For latest’s hurricane news and forecasts, see the information at:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
We had an interesting night. Strong winds, rain. Winds now 25 knots, gusting to 40; sometimes a little higher, often a little lower. Wind from NE now slowly backing to North; that means the hurricane center is starting to pass to the east of us, off the Carolina coasts. Won't be a direct hit here; probably not even on the Delmarva Peninsula now – sorry about that, New Jersey.
The real problem is that, although the winds are not supposed to get much worse, this will probably continue for several days. But everyone is warm, dry, and well fed.
Boat has been rolling all night. I find it much more comfortable to be lying down; we both slept very well. Kind of rough sitting up. Even if shore power goes away, we have batteries, and enough diesel to recharge for many days. So we have lights, refrigeration, cold beer, food, friends. The forced-air diesel heating system is working very well – and was well worth the 6 boat units we paid for it.
Dock lines are holding. The marina crew has been walking the docks, inspecting everyone's lines. No significant surge. Rough here, considering we have almost no fetch – we can't imagine what it is like out in Pamlico Sound (or even off Cape Hatteras). This is the best possible hurricane hole to be in, in North Carolina – can't imagine what it would be like elsewhere.
We are spider-webbed between several pelican posts; we have about 8 dock lines out (read: ALL), in all directions. For those of you who laughed that we carry 8 fenders and 2 fender-boards: Ha! And we're not even touching the dock or posts. There is no way the boat can go anywhere; even without the lines, the boat is trapped between pelican posts and finger piers. And these docks survived Irene last year, with 109 mph winds here. No problem.
Events today at "Camp Dowry Creek": 9:00 Yoga (optional). 10:30 Laptops, iPads, etc. for boats – discussion. Followed by individual work and programming. 2:00 Birding Aboard (with Diana Doyle). 5:30 Sundowners and cocktail party. People are in (and full of) good spirits. Some people here have been through worse; those with experience are less worried than us newbie’s.
We (and everyone else) are wearing full foulies when making the trip to/from the boat and the clubhouse ashore. Winds aren't supposed to get a lot worse; and we are very careful making the trip on the dock. We can easily get ashore any time we want to; may spend much of the next day in the clubhouse. If necessary, we can shlep blankets and pillows there and sleep on the floor (but I don't think it will be necessary.) Note that we are NOT away from the docks and on-shore shelter (and have no intention of leaving here until it's all over.)
Latest forecast calls for landfall probably near Atlantic City. Sounds like Jersey, New York and especially Long Island are not the places to be. Good luck to all up there.
As usual, Internet and phone is if-fy here. If the shore loses power, we might lose communications. Don't worry – we will be fine even if you can't hear from us.
Ilona is taking pictures so others can see what's going on.
- Bob & Ilona, @ Dowry Creek Marina, just east of Belhaven NC.
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