>It’s Sunday morning and we, like just about everyone on the East Coast continue to think about Irene. We are anchored in Pulpit Harbor on North Haven, not far from Rockland to ride out the storm which is expected to reach us later today. We chose Pulpit because there is good holding for the anchor, make that two anchors, and is protected from all directions so we can avoid any waves that make staying securely anchored more difficult. Wind is bad enough but wind and waves are where it can get really interesting.
The harbor isn’t that big and it has a good variety of boats that have chosen to be here as well. Late yesterday a large motor yacht arrived, took a tour around the harbor and left realizing that there wasn’t enough room for them. I wouldn’t say that the harbor is at capacity but it’s plenty full and as boats arrived there was some jockeying for position to be sure that everyone had proper swinging room for wind shifts.
All day yesterday owners were preparing their boats, as we were with Pandora, by removing gear that might come loose in the winds expected to peak at over 55kts. We removed both head sails to reduce windage and the risk that they might come loose and tear themselves apart in the wind. That was a fun task as folding up a 600 square foot genoa on the forward deck was quite a handful for me and Brenda as the foredeck is only a fraction of the length needed to do a proper job. We also set out a second anchor, an anchor that I purchased for just this purpose when we got Pandora. Happily, this is the first time that I have had to use it.
Our main anchor is a 65lb Bruce with 200′ of stainless chain which is plenty big and heavy, and that combined with the Fortress storm anchor made of high strength aluminum and designed for use on boats up to 65′ verses our 43′, should hold well. The Bruce is set to the south and the Fortress to the east, where the strongest winds are expected. The initial winds are expected to be from the east with the direction shifting to the south as Irene passes to inland. It’s Sunday morning and the wind is beginning to build and is probably blowing a modest 18 kts.
One of the problems with this storm is that she is very slow moving so that means that the winds will be with us for a lot longer than would normally be the case from a storm of this type. Irene is also a very large hurricane with big winds covering a 100 mile range.
We hope that we are well prepared and hope to have no problems. We will certainly know more on that score by this time on Monday. Actually, we are a lot more concerned about our home in New Jersey as that’s where the really big winds and rain are now. We have always had a problem with water in the basement and if our two sump pumps fail due to a loss of power, that’s going to leave a big mess. Brenda should be home by Wednesday or Thursday to survey the damage. Let’s hope for the best.
On Friday morning, when we were still in Perry Creek, I was up quite early and took this shot of the sunrise in the fog. It was very ethereal.
