Amazingly, around the same time that we left last week, far from the Chesapeake was an infant tropical disturbance that would mature into "Major Hurricane Mathew." Yes- on our first week out, after 6 days of constant rain and wind, we now have a Cat 4 hurricane heading our way (maybe)! The path predictions are all over the place but what's clear is that it's headed north and it's gonna be big. Apparently this will be the biggest hurricane since Felix in 2007. So, even if the "eye" doesn't make landfall it's still going to get nasty. Or maybe not. That's the problem- nobody knows.
Here is the gist of the intense and omnipresent deliberations that have dominated our discussions for the past few days: Initially we thought we'd just continue further south and hole up in a protected creek somewhere to ride this out. This plan is reasonable for a tropical storm or maybe even a typical hurricane- but this storm could be horrendous and that plan could prove dicey. Some folks get their boat hauled out at a boatyard to weather a storm like this. But, as we leaned from Hurricane Sandy this isn't fail-proof either. Tying up at a marina can be tricky too; in addition to the boat getting slammed against the dock (which is why you have to have good fenders and lots of extra lines securing the boat) the surge can lift the water level so high that boats can simply float off the too-short pilings.
After lots of discussion with some very smart and experienced folks, it seems that the most prudent plan is for us to ride this out back in Annapolis in our protected creek on our recently maintained (ie reliable) mooring. Since we're still at out first stop it's only a day-sail away. So, tomorrow we'll sail to Annapolis (actually good weather to do the sail), spend the week getting the boat ready for the storm (removing the sails, canvas, storm-securing the solar panels, etc), and ride out whatever comes our way and then start anew post hurricane.
Total bummer. But, then again we've already learned a lot this week, and with having a few more days back in Annapolis to get the boat better prepared for hurricanes all in all it's probably a net positive (this is me convincing myself). We so appreciate the helpful discussions that we've had with a few of you about this over this past day.
So, we'll rack this up to having done a "shake-down" cruise and relish the opportunity to fix and revise a few things and start fresh with a bit more experience, perspective and preparedness for heavy weather stuff. To quote a friend, this is simply the 'cost of doing business.' Plus, Lynn was really bummed we hadn't made it to Washington, DC with the girls, so I see an Obama meeting in our immediate future.
Rough start for sure. But, we did have some really nice times this week including a fun scavenger hunt for Avery ashore (see pic), playing charades, movie night on Baila and meeting some good folks on boats around us.
Also- it turns out that when you don't have a car and need to get to the boat or grocery store, this involves a tremendous amount of walking along rural roads. We are grateful to Jeff, the kind fellow-cruiser who himself lived aboard with his kids, for taking pity on us and picking us up.
So, to those of you who doubt us: in our first week we are a) unemployed, b) hitchhiking and c) on a boat in a hurricane. See? We're totally fine. Relax.
Hope everyone does ok with this hurricane- good luck.
-Falks
Here is the gist of the intense and omnipresent deliberations that have dominated our discussions for the past few days: Initially we thought we'd just continue further south and hole up in a protected creek somewhere to ride this out. This plan is reasonable for a tropical storm or maybe even a typical hurricane- but this storm could be horrendous and that plan could prove dicey. Some folks get their boat hauled out at a boatyard to weather a storm like this. But, as we leaned from Hurricane Sandy this isn't fail-proof either. Tying up at a marina can be tricky too; in addition to the boat getting slammed against the dock (which is why you have to have good fenders and lots of extra lines securing the boat) the surge can lift the water level so high that boats can simply float off the too-short pilings.
After lots of discussion with some very smart and experienced folks, it seems that the most prudent plan is for us to ride this out back in Annapolis in our protected creek on our recently maintained (ie reliable) mooring. Since we're still at out first stop it's only a day-sail away. So, tomorrow we'll sail to Annapolis (actually good weather to do the sail), spend the week getting the boat ready for the storm (removing the sails, canvas, storm-securing the solar panels, etc), and ride out whatever comes our way and then start anew post hurricane.
Total bummer. But, then again we've already learned a lot this week, and with having a few more days back in Annapolis to get the boat better prepared for hurricanes all in all it's probably a net positive (this is me convincing myself). We so appreciate the helpful discussions that we've had with a few of you about this over this past day.
So, we'll rack this up to having done a "shake-down" cruise and relish the opportunity to fix and revise a few things and start fresh with a bit more experience, perspective and preparedness for heavy weather stuff. To quote a friend, this is simply the 'cost of doing business.' Plus, Lynn was really bummed we hadn't made it to Washington, DC with the girls, so I see an Obama meeting in our immediate future.
Rough start for sure. But, we did have some really nice times this week including a fun scavenger hunt for Avery ashore (see pic), playing charades, movie night on Baila and meeting some good folks on boats around us.
Also- it turns out that when you don't have a car and need to get to the boat or grocery store, this involves a tremendous amount of walking along rural roads. We are grateful to Jeff, the kind fellow-cruiser who himself lived aboard with his kids, for taking pity on us and picking us up.
So, to those of you who doubt us: in our first week we are a) unemployed, b) hitchhiking and c) on a boat in a hurricane. See? We're totally fine. Relax.
Hope everyone does ok with this hurricane- good luck.
-Falks
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