The Bermuda Weather Service issued a small craft advisory Friday morning in expectation of increasing winds as Hurricane Bertha approaches from the southeast.

Friday is expected to be pleasant, if breezy, through winds will pick up tonight. The agency particularly warned of high surf and rip currents on beaches facing east and southeast. Authorities have posted "High Surf" warning signs along the south shore, along with extra lifeguards and park rangers.

Hurricanes and Bermuda are well acquainted, but not always intimately so.

Since 1867, the island has been affected by hurricanes and tropical storms 53 times. That's once every 2.6 years that Bermuda has been hit or brushed, defined as a tropical cyclone coming within 60 miles.

The popular vacation and boating destination sustains a direct hit every 10½ years.

These stats come courtesy of www.hurricanecity.com, a nifty website that takes visitors back through time with data on major storms, their proximity, track and damage.

Hurricane Bertha remains a major Category 3 storm, still tracking toward Bermuda.

As of dawn Tuesday, the storm was about 1,000 miles southeast of the island, which is a popular stop for northern mariners headed for more tropical spots. More than 1,000 yachts come through Bermuda each year, according to Bermuda Yacht Services.

By Seth Borenstein 

WASHINGTON (AP) – Mariners take note: The jet stream is creeping northward and weakening, new research shows. That potentially means less rain in the already dry South and Southwest and more storms in the North.

This was the second year BoatU.S. sponsored its Hurricane Preparation Symposium for marina and yacht club owners.

It was filled with great, practical ideas for marinas and individual boat owners. But other major players have their roles in storm survival. Marinas are in communities; communities are bound by local, county, state and federal laws.

Two of the big stars at this week’s Hurricane Preparation Symposium in Orlando were not on the stage. But many panelists raved about them.

Anchors from Helix Mooring Systems, Inc., and elastic rodes from Hazelett Marine can combine to keep even large vessels more stable during a big storm. They also can secure floating docks, giving them enough spring to move with the surge.

Don’t leave stuff on your boats when a storm is on the way. Don’t leave equipment, like sails, masts and removable tops, aboard. The experts said it all week at the BoatU.S. Hurricane Preparation Symposium, whether the boat is in the water or out.

But I like the way Daniel Rutherford, who has assessed damage after about 20 big storms for the BoatU.S. Catastrophe Response Team, says it best.

Let’s skip the one about not wanting to belong to a club that would take you as a member because this isn’t a joke. Many marinas in areas vulnerable to tropical storms have started mandatory or voluntary “hurricane clubs.”

At Sebastian River Marina in Florida, owner Doug Hillman started out offering voluntary membership. Now membership is mandatory. An earlier post showed how he stores, clusters and anchors the boats on the hard. It works.

The simplest ideas can be the most revolutionary.

Chafing dock lines are a perennial maintenance issue; in a bad storm, the issue can graduate to line failure with the constant up-and-down of surge and wind that not only creates chafe but heat. Boaters use PVC, sections of fire hose and all sorts of ways to reduce the friction.

One reader asked for more information on Practical Sailor’s tests of old three-strand nylon and wondered if the engineers tested braided line. It appears the test was limited to three-strand but here’s some more information to help boaters make informed choices.