H Plus 2
August 29, 2011

We were finally able to reach the marina. According to the owner, the place was a mess but the only real damages are broken dock water pipes. Why Knot survived and is fine. The owner's house took only minor damage unlike the Wrightsville Beach area and the Outter Banks. We expected to have some damage and I would bet that crooked Windex is gone. Then again, the marina is in a depressed land area with high berms around.
The real miracle story is that of Keelin Time, our friends from Corpus Christi. They were unable to make KT ready for the storm and at the last minute, the marina in Moorehead City required evacuation. They live in Pensacola and could not get to their boat to take her out of harm's way. Over the phone, they found and hired a captain to take her up some creek in the area and anchor her. They got word yesterday that KT stayed where put and some others in the same general location did not. The captain said that one boat was "in the woods". Irene came very close to them. KT had no apparent damage, again except for a generous coating of leaves. I was of the idea that KT was doomed given her location and that she was anchored in the soft mud of the Carolina coast.
Thus ends a very long week and weekend. We have gone through hurricane prep many times. We have been lucky thus far that only Katrina and Irene found our boats. Why Knot has taken two pretty good hits and still swims. Then again, what lies behind Irene in the Atlantic may have their chances at her. Before Irene, we were envious of our friends in the Chesapeake and north for being in what most mariners considered fairly safe zones. This has shown us once again, that short of sailing south of Latitude 16 there are no safe zones in the Gulf or North Atlantic Coast of the US. Peak Atlantic hurricane season starts about now. Wow!
Those beautiful Abaco Islands we visited last winter took direct hits. There is much damage to them yet according to the chat rooms, the people did fine. I wonder if the Marsh Harbor docks that were never repaired after Hurricane Floyd are still standing. Hopefully, the active marinas there and the beautiful anchorages are intact. Hopefully, Stella and Stan Starfish are ok. It was posted that Pete's Pub survived which is an absolute miracle given the fact that it is about three feet above sea level at most.
Bear is scheduled for lumbar fusion surgery on September 14 so this crew will be in the recovery mode for a bit. We look forward to getting back aboard in a couple of months. Landlubbing is killing me.

The picture is of Pete's Pub where one of only three traffic lights on the Island resides. It and one of the other two are not working. Behind the dune in the background is the Atlantic.