I think this is the 4th named storm/hurricane that I’ve written about since we have had S/V Bosco. This is the dark side to life as a sailor and boat ownership in general.

And right now its all about Dorian, a name that seems unfitting for the massive amount of destruction already caused by this storm in the northern Bahamas, which throws a huge wrench in our plans to sail there next year…but more-so for the poor people who have to live in the rubble and ruin of it all.

The destructive force continues closer and closer to “home”. The eye is only 17 miles south of S/V Bosco as we speak!

Here is the Carolina close-up of the NOAA GOES East satellite image:

We are in the future on this side of the Atlantic, so we are watching as the situation unfolds. The eye of the hurricane is due to make its punch later this morning and has already brought 5 feet of surge and 50MPH steady winds. Its still south of us, but we know it will bring more, and all we can do is wait.

The worst part is that we literally just got our Bosco back from repairs from the last big storm, Flo, whose devastation is still being felt all over the Coastal Carolinas. How ironic that a place that is supposed to be virtually “hurricane-proof” has seen 2 massive beasts in less than a year. Nowhere is safe form the forces of Mother Nature, no matter where we try to hide.

When comparing Dorien to Flo, Dorien looks a much lesser threat on paper. Flo was Cat 4, and eventually grew to a 5, was only moving at 1MPH (which means it stuck around for a long time) and brought over 10 feet of surge. The surge is the really bad part of hurricanes, because that is what causes debris, flooding and all that horrible damage…not that strong winds don’t have their impact. Dorien, on the other hand, is labeled as Cat 1, moving at a swift 15MPH (hopefully it will continue to increase) and is currently predicted to bring us 6-7 feet of surge. Its still not a great number, but this is all heresay at the moment. Once the storm turns south and east, the surge will blow out, and the sooner that happens the better. But we aren’t out of the woods. Its anybody’s guess to the fate of coastal NC and S/V Bosco.

Nothing is 100% in the sailing world, and there’s nothing that we can do but wait, hope and pray that everything will be okay. The joys of boat ownership definitely do not extend to hurricane season.

UPDATE at 8:40AM EST:
It looks like the surge went up to 6ft and is now receding which is great news. There is free ice in town, someone seems to have lost their machine and the coffee shop managed to stay above water this time around. No news on the boat, but we are hopeful and it appears to be passing quickly.