Texas Boats Get Plastered

There was plenty of warning that Hurricane Ike was going
to come ashore in the Houston-Galveston area. All of American had been hearing about
it coming for days. Yet, as the pictures on these pages will document, hundreds
of boat owners seemed not to have done much to meaningfully protect their boats
from the storm surge. In fact, some seem to have done nothing at all. In the pictures
on the following pages we see dozens of trailerable boats left in the water and
many large cruisers that were not hauled out at boat yards. Evidently low bridges
kept boats from gettting up rivers in some places. Are there no hurricane barriers
in the Galveston-Houston-Port Arthur area?


Ike Made Its Intentions Well Known

Hello -- Sept. 8th track of Hurricane Ike.

Every boat owner is supposed to have a "hurricane plan" to protect his boat. Some plan! This marina is in Galveston, TX. Why were boats here at all?

On Sept. 8th at 12:10 pm this news was flashed across the wires and through
the ether--



"Ike is proving to be a deadly hurricane,
killing at least 58 people in Haiti. The storm now is barreling through Cuba and
forcing the evacuation of skittish Floridians. Ike was a Category 4 hurricane when
it slammed Turks and Caicos over the weekend, [Where it reportedly seriously damaged
80% of the houses.--Ed.] but has weakened to a Category 2 storm. Still, it could
rev up to a Category 3 by the time
it reaches the Gulf of Mexico later this week," according to USA Today.



What were the people in Galveston, TX thinking?

The person who took this picture says that on Galveston Island he counted over 100 boats that had been lifted out of the water and were deposited on I-45 which connects the island with the mainland. Why weren't these boats evacuated before the storm hit?

Apparently the storm surge was a few feet over the surface of I-45.

Boats on the road on Galveston Island, TX.

If you've ever wondered why your boat insurance is so high...

This 1970s Pearson 26 with Honda long shaft will undoubtedly live to sail another day -- no thanks to her owner. Note the growth on the rudder and at the waterline. Looks like she needed some TLC before Ike came along.

Debris along the 17' seawall in Galveston, TX. The seawall was built after the 1900 hurricane that killed 6,000 Galveston residents.

The Galveston seawall 12 hours before Ike's landfall, according to the photographer.

Picture of homes in Freeport, TX taken 18 hours before Ike made landfall.

USCG Houston Sector boathouse.

Apparently some boats staying in the marina got lucky, note boats in the background.

But others were not so lucky.

El Lago, TX was hit by the surge and many trailerable boats were tossed ashore.

Pictures taken at El Lago, TX, where boat owners had their fingers crossed.

Boats washed up next to a building that burned during the storm.

Boats along the road were washed up by storm surge.

Clear Lake City, TX -- boats were pushed up against a low bridge.

Clear Lake, TX where boats stacked up along a road.

With four days of warning one would think that the boat owners in the Galveston-Houston
area could have done more than put some fenders out and double-tie their dock lines.
We would like to hear from our readers suggestions of how boat owners in this area
can better prepare their boats for the next hurricane.


For some good ideas, read
the Brandon, FL USCG AUX (Flotilla 74) Boat Evacuation Plan.


Boat/US has urged for years that boaters be more vigilant and have a hurricane plan
in place. Access the Boat/US
Hurricane Preparation Information and Hurricane Plan Worksheet here.

Let's hear your comments...