The Storm

It was a nice evening…we had arrived at Belhaven, NC, at 4:00 yesterday afternoon. After securing the boat and getting the AC on, (It was 96°with a heat index over 104°, humidity 99%) we both laid down for a nap. At 6:30pm we showered and went to dinner…unfortunately the place we were so looking forward to eat at was closed (Georgie was on vacation) so we returned to the River Forest Inn & Marina to eat. It was ok, but nothing to write home about!!

I need to say at this time, that there was a slight breeze from the south when we gave Schooner her last walk for the night at 9:30pm! Back on the boat, we watched some TV and neither of us lasted too long at staying awake. UNTIL…11:45pm when there was this odd noise!! We were smacking into the dock!!!

The wind started blowing…70 knots sustained and gusts to 90. Here we were, Gordon trying to hold the boat off the dock in Tee shirt and undies. A fender had already burst, and I was trying to hold down the side canvas in a nightshirt. Waves were smacking the starboard side and splashing into the cockpit!! It was all I could do to hang on. Those of you that know our boat know how high our cockpit is!!

We were using 2 fenders and a batten board before the storm hit, but Gordon found that the board had broken and one of the fenders burst!! Gordon was finally able to get 2 more fenders out and get them between the boat and the dock to stop the boat from being torn up by the dock. And all of this took place in the pouring down rain!! The storm and wind lasted for 45 minutes with both of us cold and soaked the entire time. No thanks to the guy in the car watching us with his brights on, I’m sure he got a good show from us!

This morning things were back to normal and, after surveying the damage,one burst fender, a broken 2”x6”x5’ board, crumpled rub rail, and some scratches plus a big CRACK in the side of the boat!!!


We are on our way, at 7:45am, to Coinjock, NC…about 80 miles.