Since March 2008, we've been pretty much full time "dirt dwellers" with the exception of a few, all-too-brief visits to maintain Windreka. The boatowners rule is...if you're not fixing at least two things a day, you're falling behind! By that standard, we are way behind. The only nautical activity we've been involved in this past year was to prepare for Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna which appeared to be aiming directly at Beaufort, SC. Since the marina implemented a new policy that required all boats to be moved 
prior to the arrival of a hurricane, Joe spent much of the week before the storm made landfall preparing Windreka and planning to move her. Friends, Frank and Adam had already scouted out some excellent "hurricane holes" nearby and Joe moved Windreka along with Wander (Frank's boat) and Journey (Adam's boat) to Edding Creek located on the right side of the overhead photo on the right. The Creek is a 30 minute ride (at 6 knots) from the marina located on the left side of the photo. We anchored the boats within 15 feet of the west side of the island in about 25' of water and we each put out three anchors...one to the north, west and south with between 100' and 250' of either chain or chain and nylon rode. At this anchorage, we were convinced we could ride any storm surge or tidal current that Hanna could throw at us.
Frank's boat (on the left) is a sturdy 43' Endeavour and Adam's boat (on the right) is a trim 34' Pacific Seacraft. Windreka is on the left below. We were lined up from north to south along the sandy banks of the island and could have deployed more lines to shore if we thought they were needed.
prior to the arrival of a hurricane, Joe spent much of the week before the storm made landfall preparing Windreka and planning to move her. Friends, Frank and Adam had already scouted out some excellent "hurricane holes" nearby and Joe moved Windreka along with Wander (Frank's boat) and Journey (Adam's boat) to Edding Creek located on the right side of the overhead photo on the right. The Creek is a 30 minute ride (at 6 knots) from the marina located on the left side of the photo. We anchored the boats within 15 feet of the west side of the island in about 25' of water and we each put out three anchors...one to the north, west and south with between 100' and 250' of either chain or chain and nylon rode. At this anchorage, we were convinced we could ride any storm surge or tidal current that Hanna could throw at us.
Frank's boat (on the left) is a sturdy 43' Endeavour and Adam's boat (on the right) is a trim 34' Pacific Seacraft. Windreka is on the left below. We were lined up from north to south along the sandy banks of the island and could have deployed more lines to shore if we thought they were needed.
After all our preparatory work, the storm decided to pass us by. Since it was clear Hanna would remain offshore, we decided to remain on board. We did have a rainy, windy morning as the 
storm moved past us on its way toward the North Carolina-South Carolin state line where it came ashore. After the rain ended, we spent a pleasant weekend at anchor reviewing our preparations and learning from our mistakes. Of course, without refrigeration, our beer supply was getting warm; so we were forced to make it a priority to attend to that problem. With the storm offshore, the sunsets were spectacular and the shrimp fishermen didn't even pause in their work. From our secure anchorage, we watched several boats come and go followed by hundreds of birds...and the shrimp catch was obviously bountiful!
