September 13, 2018

We have been glued to the weather channel watching the path of Hurricane Florence. We live in Sunset Beach on the inside of the Inland Waterway so obviously we are concerned. It now looks like it will be a direct hit on Sunset Beach. We are close to the inland waterway, but the property is 37 ft above sea level. So, hopefully we will avoid flooding from the storm surge. The winds and flooding in our area are main concerns. I could also get water in the garage, but it is unlikely to get into the house. I hope that the house structure can handle the expected strong winds.
We were planning to return home next week, but we will now stay on the boat in Alexandria Bay, NY and wait to see what happens. Even after the storm passes, we may not be able to get home because of  flooding in the southern NC counties.
In contrast, here it what the water looks like on the St Lawrence River in Alexandria Bay, NY:

 

We have the opposite problem on the River because the water is getting lower. Many of the boats who were in the slips on my dock closer to shore moved over to the transient docks where the water is deeper. They were hitting bottom in places by our dock. We are on the tee at the end of the dock and have plenty of water, but it is getting more difficulty to get off the boat and on to the dock. At the beginning of the season, the boat was even with the dock. As you can see, it is a long step up to the dock. 

 

All of these boats except the boats on each end were formally on our dock, but moved because of low water. The boats range in length from 36 to 51 ft.

 

Loopers Allie and Jim Cantonis' Mainship430 "Meraki" heads for heated storage at Horizon Marine for the winter. Jim and Allie plan to continue their Great Loop Cruise next season.