Medicane in the Mediterranean: how do I secure the boat before the storm?

Medicane joins the words Mediterranean and hurricane and describes a cyclone that forms over the warm Mediterranean. It is smaller and much rarer than a tropical hurricane, yet it can bring winds up to hurricane force, torrential rain and steep seas. Most medicanes form in autumn and early winter, while the sea is still warm. In recent years the Ionian Sea, Greece, southern Italy, Libya and the islands between them have been hit, and plenty of British owners keep a boat in exactly those waters.

In a medicane the danger to a boat lies mostly in harbour. Many Mediterranean harbours are open to the south or east, and in a storm the swell runs over the breakwater. Lines chafe through, fenders burst, boats strike each other or break free. Start securing the boat early: doubled mooring lines with snubbers and chafe protection, extra fenders, the furling headsail lashed or taken down, sprayhood and covers secured and anything loose cleared from the deck. If you can, haul the boat out or move it in good time to a sheltered harbour.

Warnings come from the national weather services of Greece, Italy and their neighbours, not from the Met Office, and they usually arrive several days ahead. In the autumn months watch the official warnings for your area and agree with the marina office or a neighbour who checks the boat when you are not there. Photograph the securing with the date. For the policy, read how the wording defines storm, whether it names a wind force, whether any clause mentions cyclones and how it treats wear and tear on lines and cleats. With us, Basis counts a storm from force 8, while Basis Plus and Premium set no threshold. With our season policy there is no cover from 1 November to 31 March, when many medicanes form.

Worth remembering

Secure early and there is little to report after the storm.