Blue Turtle Cruising

Blue Turtle is dry for Hurricane Matthew

153139w5_nl_smBy now, most of you have heard about Hurricane Matthew that is making its way toward the East coast of Florida.  Matthew is looking to be one of the biggest hurricanes to come through since 2006 and is currently a Category 3 hurricane in the Bahamas. It is forecasted to be a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds by the time it reaches the East coast of Florida. With the uncertainty of the path and the expected winds, we’ve taken notice.

Over the last 4.5 years, we’ve had our fair share of tropical storms and hurricane preparations while living aboard. Fortunately for us, the storms and hurricanes turned out to not be that serious or require us to leave the boat. The first 6 months after we purchased Blue Turtle, when we lived at Cape Coral Yacht Club, we had some great preliminary training for preparing for hurricanes. The couple of storms we had didn’t have sustained winds like Matthew and by the time it was near us, it had already shifted away, but it did give us great practice tying everything down, doubling the lines and collapsing the bimini.

Since moving to Snook Bight Marina on Fort Myers Beach, we’ve opted into their “hurricane plan”. We pay a yearly fee to be on the “list” of boats to get pulled out and put into the boat storage barn if a hurricane comes our way. With the unpredictability of Hurricane Matthew, our marina manager suggested pulling the boats out to be safe. This is the first time we’ve had Blue Turtle pulled out of the water for a storm/hurricane and right now, with the latest forecast shifting the cone slightly to the West, I’m happy with this decision.  Our bridge bimini and isinglas has taken a beating this year just from storm winds of 25-35 mph winds, it doesn’t take much more than that to cause major damage.

Blue Turtle waiting near the barn waiting to be lifted out of the water
Blue Turtle waiting near the barn waiting to be lifted out of the water

Today, Randy and I packed up a few things and prepped Blue Turtle for being lifted out of the water. We plan to stay at my parent’s house in Fort Myers and packed some clothes and the dog. The boat will be without electricity while stored in the barn which meant we had to unload the contents of our refrigerator and freezer into a cooler and shut off the batteries and water pump. Lifting our home out of the water with a fork lift proved to be a little nerve racking, but Snook Bight did an excellent job pulling her out and storing her on the floor of the barn. We are now resting easy knowing Blue Turtle is safe from storm damage and we’ll be back in the water as soon as it passes through.

We packed up our fridge and the dog, ready to head to the parents
We packed up our fridge and the dog, ready to head to the parents
Randy helps staff line the boat up on the forks
Randy helps staff line the boat up on the forks
Blue Turtle on the forks
Blue Turtle on the forks
The forklift operator getting ready to lift the forks
The forklift operator getting ready to lift the forks
Blue Turtle high and not-quite-dry
Blue Turtle high and not-quite-dry yet
Randy and Bob take a look to make sure our boat is supported
Randy and Bob take a look to make sure our boat is supported
Good thing we are getting our bottom done in a few weeks
Look at that bow
Randy watches as our trawler gets higher and higher
Randy watches as our trawler gets higher and higher
Blue Turtle in the barn being moved to its spot on the floor
Blue Turtle in the barn being moved to its spot on the floor
Getting lowered onto the racks
Getting lowered onto the racks
Blue Turtle in her resting spot for the next couple of days
Blue Turtle in her resting spot for the next couple of days

5 thoughts on “Blue Turtle is dry for Hurricane Matthew”

  1. It’s always nerve racking when you lift and rack a trawler. Stay safe our friends! We’ll be thinking about you and sending positive thoughts your way! Deb&Rick

    Reply
    • Thank you Deb! I think we’ll be ok but it’s nice to know Blue Turtle is safe in the barn. Looks like the east coast of Florida will get hit the hardest.

      Reply
  2. Hi we have been following your sight for several months, your move into the barn was prudent. Our 42′ Monk is located behind a house off the south arm of the New River. We have a custodian that double tied Splendid and will be constantly checking the vessels during the storm. Bob and Alice our landlords installed a Camara so we can check on Splendido when we are in Canada. Best Wishes to all yacht owners for a safe out come. Roy and Bev

    Reply

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