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cenes around the village on Thursday.

Outside the Inland Waterway Provision Company, a sentiment shared by more than a few folks. The Provision Company was selling lots of line Thursday, as boaters secured their vessels.

Protecting the boat lift controller and motors on the dock at Frank and Jennifer Roe’s home. Frank says that with some technical advice from the hardware store, he put duct tape and garbage bags to use. (Photo: Frank Roe)

Oriental’s Town Dock on Hodges Street on Thursday. The Town closes the dock during hurricanes and other named storms to spare the pier from battering boats in a storm surge.

The Wildlife Resources boat ramp at the end of Midyette Street where many boaters hauled their boats from the water.

Boats of all sizes pulled out at the Wildlife Ramp.

Not many homes board up, as our concern here is less wind and more storm surge. However, this home at the end of South Avenue has seen the storm surge of other hurricanes hurl the marl rip rap from the breakwater up on to the lawn.

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It’s been a busy couple of days at boatyards in town, hauling boats from the water. Deatons Yacht Service was still at it Thursday afternoon.

Wes Hatch at the controls of the Deaton’s TravLift. He estimated he and the rest of the crew would’ve pulled 35 boats (in two days) by the time Arthur arrived.

Hauling the boat to the lot is just part of the job. The boat ‘Sea N Double’ gets a stack of blocks for its keel at Deatons.

At the Deaton’s lot. In the clearing stands Boxer.

Boats weren’t the only conveyance going for drier perches. By early afternoon Thursday, the parking spaces on the perimeter of the Straight Road fire station were taken up.

.. but there was still plenty of space (early afternoon) at the nearby Rec field.

Sand bags to keep the High Water sign from floating, as seen in front of the Village Gallery Thursday afternoon.

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When you read the Oriental Water Levels on TownDock.net, this is where the data comes from: a collection of gauges at the land end of the Lou Mac Park pier. Thursday afternoon the clouds were gathering, though the water was down.

At Lou Mac Park Thursday, most of the focus was not on Arthur’s arrival overnight but on the Croakerfest due to start Friday afternoon.

Thursday afternoon, Cheryl Thompson was putting small flags in the ground at Lou Mac Park. Though they were giving a pretty accurate representation of wind direction, these were not wind indicators. Thompson, chief organizer for Croakerfest which starts Friday, was marking where the booths would go.

Arthur’s timing was seen as better-than-it-could-have-been for Croakerfest. The hurricane was expected to be long past Oriental by the open of the festival Friday afternoon. The pink flags mark where booths would go.

Oriental resident – and Ghostwalker – Dale Montgomery sets out still more of the flags.

Not a levee — it’s one of the stages for Croakerfest, erected midweek on Freemason Street.

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At Sea Harbour Yacht Club many boats had sailcovers wrapped in line in a bid to reduce the chance of sails being torn.

A trussed sailcover at Sea Harbour and, in the distance, a power vessel raised out of the water on Pierce Creek.

Lines were also deployed to double up on the holdings to pilings and dock.

More wrapped sails.

Rocking chairs temporarily unable to rock, for being tied up on the porch at Whittaker Pointe Marina

So long as the tree stays, the boat is not going anywhere…

American flags are typically the ones flying on the 3rd of July. But at Oriental Harbor Marina Thursday, the flag pole was telling a different story.

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Hurricane flags as seen from the Oriental bridge.

Real time experience in preparing boats for a hurricane for students at the Bow To Stern summer sailing school camp. The 14 students taking classes this week had gone out for sail Thursday and afterward were getting sails stowed for the coming hurricane.

There was also the job of getting the boats out of water.

Now four hulls. Two catamarans secured to a ground peg at Bow to Stern Boating Center on Thursday.

More hurricane prep, at Pecan Grove Marina.

Zen and the art of headsail wrapping.

Veterans of Hurricane Irene are hoping Arthur exceeds the speed limit posted at Pecan Grove marina and be done with his work quickly.

The ducks of Oriental Marina get a pre-hurricane meal from a crew aboard Good Things.

Posted Thursday July 3, 2014 by Melinda Penkava