As expected, rain begins to fall in Beaufort at 5 AM. A stationary front has set up camp to our southeast and its related low pressure center will pass just south of us and head out to sea later today. This sets the stage for yet another November 'noreaster here in coastal North Carolina. Gale warnings are posted up and down the coast through Saturday night.
It is a lazy day aboard Cutter Loose. Showers subside by mid-afternoon, but winds are steadily increasing. Thankfully, we are located a few miles west of the Beaufort Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean where the real action is occuring.
Our marina is a circular basin and Cutter Loose is docked along the northeast side of the circle with her stern to the northerly winds. She is in the lee of a seawall that surrounds the basin and the homes that dot the seawall. In terms of relative protection, this is as good as it gets in this marina.
We enjoy dinner ashore tonight with Greg, Kate, Hayden and Radeen in Morehead City. When we return to the boat at 10 PM, winds are out of the north at 30 knots, gusting to 45. The low pressure center is now 30 miles to the east. Sirius Marine Weather shows sustained northerly winds of 50 knots in the Atlantic Ocean just 10 miles east of our marina. The Gulf Stream passes just two miles offshore of Beaufort Inlet. We wonder about the conditions being faced by any vessels caught in the Stream in these conditions.
We double all of the docklines on the windward side of the boat. With every gust, Cutter Loose rolls at an angle to the dock despite her 35,000 pounds of displacement. The wind is shrieking through the rigging and the docklines are groaning to the strain of the forces being absorbed during the gusts. Despite the noise and motion, we are thankful for the relative safety of our gratuitous slip here in Beaufort. We will remain here until weather conditions improve.
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