Wasps swarm Capt. Greg during hurricane haul-out

As Hurricane Debby makes landfall, it is a good idea to review your water vessel insurance policy.  The policy on my Yellowfin 32 requires me to move it from the dock to a safe place on land when a tropical cyclone watch, or warning is posted. 

 

For the past five years, I have kept a hurricane haul-out contract with a local marina. When a watch or warning is posted, I take the boat (by water) to the marina. They lift and store the Yellowfin on dry land (for a fee). This is a great service. However, it can be expensive given the number of tropical storms and hurricanes that threaten the Lowcountry. So, this year I decided to forego the hurricane haul-out contract. So begins my tale of woe.

 

On Sunday morning, a tropical storm warning was posted for our area. Elliott and I checked the tide charts and decided to move the Yellowfin from the dock to the boat trailer. We wanted to wait for the incoming tide which makes this process much easier. Shortly after lunch, Elliott picked me up and we went to the storage lot to prepare the trailer, which looked pretty good considering it hasn’t been used in several years. No major issues to deal with.  

 

Elliott backed the truck to the trailer, and we began to hook it up. This is when we discovered (the hard way) that wasps had built a giant nest inside the trailer. If you happened to see two guys putting on a gold medal breakdancing performance in the CubeSmart storage lot, that was us. After winning an Olympic gold medal, we jumped into the cab of the truck. A few wasps followed us into the cab. This made for more wild gyrations and a lot of cussing.

 

After a quick trip to Publix for wasp spray and sting ointment, Elliott and I were able to successfully put the boat on the trailer. On the ride to the storage lot, I commented that not having a hurricane haul-out contract was a painful experience. This got us laughing and the ordeal did not seem that bad.