The Beaufort scale, wind force, wave height and the storm clause

In policy wordings a storm normally means wind force 8,

a weather-related movement of air of at least 62 km/h.

The Beaufort scale does not describe the wind alone, but its effect on the water: ripples, white horses, streaks of foam, breaking seas. In practice wave height tells you more than wind speed, and wave height depends on fetch and water depth as well. The sea at wind force 6 in the Baltic looks different from the sea at wind force 6 in the Atlantic.

On the insurance side, wind force 8 is the threshold: from that point on, an event counts as a storm. Check whether your policy covers storm damage without a hurricane or cyclone exclusion clause and without securing obligations for the storm season. Other policy wordings do impose restrictions there, and if in doubt that is the paragraph to read before a summer in the south.

One thing applies under every policy: the general duty of care. Anyone who stays in the berth with inadequate mooring gear when a storm is forecast risks being accused of gross negligence. Some policies include gross negligence up to a share of the sum insured, but it remains a risk that a second line would prevent.

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