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As Hurricane Earl swirled toward Cape Hatteras on Thursday, Oriental began seeing the effects. By late morning, the skies had closed in, with ridges of clouds like courderoy far in to the distance. Trawlers sought refuge at the docks of Oriental’s two fish houses. Beyond that, there was very little activity in the harbor. (Many sailboats were further up the creeks, in hurricane holes.)

Very little activity at the Town Dock as Earl approached, other than the water level rising. Here’s what it was like late Thursday morning.

Residents tucked away those items that would be floatable if — or is it when? — the high waters of Earl covered their yards. There was a lot of waiting for the hurricane that would come calling in the small hours of the morning. Photos would likely not be optimal then, but in the meantime, here are some shots from the day time Thursday.

Not a hurricane flag but somewhat related. Eric Kindle, owner of The Bean, fastened a flag holder to the coffeehouse’s side railing around midday Thursday. The flag, which will be visible from HarborCam, will let caffeine-seekers know when the Bean is open. (We’re counting on June to be there at her usual 6:30a, but the flag will let you know for sure.)

At Nautical Wheelers store at the Old Hotel, Patrick Richart shows one t-shirt that sold Thursday morning: a t-shirt with a simple message. It’s the first Oriental hurricane for his aunt, Camilla Wheeler, who says she spent a lot of time inside the store taking wares off the floor, just in case Earl’s waters flooded the building as they did in Hurricane Isabel.

Other storm-related clothing: “Pamlico Nikes” were still available above the frozen vegetables at Miss Ruth’s Town and Country grocery store Thursday afternoon.

At the newly cleared end of South Avenue — aka South Park — a bulldozer was still in place Thursday morning.

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Out in the waters off of South Park, two lines of stobs show where some docks used to be. Rick Smith moved his ferro-cement boat to the end of them and plans to stay anchored there to ride out Earl. By late morning, the skies to the west and north bore ridges of clouds.

Not a common sight in Oriental. A television satellite truck parked on Wall Street so that the Fox station could report from the scene.

The highest — and the owners are hoping, the driest — spot in town: by mid-afternoon cars were lining the sides of the Oriental bridge.

Parking on the Oriental bridge is a tradition in Oriental, as it’s the highest point in town. (Vehicles are permitted to park on the sections of the bridge that are over land, but not over water.)

Down at the harbor in later afternoon, the bow of the Capt. Phillips was pointed to Hodges Street and the Duck Pond. While both were seeing higher water levels, it was, nothing along the lines of what the town was bracing for.

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A handful of white wooden trawlers line the west side of Oriental’s harbor, where they came to ride out Earl.

Hodges Street late Thursday afternoon. Though winds were not heavy yet, they were consistent and worked to drive up the water levels and cover Hodges Street.

View from the Bean porch Thursday afternoon. It was still mild enough, weatherwise that people were out walking, and checking out the harbor. In the foreground is the Bean flag in a newly installed flag holder on the side of the coffee house. If the flag’s out, the Bean’s open, something that will now be easier to determine with a check of Harborcam.

Forboding skies to the north as a mermaid presides over the scene on a Smith Creek porch.

Posted Thursday September 2, 2010 by Melinda Penkava