Hiding in a Hurricane Hole

We got up early and called the office at Colonial Beach Marina to check in and get the name of their local diver. Captain Mark spoke with the diver and it seems that he was currently working on the case of one of the vessels that sank during the serious thunderstorm we encountered the last time we were at Colonial Beach Marina. Since he will be working on this shipwreck for several days Captain Mark decided that we need to get on our way. The reason that we need to move from the Colonial Beach area is that Hurricane Hanna was on her way to the Chesapeake and we need to be snug within a “hurricane hole” when Miss Hanna arrives. It is very hard to imagine that a hurricane was on its way toward us as the day was almost perfect. It was a little hazy and humid but with hardly a cloud in the sky. As we traveled south on the Potomac from Colonial Beach we were able to take our time to see all of the shoreline sights we missed when approaching Colonial Beach during the thunderstorm of five weeks ago.

The large white stone cross of St Clement’s Island certainly catches one’s attention. The cross on the island commemorates the first Maryland colonists who landed on the island in March 1634. These colonists were Catholic and the island is believed to be site of the first Catholic Mass held in the colonies. These first Maryland colonists named the island in honor of Pope Saint Clement I who is the patron saint of all mariners. Today the island is uninhabited but visited by many as a Maryland state park.

A little further south we saw a rescue helicopter practicing maneuvers. It was very interesting to watch as the crew raise and lower each other in the rescue basket and halter system.



Then we saw what at first we thought was a tug boat guiding a freighter into port but then we wondered why the tug would be way out here with no port within many miles…upon closer inspection it was revealed that the tug boat was really a barge pusher. The barges were full of coal which was then being loaded aboard the ocean going freighter. What a slick operation.

We arrived back at Olverson’s where we will stay as Miss Hurricane Hanna visits the east coast. I am very excited as I have never been in a hurricane before. If one is going to be in a hurricane and in a boat, then one wants to be in a hurricane hole. I know that this sounds like an oxymoron but it does make sense… A hurricane hole is what boaters call a safe area during a hurricane. This is the safest place we can be (except back in Chicago right now) during a hurricane. Olverson's is sheltered by trees that are close enough to provide a breakfront for the winds but not close enough to cause any damages to us. One wants to be in an area where the water is wide enough to sustain a large surge so that when the water rises, the surge can spread over the width of the water mass. This is why we left DC. If a surge came to the area where we were in DC since the river is so narrow there, the surge of water would be much greater and potentially do much more damage to the boat. This is why Hurricane Isabel was so damaging to DC and not so bad down where we are now even though the force of the storm was greater in this area. The major area of concern is maintaining the lines during the storm as the water rises. The second area of concern is making sure that the boat is secure enough to the dock during the storm. It will mean constant monitoring of the lines which basically means getting wet as we go in and out of the boat into the storm. Hanna is expected to hit North Carolina Friday evening/Saturday morning and should hit us here Saturday morning. Now Hurricane Ike is the storm that we are most concerned about. He is much larger and has the potential to be more vicious than Hanna. It is our plan to stay here until we know exactly what Ike is planning to do.

Hours on the water: 4.5
Nautical miles traveled: 32.6
Number of bridges to be opened: 0
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Next Destination: Not sure yet
What we're listening to: Finished Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
What we watched: The Weather Channel
Lesson for the day: Thanks goodness for the Weather Channel
Obligatory knitting report: Mittens for the Wunder Kids