Blog 024 – Preparing for Hurricane Matthew

We are in New Bern, NC which is about 25 miles west of the Ocean in the Neuse River waiting for Hurricane Matthew to make its appearance in North Carolina. Many times each day we look at the updated tropical weather forecast, so we have been watching invest 97L that eventually has become super storm “Matthew”. Over the last few days we have seen everything in the forecast from a direct hit on the Outer Banks, NC at a strong category 2 hurricane to little more than a heavy tropical storm. Yesterday, every one at the marina was elated to see Matthew was predicted to make a turn to the southeast and out to sea. This morning, this has changed again to a path closer to the coast. North Carolina’s Governor was on TV going over disaster preparedness for everyone here. It now looks like strong tropical storm force winds with up to 18 inches of rain and storm surge between 5-11 feet. We are already at flood stage in New Bern from a lot of tropical weather over the last few days.

We have done many things to prepare for this situation. We removed all the sails, all cockpit windows, and all topside canvas. We deflated and stored our 11 foot Caribe dingy upside down on the foredeck. Our water tank is full with 200 gallons of fresh water, and we have 100 gal of diesel for the generator. All of our emergency radios are charged and we have months worth of food onboard. We doubled or tripled all lines to the dock and have all our fenders deployed between the boat and the dock. We are on a floating dock that can handle a 12 foot storm surge. The marina is planning on turning off electricity, water and cable before the storm hits – and we are ready for this to happen. Our plan is to stay on-board for the storm. This will change if anything more than 50-60 mile per hour winds are forecasted. Most live-aboard owners are staying on their boats for this storm. It is a short walk from our dock to the marina lounge which is in a solid brick building should things in the forecast change.

If you would like to watch the storm live or just check up on our conditions, the yacht club has live stream cameras on 24 hours a day. Their website is: www.newberngrandmarinayachtclub.com. Select Live Cam and check the cameras. We will post again as the storm approaches. We are praying for our friends we made this cruising season from Melbourne Beach, Titusville, Jacksonville, St Augustine, Brunswick, Beaufort, and all the way to here in North Carolina. It seems that Matthew is taking the same route we did this cruising season. We are keeping you in our prayers may God be with you all. Please keep us in your prayers also.