60 MPH Winds Damage Beach Hobies in Connecticut (Pics)

We had a major storm here in CT last night that brought 60 MPH winds and caused significant damage to the Hobie fleet at Jennings Beach in Fairfield. Thankfully, my boat is ok but as you will see, many others were not so lucky. Removing the tramp for the winter is absolutely critical IMO as is anchoring the boat and trailer at multiple points. I feel for the folks whose boats were damaged due to carelessness on the part of other owners.....

http://s920.photobucket.com/albums/ad42/bcreamer/Hobie/Storm%20Damage%20Jennings%20Beach%20Fairfield%20CT%20Mar%2014/

Wow... that's REALLY REALLY too bad....

Were they tied down ?

How were the tie downs installed on the beach ?

Was there a high tide or surf along with the wind ?

More info could help others better prepare to avoide the same fate....

thanks and good luck to all in repairs. least there's time 'till summer sailing.

-Rob.

Most were tied down, yes. Each slip has ground anchors as well as a heavy gague cable strung between telephone poles up the rows. However, some of the telephone poles that serve as the primary anchors actually got pulled out of the sand. The yellow 18 you see that was de-masted was secured in every way imagineable. Unfortunately for him, his slip also happened to be closest to the water.

A nasty combination of extremely high winds and storm surge. We have trees down all over the place here in town. The wind was so strong it actually blew down my neighbor's privacy fence.....

There was some good warning on that storm so I moved mine here in VT behind some big evergreens. If I was that exposed, I'd take the tramp off and anchor using those aircraft anchors (sand, clay, etc). Good report for future planning.

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

Awesome... Wow you guys... Hey I used to sail Hobies off Jennings beach, actually was involved with starting the fleet there in 1977.. fleet 208. With Bob Williams, and Rick Grauer. We actually started the storage area by the jetty then. Nice to hear from you guys on line. Now its time to sell my 18, but you guys have brought back so many memories for me today. I was also commodore of Fleet 56 in Westport too for a time. We raced virtually every week end in the summer during the summers. I owned my first home at the end of Craig Place just behind Jennings Beach!!! We used to sink tires deep in the sand, then used chains, fore and aft.. Greetings from Rich Littauer

Rich, That's really neat, you're the second person I've run into here with roots in Fairfield. I just bought my 18 last fall from a guy in Madison, otherwise I'd probably be looking at yours. I'm not sure how much racing still goes on around here but it's definitely something I will be looking into (including Westport). Where are you on the Cape? We spend a week or so every summer in Brewster at Ocean's Edge. Take care!