What must I do on an official storm warning?

When an official warning comes, the question is not only what is good seamanship but what your policy requires of you. And there you find two very different approaches. One sets out duties: additional and crossed mooring lines, fenders, removing covers, sails and awnings, and in hurricane areas an obligation to run for the nearest hurricane hole. All at your cost, and omission costs the cover.

The other approach is rare and works the other way round: it names the same measures but does not require them, contributing to the cost instead. The difference is not only financial. A duty creates a point of dispute in a claim; a cost contribution creates an incentive. In the wordings we reviewed the first approach is the rule.

Whoever you are insured with, the order is the same. First, check now whether your policy attaches to an official warning and from which level. Second, settle in advance who can act if you are not there, and give the insurer that name. Third, when it happens, act first and document as you go. Photographs before and after, with timestamps, are worth more later than any account.

Worth remembering

The warning is official and therefore provable. That cuts both ways.

Which warning actually counts?

Each wording sets that for itself. Usual is an official warning from a stated level for the specific berth or storage place. A general forecast is normally not enough.

I am not there. What now?

Name a person in advance who can move or secure the boat, and lodge that name. In an emergency that is faster than any journey.

Frost damage Winterising Hurricane season Flood, storm surge and hail Lightning and power surge