Hurricane Earl gave all of us a scare during the week. On August 29, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was forecasting Earl to track east of Cape Hatteras and stay 150 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Therefore, we prepared our sailboat for a tropical storm warning assuming that Earl was going to track east of Hatteras. Then on Wedneday evening it strengthened to a category 4 hurricane and was predicted to make land fall over Cape Hatteras. I was preparing to leave Raleigh and head down to Oriental to prepare for the worst, but Howard (Island Dream) called me and stated he was down there already. He stated my vessel looked fine and he was willing to take down my dodger for me. I said thanks. It was nice to know that your fellow sailors look after one another.
I slowly watched Earl move northward on the 75th parallel Thursday night waiting for the critical turn to the east.
It finally did and Hurricane Earl weakened to a 105-mph Cat. 2 storm and passed about 80 miles off Cape Hatteras. Our original plan was to head down to Oriental as a family when the boys came home from school. Now with the worst behind us, we were back on track for a long weekend on the sound.
On Saturday, September 4, it was a beautiful day to sail to Minnesott Beach. Our friends on the Island Dream were heading for Beaufort (NC) Town dock. They are members of Neuse Sailing Association (NSA). The NSA scheduled a weekend outting at Cape Lookout, but because of Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona, Small Craft Warnings were posted for Cape Lookout. The NSA decided to change plans and stay the night at the Beaufort Town Docks.
The forecast for Neuse River and Pamlico Sound was Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots, waves 1 to 2 feet, wind coming out of Southwest in the afternoon down to 5 to 10 knots. It sounded like a beautiful day to sail to Minnesott Beach. We got underway at 09:30 EST with a crew of four (Michele-helms man, Raymond-crew and lookout, Zigman-boatswainmate, and Ziva-fly swatter). The Tabanidae (horse flies or green eyes) were tremendous. As we left Whittake Channel and headed southeast ward everything was fine. We came about to bring the sails. I had Raymond rise the main this time around and I handled the jib. Once the jib was up and secure, we proceeded with a starboard tack toward Minnesott Beach. Who would have expected the baby horse flies to be so dreadful. The crew was seeing who could rack up the most kills.
We enjoyed smooth sailing for the rest of the day.
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