Yacht crew and residents in Ft. Lauderdale and points south and east stayed close to televisions in August as Tropical Storm Chris spun a familiar pattern in the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, South Florida shipyards remained bustling with yachts.

What’s up with that?

So we asked The Triton’s monthly gathering of yacht captains why they were in Ft. Lauderdale at the height of hurricane season. As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in a photograph on page A20.

"I’m waiting to get out," said one captain who is nearing the end of several months in a Ft. Lauderdale boatyard.

Several captains were wrapping up business or yard work that had extended from summer and were headed out of town. Indeed, many Ft. Lauderdale shipyards began emptying out in mid-August.

Still, once was the time when insurance companies discouraged yachts from venturing below 36 degrees before Oct. 1 by applying higher premiums (nevermind that hurricane season isn’t over until Nov. 1).

Times have changed.

"Our deductible goes up if something happens but there’s no hike in premium," one captain said. "We’re on the hard now."

"Being on the hard cost me an extra $15,000 in Wilma," said another captain whose yacht often spends late summer and fall in Ft. Lauderdale for maintenance. Last October’s Hurricane Wilma crossed Florida from its west coast and passed just north of Ft. Lauderdale. Her 100-mph winds blew enough foliage and debris onto the yacht to cause thousands of dollars in damage.

"Our boat is traditionally in Ft. Lauderdale in the summer because we travel from January to August with the owner," another captain said. "I think that [any rate adjustments for being in a hurricane area] is dealt with in the annual premium. We’re headed into the yard now for the long term and they’re asking for proof of insurance from the yard."

One captain who remained quiet through this initial discussion finally admitted that latitude isn’t an issue for his boat.

"We’ve had no change to premiums, no restrictions," he said. "They asked us for a verbal plan, but they didn’t seem to care much to see it. We can go anywhere, any time of the year. One time, years ago, they did a walk-through on the boat."

He explained that the owner of the yacht did a lot of business with this insurance company, a large, well-known company, so perhaps the risk was absorbed through the owner’s home, vehicle, personal and professional insurance lines.

Still, don’t insurance companies have guidelines as to where and when a yacht can travel without penalty?

"It cost me $1,500 to move north and then come back to Ft. Lauderdale" when a storm approached and then veered off, one captain said.

"There’s no rationale," another captain said. "Every insurance company will give you a different answer for a different reason."

The conversation then spun off into a critique of insurance company logic.

"We tow a 37-foot Intrepid," this captain said. "So I asked them, ‘What happens when we lose it?’ She said, ‘What do you mean when?’ I told her that we will lose it. When you tow something, chances are good you will lose it. Come to find out you can only tow a third of the length of the vessel. Mine’s 2 feet too long so I have a 50 percent deductible, and I can’t tow at night."

"I was preparing for a delivery with crew approved by me, the yacht management company signed off on them, and the registry was OK with their licensing and manning," another captain said. "Then the insurance company said they didn’t approve two crew members. I don’t see how they can tell all these people – me, the management company and the flag – who can run the yacht."

"The insurance company is forced into it because the owner does so much other business with them," one captain said. "Most of the time, they don’t know anything about yachts."

So that might be a good thing in terms of easing requirements during hurricane season. As professional mariners, yacht captains are fairly well versed in securing their vessels for a storm. Many would agree that it’s often the owner-operator vessel that is poorly secured, breaks away, and causes damage in storms.

"We have a term for them," one captain said. "They’re called uh-oh boats."

And if a storm hits, are you on board?

"Shit no," one captain said, to laughs.

"If given my druthers, I disconnect and get out of Dodge," another said. "It’s better to get out and do doughnuts for three or four days than stay here and clean up the mess."

There was some discussion on the ability of vessels to run from a storm. Taking into account range and speed, these captains agreed that if a vessel could run, it should. But even for those yachts that can, running isn’t always the best option.

"A boat that only goes 10-11 knots is at a real disadvantage," one captain said. "If you’ve guessed wrong, you’re committed by then."

"I stayed on board [during Wilma], using thrusters to stay off the dock. We pulled part of the dock off."

"Years ago, they would make you leave the marina or dock," another said. "In Provo, they told us leave or we’re going to cut your lines. That was 15 years ago. They don’t do that now."

"I’m not on the boat," another said. "That’s what you have insurance for."

"I have a relationship with a yard," said another. "I prefer to be in a slip. I know they will take care of me."

"I’m in a shed," said a third. "If it happens, it happens."

"People are being more prepared now," a captain said. "I think last year was a real wake-up call. And don’t believe that garbage that it’s coming onshore as a Category 1.

"There’s no such thing as a hurricane pattern," another said. "You can’t predict them."

So what lessons did Wilma teach you?

"For Wilma, I was on the New River, just south of the Davie Boulevard bridge on a dock that jutted out from the wall," one captain said. "I put out 15 lines and every fender I had. The only thing I didn’t do that I wish I had was tape the drains. It took me a week to clean out all the tree limbs, leaves, twigs, bugs, you name it."

"And I think the No. 1 problem is not allowing for enough rub," he said. "You have to have chafing gear otherwise the lines are going to break in a big storm. That’s the No. 1 reason boats break loose. Not enough chafing."

"A bigger problem is all the lost time," another captain said. "The storm may last a day or two, but the yards are out of service for a week or two. I’m due to be in the yard in September and October. We will lose 2-3 weeks for storms, even if they don’t hit here, because of all the preparation and break down. I’ve written in an extra 2-3 weeks."

"I’ve got a slow boat so we hunker down, but I’ve learned two things," said a captain who had some crew onboard during Wilma. "One is the necessity of precaution, because once it hits, there’s nothing you can do. Second is that if it’s big enough, get everybody out. I don’t think any of my guys felt in danger during Wilma, but it wouldn’t have taken much more to make that a serious event."

"There’s a line between dereliction of duty and common sense," another said. "You have to have procedures and say to the owner, when it gets in this range, we’re going."

"You have to be able to say to the owner two days out, "We’re leaving. The answer I want from you is, are we taking the boat with us?"

They all agreed that captains should have a serious conversation with the boss long before a hurricane is approaching.

"We’re talking about people’s lives," one captain said. "Sometimes they have tunnel vision and they’re worried about their toys."

"If the owner thinks the captain should go down with the ship, someone lied to them."