The best way to prepare for a hurricane is to be where the hurricane is not! Find an area far from the projected path and wait for it to pass. 

However, sometimes it's not possible to see far enough ahead, and you're stuck trying to find a place to weather the storm on the Atlantic ICW. 

The term "hurricane hole" is not to be taken literally. There's no place totally safe from a hurricane, but some are better than others. I have compiled a list of locations on the Atlantic ICW I would consider leaving my boat if I couldn't avoid a hurricane's projected track.

First my cautions:

1. Don't stay on your boat. I do not believe in riding out a hurricane on a boat, the unexpected is to be expected – I don't want to be on my boat when it happens. I have always found a place on shore during the worst of the winds. In some cases, I've taken a motel room; in other cases, I've found "hurricane friends" who offered a room for the night, for which I was very thankful. 

2. Don't anchor or take a mooring. I am not a fan of anchoring or mooring during a hurricane. Too many things can go wrong in 80 kt winds! Marathon was hit by Irma, a Cat 4 hurricane in 2017. Many captains had no choice but to leave their boat on a mooring. Even boats well secured were defeated by other boats less prepared that came free and effectively formed a flotilla of boats caroming through the mooring field. No moored boat could stand against such a flotilla, however well secured. If you try anchoring, you want to be by yourself, perhaps surrounded by mangroves. Having a great anchor does no good if another boat drags into you (and another, and another, etc.) If you're anchoring far enough away from the path of a hurricane so the winds are 40 kts or less, then that's a lesser risk, but the biggest risk is still from other boats not as well prepared as you. Remember, a hurricane passing over you with 80 kt winds impacts your boat with four times the force at 40 kts, few captains and boats are prepared for such conditions. 

3. Don't depend on hauling your boat to safety. Hauling your boat for land storage has its own set of risks, provided you can even find a marina to do it. Most marinas take care of their long term customers first, with little to nothing left for transients. A few marinas do offer contracts in advance for storage during a hurricane but not many and it requires advance planning and possibly a fee to hold your spot for a season.

4. Store your boat at a "hurricane hole" marina. Storing your boat in the water at a marina is usually the only option, so you want to plan as best you can. Most marinas will require you to be off your boat during a hurricane. 

If you're with me this far, the question is what criteria to use in choosing a marina for the best survival odds of your boat. You would want 360 protection from waves, wind, surge, and the marina construction must be robust enough to withstand the expected forces. Let's step through a list of requirements complete with sample marinas:

1 - A keyhole entrance. This feature prevents waves from entering the marina. If all such marinas are full, then go with the ones with the most protection from waves. Long stretches of open water like those adjacent to an ICW channel or a large dockage area open on one side can allow wave action to build. See Figure 1. 

• The keyhole entrance prevents waves from entering the marina.  

• There is no exposure to wave build-up in such a tight marina with 360  protection. 

• There's no surge since the entrance is through a lock.

• Wind protection is provided by three story condos and trees surrounding the harbor.

If you must weather a hurricane on the ICW, you cannot find better protection, but space is limited, so plan ahead.

2 - Buildings surrounding the dockage area. Buildings help block or at least disrupt the wind and if built on a berm, so much the better. See Figure 2. 

• The requisite keyhole entrance is in place to prevent waves entering the marina. 

• The dockage area is small, which prevents wave build-up inside the marina. 

• The marina was excavated, and the material was piled around the edge, creating a 12 ft high berm. 

• Three story townhouses were later built on top of the berm, creating a 20 to 30 ft high wind break from all directions.  

• The dockage construction is first rate and well maintained. 

I weathered Hurricane Matthew while docked here when the eye passed over. 

3 - Room for transients. There are some excellent hurricane holes, but if they have no room for transients, they are of no use to us on the ICW. The best marinas are going to fill up quickly, so plan ahead. Osprey Marina has a long-standing policy of accepting transients during hurricanes. 

• Long keyhole entrance

• Harbor protected from waves and wind

• A long-standing policy of accepting boaters. 

After all, what's the use of having an excellent hurricane-protected marina if you can't get a dock?

4 - Robust construction. Marinas use either floating or fixed docks. For tidal areas, floating docks are a must but for areas without lunar tides, fixed docks are common. For floating docks, I look for robust pilings with enough height to withstand a hurricane surge. For fixed docks, I look for large-diameter wood pilings in the 12 to 14-inch range, ideally anchored every 10 to 20 feet in length by concrete pilings. Let's look at two examples. For floating docks, the height of the pilings depends on the tides in the area and the distance from the inlets. Figure 4 shows docks at Harbour Village, NC. Fleetwing is docked next to the dock house with metal pilings securing the dock. Figure 5 shows an example of good fixed-dock construction at Titusville Marina, FL. Each finger is anchored by eight 12 to 14-inch diameter pilings, cross-reinforced under the finger, and secured by stainless steel bolts. The main dock is anchored by 15 19-inch square concrete pilings and 75 wood pilings. I've survived two Cat 1 hurricanes here without damage. There are no lunar tides, so the fixed docks work well. The marina is far from inlets and storm surges on the Banana Lagoon. If you're looking at a fixed-dock marina to store your boat during a hurricane, compare its construction to Titusville Marina. Of course, a strong enough hurricane can still wreak havoc at any marina, but stronger construction is better.

