposes the following policies on mooring:

 

When a Tropical Storm Warning is issued (NOAA issues this 36 hours in advance of an expected tropical storm):

 

CGSC Policy: By this time, it is mandatory that you have reduced windage.

 

When a Hurricane Watch is issued (NOAA issues this 48 hours in advance of a possible hurricane):

 

CGSC Policy: By this time, it is mandatory that you have reduced windage and are ready to evacuate the mooring field before a Hurricane Warning is issued.

 

When a Hurricane Warning is issued (NOAA issues this 36 hours in advance of an expected hurricane):

 

CGSC Policy: By this time, it is mandatory that you have evacuated the mooring field.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to comply with the above policy, you must take action prior to issuance of NOAA warnings and watches. Therefore, CGSC recommends the following actions:

 

When a tropical storm is 72 hours away in the cone of uncertainty, reduce windage and consider evacuating the mooring field.

 

When a hurricane is 72 hours away in the cone of uncertainty, reduce windage and evacuate the mooring field.

 

NOTICE TO SAILBOAT OWNER

Coconut Grove Sailing Club hereby informs you that in the event you fail to remove your vessel from the mooring area according to the policy above, under Florida law, Coconut Grove Sailing Club employees or agents are authorized to remove your vessel, if reasonable, from its mooring, and take any and all other reasonable actions deemed appropriate by Coconut Grove Sailing Club employees or agents to protect Coconut Grove Sailing Club property, private property and the environment. You are further notified that you will be charged a fee for any such action. Florida Statute 327.59(3)

 

 

  • CGSC will do what it can for you, but ultimately it’s your boat and your responsibility. Do not ask or try to pay CGSC dock staff to take care of your boat – they have work to do.
  • If you make an arrangement for someone else to move your boat, e.g., because you might be away, provide their name and contact information to the Dock Master.
  • CGSC will not tow your boat out of the mooring field.
  • Reducing Windage (as instructed below) includes …
    • Taking all sails down, leaving them in the boat or at home.
    • Taking the bimini and frame down, and all canvas covers off
    • Taking the dingy and outboard off
    • Securing all line ends (halyards)
    • Replacing dorades and cowl vents with covers
    • Removing solar panels and windmills
    • Removing “deck junk” – BBQs, cushions, etc.
    • Closing all seacocks (reducing “sea-age”)

 

Boats on the moorings, strip, and racks must be removed from CGSC before a Hurricane Warning is issued. Failure to meet this requirement will result in a penalty. In particular, Item 25 of the moorings agreement says …

If an owner leaves their boat in the CGSC mooring field during a Club moorings evacuation, their mooring privileges will be revoked and they will be required to remove their boat from the mooring field immediately after the evacuation and will be required to wait one year before they are allowed to reapply for mooring privileges.

 

… and Item 3.10 of the rack and strip agreement says …

Storage of boats on Club property and moorings is prohibited, without exception, while a hurricane warning is in effect for Dade County by the NOAA National Hurricane Center. Owners who do not move their boats in accordance with this regulation shall be barred from use of the strip or rack facilities, including hoists, for one year.

 

When you move your boat from CGSC, leave the following information in a ziplock taped in the cockpit (required if your boat is left in the Coral Gables waterway) …

  • Boat name
  • Year, Make/Model, Length of vessel
  • HIN number, FL # or USCG Doc #
  • Where you normally keep your boat (“Coconut Grove Sailing Club”!!)
  • Full name and date of birth
  • Phone numbers and Email addresses (your and alternatives)
  • Physical address

 

May-July (before the start of the Hurricane Season) and
August (the start of the Hurricane Season)

 

  • Attend a Hurricane Preparation seminar, offered in May, June, and July.
  • Make a Hurricane Plan, find friends to help (especially if you might be out of town). Provide their names and contact information to the Dock Master.
  • Prepare for the season …
    • Explore and practice moving your boat from CGSC
    • Get anchors, chain, shackles, rodes, floats, and chafe protection
    • Test the engine, check the prop, have clean fuel and filters
    • Check cleats
    • Prepare information cards (see above)
    • Take inventory inside and out – take photos
    • Get insurance, especially towing
    • Not using the boat or leaving town? … reduce windage
    • Check the weather web pages every day
    • Read club emails when a storm is coming

 

120 hours out (in the 5-day “Cone of Uncertainty”)

  • Review your Hurricane Plan.

 

72 hours out (in the 3-day “Cone of Uncertainty”) for a Tropical Storm

  • Reduce windage at this time (CGSC recommendation).

 

48 hours out – Tropical Storm Watch issued

  • Reduce windage before this time (CGSC recommendation).

 

36 hours out – Tropical Storm Warning issued

  • Reduce windage before this time (CGSC requirement)
  • Remove boat from CGSC before this time (optional).

 

72 hours out (in the 3-day “Cone of Uncertainty”) for a Hurricane

  • Reduce windage at this time (CGSC recommendation).
  • Remove boat from CGSC at this time (CGSC recommendation).

 

48 hours out – Hurricane Watch issued

  • Reduce windage before this time (CGSC requirement).
  • Remove boat from CGSC at this time (CGSC recommendation).

 

36 hours out – Hurricane Warning issued

  • Remove your boat from CGSC before this time (CGSC requirement). Failure to meet this requirement will result in a penalty, as explained above.