Boat owners, fishermen prepare for possible Dorian mayhem on the water

Nova Scotians who work and play on the water are scrambling to protect their boats as Hurricane Dorian moves up the U.S. coast toward Nova Scotia.

The storm is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains as the Category 1 hurricane sweeps the province on Saturday.

A storm surge is also possible along the Atlantic coast from late Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning, according to CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin.

Lorne Harnish spent part of Friday morning pulling his mackerel trap out of St. Margaret's Bay on the province's South Shore.

"It could get torn to pieces if the storm is bad enough," he said. "If it's ashore, we don't have to worry about it."

After securing his trap, Harnish planned to pilot his boat to safety at the wharf in Hubbards, which is more sheltered from the wind.

Other fishermen and sailors from Yarmouth to Canso are taking similar precautions.

Sailor Mark Derrah learned his lesson back in 2003, when Hurricane Juan wreaked havoc on Nova Scotia, including his marina in Dartmouth.

"Just seeing the devastation afterwards, it's just not worth the risk," he said. "You know, sailboats 5,000, 6,000 pounds tossed up onto shore just like corks. Not pretty seeing your sailboat in somebody's backyard on their deck."

Derrah doesn't want to see a repeat. He's taking his eight-metre sailboat, Swell Times, out of the water in Hubbards.

The Royal Canadian Navy and visiting military ships are also taking precautions.

The navy said on social media that all ships taking part in exercise Cutlass Fury departed Halifax on Friday afternoon to reduce the risk of damage.

HMCS Scotian was expected to remain open with displays, but ship tours and events in HMC Dockyard and Stadacona on Friday and Saturday are cancelled.

Some boat owners around Cape Breton are battening down the hatches and getting ready to wait out this weekend's weather, but boats have been disappearing from Baddeck Harbour.

Stuart Germani, owner of Baddeck Marine, has been busy taking boats out for nervous owners.

"We've hauled out probably about 20 in the last three days, just in preparation," he said. "[There are] a few more to go yet, probably another half-dozen or so will be coming out.

"We've hauled them out and take them into our storage facility, which is a couple of kilometres inland, and a lot of the boats that do stay in the water will be going into sheltered coves around the area."

While most boats were leaving the water, a few visitors were looking for a spot to dock away from open water.

The Ada Hardy, from Sydney, Australia, has tied up for the weekend, and at least one more larger vessel was headed for the wharf.

"They're all calling ahead trying to book their spots," said Bethany MacLean, supervisor at The Freight Shed restaurant on Baddeck's community wharf.

"I believe we have a 60-foot boat coming in ... in a couple of hours."

The restaurant also serves as the harbourmaster's office.

MacLean said the dock gets busier during a storm, because tourists in town have nowhere else to go and boats on the Bras d'Or Lake need a safe place to tie up.

"Sometimes we don't have enough space for them all," she said.

At the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax, where about 200 boats are docked or moored, the general manager said he's feeling confident with storm preparations.

Scott King said after Hurricane Juan, the squadron revised its storm readiness protocol and made both operational and physical changes to improve security.

"We're just planning around the worst-case scenario, and if we're pleasantly surprised, then that's a good thing," he said.

While some boat owners have chosen to remove their vessels from the water, others are taking less drastic precautions.

"It's about reinforcing the lines, battening down hatches — literally — removing anything that can blow around," King said. "[It's] very similar to what a lot of people out there are currently doing with their homes, but in this case with boats."

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