this tuesday a small tornado/waterspout hit our club (IJmuiden, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands). These used to be quite rare here but it appears to me they're becoming more frequent. see the attached picture, hope everyone has insurance...

TIE THE BOATS DOWN.

TIE THE BOATS DOWN.

TIE THE BOATS DOWN.



We get waterspouts with some frequency, and they are survivable. Although I doubt me there are many mobile homes there in Holland, the pic is of a tiedown used for same. Bury two for each boat, under where the mast and under the center of the aft crossbar. Bury them to the bracket, don't leave the shaft showing. Mark-paint the brackets, they hurt to trip over.

Tie the boat fore and aft, thru the crossbeams, to the tiedowns.

good luck with it, and be sure to thank Mr. Bush and his corporate bosses for the lovely weather you're having.

Sea ya
tami

I feel much better since I gave up all hope! The end is near. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Pete, put that on your sail next time! We need a good picture of a boat in a regatta that says "The End is Near".

Either that, or a John 3:16 boat....

Huh? Maybe the common cold is someones fault too?
Always good to have someone to blame! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

That is an ugly sight. Looks like the 5.5 was the only one who tied down. I strap down my 5.2 but sometimes I wonder why I bother. Waterspouts are frequent in our area. My boat is the only one that is tied down. If we get hit by a tornado, my boat will still be destroyed by all the hobie16s flying through the air.

-Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

Those H16s are tough boats! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

H16s are tough boats. My Nacra is like sailing on egg shells compared to the H16s, but it sure is nice passing them to leeward. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> The H16 is a great boat to keep on the beach. My N5.2 doesn't do as well out in the elements. I've had to do several repairs; but in defense of the Nacra, most of those repairs were caused by the lawnmowing crew and not by flying H16s or tornados.

Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

Mmmmm. Lawnmowing. That was causing major damages to our Hobie Waves here at Put-in-Bay. Apparently, they were using weedwhackers around our boats and putting gouges in the hulls. So now we have access to the lawnmower and we cut the grass in our dry-sail area ourselves.

For our series races, if the grass is getting a little high, we just cut the grass before we put all the boats back into their drysail spots after the races.