A question from one of our readers regarding parking a trailer:
Stephen asks: Are there any points on the loop where I would be able to park a trailer while on the loop? I had talked to Mackies Marina; however, they are closed now, and it looks like they are permanently closed.
Can anyone share their experiences and recommendations?
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What’s Happening In Your Parks during September – Charleston County Parks
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A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, historic Edenton always has an exciting calendar of events and places to visit! Edenton is at the mouth of the Chowan River on the northwest shore of Albemarle Sound.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Edenton Harbor City Docks
Elizabeth City sits at the southern terminus of the Dismal Swamp Canal and has the well-earned reputation of being a transient friendly town with free dockage for 72 hours.
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This post contains interesting information for any U.S.-registered boat, especially if you are considering traveling to Cuba.
Cruisers Net publishes Loose Cannon articles with Captain Swanson’s permission in hopes that mariners with salt water in their veins will subscribe. $7 a month or $56 for the year, and you may cancel at any time.
When all else fails, try journalism. Don’t Blame Us for the Wreck. You Hired the Captain, Boy Scouts SayPearson 424 Lost During a Youth Charter in U.S. Virgin Islands
Don’t blame us because you lost your boat, the Boy Scouts of America says, even though we were chartering her for our adventure-at-sea program: The skipper was to blame for the accident, and he was working for you, not us. The Boy Scouts also advanced a couple of technical arguments for why a lawsuit against them should be thrown out of court. They are apparently arguing the suit was filed a day after the statute of limitations had expired, and, besides, it should have been filed in a county in Florida, not the U.S. Virgin Islands. On July 17, 2023, Libbie Oliver’s Pearson 424 ran into a prominent reef of the island of St. John. According to Oliver’s lawsuit, filed on July 17, 2025, the captain was at fault, and he had been recommended by the Boy Scouts. Oliver also said the organization had failed to properly advise her about insurance. The boat, named Amokura, remained stranded on Johnson Reef until she was ultimately destroyed by a storm in September 2023. Oliver wants the Scouts to compensate her for loss of the vessel, which she alleges happened when the captain stepped away and left one of the scouts at the helm.
Lawyers for the Scouts argued:
Opposing lawyers also argued that, under the contract between Oliver and the Scouts, disputes were to be decided according to Florida law and, if need be, adjudicated in a court in Monroe County in the Florida Keys. The also said:
In her suit, Oliver argued that she couldn’t get Amokura towed off the reef because the recovery wasn’t covered under an insurance policy obtained from Offshore Risk Management, a company recommended to her by the Scouts. The scouts deny having made such a recommendation. In their answer to the suit, the Scouts’ lawyers also said that both Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a two-year statute of limitations on this type of action, which suggests that with both events—the wreck and the filing of suit—happening on July 17, the filing actually happened one day after the two-year statute had expired.
A lawyer who has nothing to do with the case suggested reasons why the statute-of-limitations article may not succeed. He said interpretation depends on individual court rules about counting time and whether weekends and holidays are included. Every state has slightly different language, he said. Also, because the drama revolving around Amokura’s grounding continued for many days afterward, until her destruction, there is leeway as to when to begin the statute-of-limitations countdown. LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.
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© 2025
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Link to article: https://www.news4jax.com/weather/2025/09/08/king-tide-season-starts-this-week-when-to-expect-the-highest-high-tide-of-the-month/
JACKSONVILLE, FLA – It’s that time during the start of fall when the highest tides of the year impact our area.
King tides are the extreme high tides that occur when the gravitational forces of the sun and moon align, resulting in the highest possible tides of the year.
Fall is prime time for these astronomical events in our region, with late September through November delivering the most pronounced tidal swings. These amplify flooding risk in low-lying areas—especially in coastal zones and the St. Johns.
This year’s Harvest Moon, rising closest to the autumnal equinox, adds extra lunar gravitational pull, supercharging tidal peaks. It will coincide with a developing nor’easter that is pushing water into the river from the onshore flow, resulting in tidally trapped water that I discussed last week.
Know Your High Tide Times: Be aware of when high tide is for your specific area so you know when to expect the highest water levels.
Fred Pickhardt’s Substack is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Fred Pickhardt’s Substack that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won’t be charged unless they enable payments.
Hurricanes are a part of life for coastal communities, but what happens when the storms we thought we understood get a whole lot worse? Recently, a 2024 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences proposed something that might seem shocking: a new Category 6 for the most intense tropical cyclones, with wind speeds starting at 193 mph. At first glance, this might seem like a natural step in the face of increasingly severe weather driven by climate change. But a closer look reveals a deeper conversation with a surprising twist: some experts say a new category might not actually help. Current Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
The case for Category 6 Researchers behind the 2024 study argue that the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which currently maxes out at Category 5 (for any storm with sustained winds of 157 mph or greater), is no longer sufficient. Their motivation is to more accurately communicate the extreme risks associated with today’s most powerful storms. If a Category 6 were adopted, it would be reserved for the most extreme events. In fact, based on data from 1980 to 2021, the 2024 study identified five storms that would have met the criteria:
The argument against a new category Despite the scientific motivation, the National Hurricane Center has not adopted Category 6, citing concerns that it could complicate public messaging.
It’s also important to note that the Saffir-Simpson scale is currently only used for hurricanes in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific and 4 of the 5 noted storms in the study occurred in the western North Pacific and only one occurred in the eastern Pacific. To date, there have been no storms in the Atlantic that would have reached this level. Global activity vs. increasing intensity. So, what about climate change’s role in all of this? While you might assume we are seeing an overall increase in hurricane frequency, the reality is more nuanced. Data from climate scientist Ryan Maue, featured on climatlas.com/tropical, reveals no significant global trend in the number of hurricanes or major hurricanes over the long term. In fact, Maue has highlighted periods of notably low global hurricane activity. A 2022 study also found a decreasing trend in global hurricane numbers from 1990 to 2021.
The real story isn’t about more storms, but stronger ones. Climate change could fuel future more destructive hurricanes with stronger winds, higher storm surges, and heavier rainfall. Warmer ocean temperatures provide more energy for storms. This supercharges the storms, leading to increased intensity. Time will tell. What does this mean for us? The debate over Category 6 highlights a critical challenge: how do we best communicate the evolving risks of climate change? While adding a new category might sound alarming, it could also provide a more accurate picture of the intensity of a small minority of intense storms. For the Atlantic and East Pacific basins where the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is used, there has only been one storm that reached this category in the eastern Pacific, and none have yet reached this level in the Atlantic.
Fred Pickhardt’s Substack is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Fred Pickhardt’s Substack that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won’t be charged unless they enable payments.
© 2025 Fred Pickhardt
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