High and dry

Being “up the creek” isn’t a bad thing for a boat during a hurricane.

When the prevailing wind is hurricane force — above 74 mph — the universal advice is to get your boat as far up river as you can.

Marina operator Doug Brenner of West Marine in Oriental said when a warning comes, the best thing is to get the boat out of the area.

From Oriental, that would mean a run up the Neuse to upside creeks or to New Bern.

But for many of this area’s portion of the nearly 300,000 boats registered in the state, there is nowhere to run.

“If you can’t do that, the second best thing is to block it up somewhere and pin them to the ground,” Brenner said.

Further inland at BridgePointe Marina on the Trent River between New Bern and James City, that advice would be marina manager Kim Hill’s best.

“Boat owners should make sure the boats are in the center and tied down real good,” Hill said.

“We don’t evacuate unless it’s a Category 3 or above,” she said. A Category 3 storm has winds between 111 and 130 mph.

If you have to leave the boat in the water, double or triple all lines, Brenner said, “and remove anything that can blow around, like Bimini tops.”

Brenner’s last piece of advice?

“Do not stay with the boat,” he said.

Sue Book can be reached at (252) 635-5666 or sbook@freedomenc.com.