but you have to know about them and be in a position where you can get to them quickly. A lot of ports are exposed from one
direction (e.g. Mattapoisett, Stonington) making moorings untenable in hurricane conditions. If it's not quite a hurricane then there
are other options (e.g. there are hurricane moorings at Cotuit/Osterville). If pulling the boat is a problem, there
are also some (but not many) relatively safe docks at which you can wait out the cane (e.g. in Shaw's Cove, New London). If in Buzzards's
Bay, New Bedford/Fairhaven might be an option - if you get there before they close off the entrance to the harbor.

This is always an issue for me as I'm on the move with the boat that time of year. If I'm near enough, I'll generally head for New London
(where I winter the boat). If I'm farther away, I will make a decision early and get the boat to a location which is
relatively safe - knowing that I'll need time once I get there to prepare the boat for the storm. With my last boat, I had
a mooring in Newport for a couple of seasons. I remember having coffee in the A.M. at The Seaman's Church and I was
talking to one of the owners of Oldport. I asked him what his hurricane plan was for his boat. When he said "I guess I'll just stay
on the mooring- and hope for the best like everyone else", I quickly finished my coffee, went right back to the boat, and
got underway. Because of the tide at Watch Hill Passage, I headed that day to Block. THAT was freaky - there were hardly
any boats in the Great Salt Pond or tourists or ferries in the Old Harbor either. As it often happens, the cane veered
away and bringing the boat to Noank where it would be pulled turned out to be unnecessary, but it was worth doing:
you can't play around with canes. When you wear the hurricane watch, make a decision and do do something! :
don't play Russian Roulette.

An additional problem is that if you're not near your home, home port, or the houses of friends or family who
have extra space in their homes, how can you take off all of the gear which should be taken off rather
than simply storing the gear below? I'll admit it - hurricanes frighten me. The logistics of preparation in a
port other than your home port - and especially when singlehanded - are daunting.

Jerry

PS: if in Western LIS take Larry up on his offer and contact him as soon as there is a strong
possibility of a cane moving in your direction.