There are places to ride out a hurricane without being in a marina, but they must be very protected areas, such as between the lock and bridge at Great Bridge (MM12), at the Visitor's Center on the Dismal Swamp, or perhaps buried in mangroves, isolated from all other boats. You can anchor your boat using the best possible technique, but if the guy next to you sharing the anchorage doesn't have the same level of expertise, then you're at risk if his boat drags. 

I will concentrate on suitable marinas for those cruising the ICW I'm familiar with. One more point, all bets are off if there's a tornado - there's no preparation that will survive a tornado. Be forewarned that the list is very conservative, and opinions may differ on which marinas are suitable.  

I've rated the marinas I'm familiar with in the following list. 

Rated A = Wind, wave, and surge protection

Rated B = Less protection but still pretty good. In the five hurricanes I've been through on the ICW, I stayed twice in an A-rated marina and three times in a B-rated marina, all without damage. 

Let's step through the list of marinas that best meet the requirements in my view.

1 - MM 171: River Dunes Marina, NC, off the Neuse River, Figure 6.

Rated A, 360 wind protection, and no lunar tides. Note the keyhole entrance. 

 2 - MM 267: Harbour Village Marina, NC, Figure 7

Rated B. There's no wave action, but there's some wind exposure. The office is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so you'll have to call ahead to see if they have room. 

3 - MM 315: St James Marina in Southport, NC, Figure 8

Rated A, 360 wind protection, I rode out Hurricane Matthew here with no damage. This is my ideal marina. There's a 15-foot high berm around the harbor area, and three-story condos built on top of the berm give good wind protection. The keyhole entrance prevents any entering wave action. The only concern is surge, but the pilings are very high. The marina five miles farther east was devastated; it did not have a keyhole opening. 

4 - MM 373: Osprey Marina, SC, Figure 9

Rated A, 360 wind protection. There's little wind action with the surrounding trees, and with the keyhole entrance, there's no wave action. There can be a surge, but they learned from past hurricanes and added length to the pilings. 

5 - MM 558: Windmill Harbor, SC, Figure 10

Rated A, 360 wind protection. The marina sits behind a lock and is surrounded by condos which provide good wind protection. Surge is not an issue due to the entrance through a lock.  

6 - MM 878: Titusville Marina, FL, Figure 11

Rated B for A and B docks only, the two docks to the far left.  I've ridden out two hurricanes on A dock with no damage, most recently hurricane Milton with 109 mph peak winds. Surge is not an issue since it is situated on the Banana Lagoon, far from inlets. It can get rocky during a hurricane, but adjusting lines so nothing touches the boat prevents any damage. 

7 - MM 1142: Marina Del Mar Resort, FL, at Key Largo 

Rated B. The marina is surrounded by three-story condos for wind protection and protected from wave action. 

Backup Marinas with protection on three sides

8 – MM Brunswick Landing Marina, Figure 13

If you're looking for a place to store your boat for a hurricane and all places on the list are full, then look for marinas with similar protection. If you can't find a marina with 360 protection from wave and wind action, look at least for protection from three directions. Brunswick Landing Marina is located where the Navy stored ships for storm protection. 

It has protection from three sides but the exposure on the fourth side is through a narrow fairway. Only wind from a limited direction could be a problem. It would be a good choice if other marinas are full. Likewise, apply the same criteria against any marinas you are considering and make the best choice possible. 

The marina has limited facilities for storing boats on land during a hurricane. My boat was there when Hurricane Idalia passed within 50 miles on 8/30/2023. Fleetwing was unharmed, but it was on land with tie-downs to buried concrete, something to look for if you store on land. 

They have a policy of not turning anyone down for a slip if there's space with a hurricane approaching. 

9 – MM 357 Grande Dunes Marina, Figure 15

  There's some exposure to wind, but it has good wave protection. 

10 – MM 1013.7 Safe Harbor North Palm Beach, Figure 16

Must call harbormaster well in advance.  

More marinas than I've listed are suitable for a backup. Just apply the criteria we've discussed and add them to the list. I've survived three Cat 1 hurricanes undamaged in marinas like the ones listed, but the stronger the hurricane, the higher the risk of damage, regardless of protection. 

Boat preparation is key.

• Remove all canvass

• Consider dropping the jib. I've survived hurricanes with the jib dropped and, most recently, with the jib still wrapped, but it's better to remove the jib. I always leave the main attached since it's rolled up inside the mast. 

• Double all lines, and don't depend on cleats if possible. Tie off to pilings and cement structures with chafing prevention.

• Floating docks often have two pilings aft and one between boats in a slip. Consider getting floats to tied around the pilings so when a surge comes, the attachment to the piling rises too – along with your docks. I used them in St James Marina with their floating docks during Hurricane Matthew. 

• In a fixed slip, center the boat in the slip as far away as possible from all structures.

I'll repeat where I started: the best protection from a hurricane is to be where the hurricane is not. Plan ahead and get as far away as possible from the predicted path and the coast. However, that's not always possible. If you can reduce the wind potential to 40 kts or less by moving far enough out of the hurricane's path, then find a protected anchorage with a narrow opening. However, if the potential is for Cat 1 winds, I would not anchor out – but to each his own. 

I hope this article helps you evaluate which marinas to entrust with one of your most valuable possessions. Having your boat exposed to a hurricane is not fun. I've been through five, and it's always stressful. Plan the best you can and sleep on land when the hurricane passes. It may not be restful sleep, but it surely will be safer.