Hurricane Holes in NC

Wayfarer · Oct 1, 2022

Greetings sports fans!

I've got Sylphide on the hard stand in the Beaufort NC area at the moment. Her bottom needed some love, and Jarrett Bay has taken care of that for me. She's actually been there for a few months now. Lately, as I'm sure many of us have, I've been thinking about the hurricane safety of my location.

North Carolina sticks out like a sore thumb, and it looks like the elevation of the boat yard is only about 7 feet. That's not quite enough to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. If Beaufort took a direct hit from something like Ian, I don't think it would be a great place to be.

Now that the work is done, I'm considering putting her back in the water, but I'd like to find somewhere safer to do so. Are there any places in NC you all might recommend for that? Is Oriental far enough inland, or maybe New Bern? Or do I need to boogie on up to Belhaven or Washington? Wherever I go, She's likely to be there unsupervised for a few months.

Or would I be better off just leaving her on the hard where she is for a while longer?

Thanks

Comodave · Oct 1, 2022

I honestly have no idea about that area of the country, but wanted to say that I am happy to see you posting again. Missed your humor…

DavidM · Oct 1, 2022

Hurricane Boatyard just east of Bayboro is as protected as you will find. Put your boat on the hard or leave it in the water at the yard, both are very protected places.

David

Eagle Pursuit · Oct 1, 2022

Dave, unfortunately, if you do a google search “Anytown, NC” (fill in your location) you will see that there are no REAL good hurricane hideouts around there for an absentee owner. In 2018, Florence was an uncomfortable reminder of this.

If you move the boat, make sure you ask the question about hurricane plans and required action by owners. The marina operators are your best resource for this info.

By the way, good to see you back on the forum!

RT Firefly · Oct 1, 2022

Greetings,
Mr. W. Lamb's Marina was our marina for 5 years. Lambs Marina Quite secure, brackish water (mostly fresh so antifoul lasts longer), fuel dock, convenience store, "considered" a hurricane hole. 40 miles from Norfolk airport.

Besslb · Oct 1, 2022

We keep our boat at North West Creek Marina, 7 miles from New Bern. We are considered a hurricane hole. They hadn’t lost a boat until Florence. Long story there and water was up 12 ft from normal. (Boatyards lost boats during that storm). Not fancy, but good….and a good community. Pecan Grove in Oriental is a hurricane hole but caters to sail boats. River Dunes in Oriental is also considered a hurricane hole.

Hurricane season is over in two months. Will you start cruising after the season, or leave it in the water for winter?

O C Diver · Oct 1, 2022

Dave,
There is a boatyard a few businesses south of Jarrett Bay on the same river. I hauled out there in 2016 to fix a bent prop blade. My recollection is they're on significantly higher (maybe 6') ground than Jarrett Bay or the boatyard in between them. If you look on Google satellite map view of the area, you can see the sloping ground difference.

The boatyard use to be called True World Marine. It may now be part of Master Marine / True World Marine.

Ted

ABfish · Oct 2, 2022

I had a haulout contract in the Trueworld/Crystal Coast yard adjacent to Jarrett Bay. It's no higher than the Jarrett Bay yard, but both are plenty high enough. Lots of boats rode out Florence in the Jarrett Bay industrial park with no issues.

I'd rather be on the hard in Jarrett Bay than anchored up in any of the hurricane holes in the area.

Wayfarer · Oct 3, 2022

Comodave said:
I honestly have no idea about that area of the country, but wanted to say that I am happy to see you posting again. Missed your humor…

Aw, thanks Dave. It's good to see my TF family again. I really should call home more often... :flowers:

DavidM said:
Hurricane Boatyard just east of Bayboro is as protected as you will find. Put your boat on the hard or leave it in the water at the yard, both are very protected places.

David

Yeah, that one's pretty snuggled in there! Good to know, thank you.

Eagle Pursuit said:
Dave, unfortunately, if you do a google search “Anytown, NC” (fill in your location) you will see that there are no REAL good hurricane hideouts around there for an absentee owner. In 2018, Florence was an uncomfortable reminder of this.

If you move the boat, make sure you ask the question about hurricane plans and required action by owners. The marina operators are your best resource for this info.

By the way, good to see you back on the forum!

It's always a pleasure to be here! Thank you. I'll definitely pick some brains. I haven't actually talked to Jarrett Bay about this yet, so I might be better off right where I am.

RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Mr. W. Lamb's Marina was our marina for 5 years. Lambs Marina Quite secure, brackish water (mostly fresh so antifoul lasts longer), fuel dock, convenience store, "considered" a hurricane hole. 40 miles from Norfolk airport.

Thanks RT!

Besslb said:
We keep our boat at North West Creek Marina, 7 miles from New Bern. We are considered a hurricane hole. They hadn’t lost a boat until Florence. Long story there and water was up 12 ft from normal. (Boatyards lost boats during that storm). Not fancy, but good….and a good community. Pecan Grove in Oriental is a hurricane hole but caters to sail boats. River Dunes in Oriental is also considered a hurricane hole.

Hurricane season is over in two months. Will you start cruising after the season, or leave it in the water for winter?

Now that you mention it, I won't even be off work for another month, so I'm not sure it even makes sense to put her in the water before the end of hurricane season. Unfortunately I don't have any cruising plans on the horizon at present.

O C Diver said:
Dave,
There is a boatyard a few businesses south of Jarrett Bay on the same river. I hauled out there in 2016 to fix a bent prop blade. My recollection is they're on significantly higher (maybe 6') ground than Jarrett Bay or the boatyard in between them. If you look on Google satellite map view of the area, you can see the sloping ground difference.

