Story by TMC Editor / September 13, 2018
By: Karen Massey
This article was published with permissions by Dean and Karen. Their original blog post can be found here.
As sailors, we have learned to adjust our schedule according to hurricane season. The season officially runs from June 1 through November 30 with the highest probability of tropical storms in the Atlantic basin generally found between August and October. It’s a fact of life for blue water sailors and we’ve learned that surviving the season, wherever you are, is a matter of planning, preparation and a bit of luck.
Our boat insurance sets the parameters of where we keep the boat during hurricane season. For a price, you can find someone to insure your boat wherever you are. But for the best rates, most insurance companies require that you have a hurricane preparation plan and that your boat be above 30° N latitude (about the Georgia/Florida border) during the official hurricane season.
Here are the steps that we follow to prepare our boat (and ourselves) for a potential hurricane:
Currently Snowcat is “on the hard” (out of the water on blocks) in a shipyard located in the far northeast corner of Chesapeake Bay, a reasonably safe location. Our plan is to get her launched in late September and cruise the northern Chesapeake Bay through most of October before starting a slow “follow the changing colors” trip south down the coast.
This article was published with permissions by Dean and Karen. Their original blog post can be found here.
Your team delivered on every mark. You’ve got an amazing broker in Mark Wattrus and I’m confident you will have continued success moving forward together. He was available 24/7 whenever I had questions. We had a great initial visit on the boat and his marketing plan and photos were superb
I bought a yacht that I had never seen. I did this because I trusted my broker Andrew Holland. It was not an easy job for Andrew, as I am an experienced boat builder and owner of previous yachts, but work in West Africa. Imagine how hard it was to communicate what I was looking for. Andrew came up with exactly what I wanted. He dealt with time delays, all my questions at odd hours, and was there for the survey. He reported honestly and professionally. After buying the yacht, I arrived at the boat on a Sunday night, after dark, after travelling from West Africa to the Caribbean, and found it was better than expected. He never pulled punches and made me aware of shortfalls. I expected to spend my one month leave working on the boat, but actually spent less than one week, and was able to spend 3 weeks sailing – wonderful bonus.
Thank you Andrew for putting up with all my questions, all my worries and all my crazy out of the time zone concerns – you were totally professional, but also I know that if and when we meet up, it will be like a friend finally meeting. You are always welcome on Aseka.
Outstanding company with professional subject matter experts. If I were to buy or sell cruising sailboat, particularly a catamaran, Andrew would be my go to broker.
I have been sailing since I was a child and attended Massachusetts Maritime Academy. But when my wife and I began the process of purchasing an ocean cruising/racing catamaran, I realized that this is a world unto itself. Obviously, we needed to find someone knowledgeable to help us make an informed decision. More importantly, we needed someone honest and willing to put our interests before his or her own. I was lucky to work with Phil Berman at The Multihull Company. He repeatedly shunned the fast buck, choosing instead to work the long road to connect us with the “perfect boat”. I would be glad to recommend Phil and his company to anyone planning to purchase or sell a performance sailing machine.
Andrew Hodgdon was our broker when we bought our 2018 Lagoon 450F in Antigua in April 2922. He provided great service and was very attentive to our needs. We would highly recommend Andrew and the Multihull Company.
Successful relationships cannot exist without it. At The Multihull Company we base every relationship on a firm commitment to earning and retaining our client’s trust.
Advice of any kind is valuable only when grounded in hard-won expertise. It too, must be trustworthy. Trust and expertise define the heart and soul of The Multihull Company. We are a team of skilled professionals who thrive on providing expert, trustworthy advice and service to catamaran and trimaran sailors around the globe.
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