This one I won't forget

Fri, Jul 4

A Hurricane!!

We've been hearing all week that a hurricane may develop off the coast of Florida and move up the East coast.  We really haven't thought much about it.  After all, if the hurricane develops off the East Coast of Florida, how bad can it get just tracking up the coast.

Well, it can get pretty bad, especially if you're dead center of landfall.  And we were.

Thursday, Joe and I went out to Eureka to tidy the boat up a little and make sure that it was ready for a little wind that may come our way.  We were forecast to be on the West side of the hurricane if it even hit land, and that wouldn't be too bad - maybe to 50 - 60 knot winds.

Even as late in Thursday evening as 6 pm the forecast was still for the hurricane to maybe strike around Cape Lookout - about 10-15 miles East.

Boy, did they get that wrong (what did we expect of NOAA, they never get it right).

Jean and her daughter, Emily are going to spend the night here because Jean is concerned that a big pecan tree in her yard may blow over on her house.

Around 9 pm I decide to go on out to the boat for the night - just in case something happens.  The forecast is still for the hurricane to strike land around the Cape.

I went on out with a book and settled in.   There are quite a few boat owners at the marina, either on their boats or at the club house.

Around 10:30 the winds start picking up and our wind speed indicator is showing occasional gusts to 40+ knots - about what I expect.

All of a sudden I start hearing a loud popping noise and look out the hatch with the flashlight and can see a head sail (the big one on the front of the sailboat) on a boat just a few slips away starting to unfurl and flapping in the wind and making loud popping noises as it starts to rip itself apart.  Thank goodness that's not us.

Then I start checking the radar on my cell phone it actually is looking like the eye of the hurricane is tracking straight toward Beaufort, and sure enough, it really does.

The eye of the hurricane comes ashore right at Beaufort

All of a sudden around 11:15 pm, the wind and rain stops and we're calm.  Then about 10-15 minutes later - Wham!!  The winds track around from the East and slam us from the North.  With a vengeance!

Now the wind is on the nose of the Eureka as she sits in her slip.  The boat is rolling 20 degrees either side and bouncing like crazy.  I again check the current weather and find that winds are recording over 60 knots at the Beaufort airport.

The hurricane seemed to all of a sudden move East when it came ashore.  Instead of the wind shifting from East to West, as I expected, all of a sudden we're on the Western wall of the hurricane and get pounded by Northerly winds.

Suddenly I start hearing a new noise over the howling and screeching.  I peer out the hatch and shine the light on our mast and the main sail is beginning to unwrap.  (We have a roller furling mainsail).  Now I'm beginning to get in the same shape as the poor guy across the way.

I start considering my options (which are few because the wind is really howling now).  I have to get a line around the mast and sail to keep it from rolling out further.

I strip down to my bathing suit and make my way on deck holding on tight to anything I can find (remember, the wind is howling now.  I later learn that we're probably getting close to 90 mph now).  About this time, one of the other boat owners is walking along the dock and he climbs aboard the careening boat and for the next 20 minutes he helps me get some lines around the sail and mast.

After he crawls off the boat, I start checking my lines for chaffing (because the boat is swinging wildly and pulling and jerking on the lines).  The port forward line is showing some serious chaffing, so I go back to the locker and get a heavy duty line and, after many tries, lasso the piling and tie off the other end of the line around the windless on the bow of the boat.

 By now, the wind is beginning to drop off a little (to 60 knots) and I am laying exhausted below deck.

I think I'll take a nap, but that's not possible so eventually I decide to abandon the boat and head back home, arriving around 2 am.  The roads are a mess with broken limbs and branches, but it appears that there are no trees down.

This morning, I find our yard is heavily trashed with limbs and branches, but no major damage.

The yard is pretty well trashed and we lost some of the ceiling in the carport

We had lost power around 11 pm.  This morning Jean brought her generator over so we could keep the freezer and refrigerator cold.  However, the generators main purpose was so we could make coffee - and provide power for Emily's curling iron.

As I drive down Front St. I see at least 8 boats on Taylors Creek have either dragged anchor or broke their mooring lines and are laying ashore on Carrot Island.  They must have all dragged when the winds shifted to the North, which was definitely the worst part of the storm.

It was a memorable night!