The boatyard use to be called True World Marine. It may now be part of Master Marine / True World Marine.

Ted

ABfish said:
I had a haulout contract in the Trueworld/Crystal Coast yard adjacent to Jarrett Bay. It's no higher than the Jarrett Bay yard, but both are plenty high enough. Lots of boats rode out Florence in the Jarrett Bay industrial park with no issues.

I'd rather be on the hard in Jarrett Bay than anchored up in any of the hurricane holes in the area.

I think you may be right. The map I looked at showed JB in the 7 foot range, and the water level would need to be about 5' above that for her to float off her stands. That seems pretty unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

Thanks gang, I appreciate the feedback.

garbler · Oct 9, 2022

The biggest problem is the Pamlico sound which is a shallow body of water roughly 85 miles long by 30 miles wide. This body of water is contained or enclosed by the Outer Banks which run the entire sound North to South with only three very small dangerous inlets, Oregon, Hatteras and Okracoke. When water piles up in the sound it’s these three small inlets that provide the only drainage which prevailing tides keep in check. Above the sound are four very large rivers, the Cowan, Pungo, Pamilco and Neuse all of which drain into this body. Hurricanes and tropical storms arrive and leave dropping incredible amounts of water inland. This water saturates the farm country then by nature runs down into the sound.

This is now the recipe for flooding and over spill then with approaching winds this water is pushed up and inland. With some storms this is aggravated by Spring tides that turn the inlets into a battle of tide force pushing against flood drainage. Since the inlets are so small the volume of water allowed to ingress or egress is small hence massive turbulence. Hurricane Fran and Floyd pushed water all the way up the Pamilco River where it becomes the Tar River. The surge ran a full 100 miles inland to Princeville next to Tarboro with heights of 36’ plus. Sounds almost impossible but Princeville was left with only the tops of their roofs showing. Greenville sustained similar damage including the airport. Locations like Oriental leave you flood surge exposed since it’s on the Sound. I owned a waterfront home on the Pungo River for thirty plus years and went through six or seven hurricanes. To say I have some experience would be fair.

Rick

garbler · Oct 9, 2022

garbler said:
The biggest problem is the Pamlico sound which is a shallow body of water roughly 85 miles long by 30 miles wide. This body of water is contained or enclosed by the Outer Banks which run the entire sound North to South with only three very small dangerous inlets, Oregon, Hatteras and Okracoke. When water piles up in the sound it’s these three small inlets that provide the only drainage which prevailing tides keep in check. Above the sound are four very large rivers, the Cowan, Pungo, Pamilco and Neuse all of which drain into this body. Hurricanes and tropical storms arrive and leave dropping incredible amounts of water inland. This water saturates the farm country then by nature runs down into the sound.

This is now the recipe for flooding and over spill then with approaching winds this water is pushed up and inland. With some storms this is aggravated by Spring tides that turn the inlets into a battle of tide force pushing against flood drainage. Since the inlets are so small the volume of water allowed to ingress or egress is small hence massive turbulence. Hurricane Fran and Floyd pushed water all the way up the Pamilco River where it becomes the Tar River. The surge ran a full 100 miles inland to Princeville next to Tarboro with heights of 36’ plus. Sounds almost impossible but Princeville was left with only the tops of their roofs showing. Greenville sustained similar damage including the airport. Locations like Oriental leave you flood surge exposed since it’s on the Sound. I owned a waterfront home on the Pungo River for thirty plus years and went through six or seven hurricanes. To say I have some experience would be fair.

Rick

Somehow my last of lines got clipped. Anyway I’m thinking if your elevations are correct in Beaufort you may be better off staying in the area. Running to Oriental or anywhere on the Neuse or Pamlico could be a big mistake if water piles up. While anything near Bogue Sound allows for drainage and some Lee.

Addie Kat · Oct 9, 2022

Bridgeton Harbor Marina in New Bern is a very reasonable marina with good power, built like a brick you know what house for hurricanes, and is where i have kept my boat for the last year. This is a no frills marina, but at least i know that when I am home in Syracuse, Ny and my boat is 800 miles away in NC, It is safe. Many liveaboards at this marina that look over the boats as well. This marina is 38-40 miles inland and the water is very Brackish and the tide is less than a foot.
Give them a call.

Bellakins · Oct 15, 2022

I'd say just stay where you are unless you get a better price elsewhere. Hurricane season is pretty close to being over for the year, I think. Temperatures are cooling down. We live off Goose Creek, which is off the ICW, not far from all the places you mentioned. They have all been hit pretty hard by hurricanes at some point in the last 10 years. If your boat is out of the water, chances are really good that it will be fine. If you're leaving it in the water, fixed docks seem to do better than floating docks. We have had our boat pulled for hurricanes at Hurricane and Sailcraft, both in Oriental, and have been happy with both. Zimmerman's doesn't have room for outside boats during hurricanes - they only take the boats they have yearly contracts with that are on their docks. I don't know if they would take your boat for storage for a few months. I did see one boat knocked off its stand during a hurricane at Sailcraft when pilings stacked on the ground across the creek floated over and knocked the stand out from under the boat. That was just an unlucky fluke. I think some dock construction was going on across the creek and the pilings were just stored there short term. The rest of the boats were fine. We had our boat hauled recently at Sailcraft when we worried that Ian might decide to pay a visit. Took advantage of it being on the hard and had the bottom painted. They did a great job.

Wayfarer · Oct 16, 2022

Thanks again for the intel, gang. I'm just going to leave her on the stands for a while longer.

Hurricane Holes in NC

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