The Washington waterfront and boating community has seen a bit of damage over the past 48 hours, thanks to a severe storm system that passed through Beaufort County and much of eastern North Carolina this week.

Beaufort County and its neighboring counties were under a hazardous weather outlook during the day Wednesday and into the night, issued by the National Weather Service office in Newport.

On the waterfront, the City of Washington Dockmaster Station’s personnel took measures to offset the potential for damage to docked boats and docking facilities, including doubling dock lines and adding fenders to keep boats from hitting the docks, said Rick Brass, dockmaster.

However, Mother Nature flexed her muscles and there was damage to not only dock facilities, but also to boats on the river. Winds in the range of 50-55 mph were reported Wednesday night, according to Brass. Also, due to the Pamlico River having little effect from lunar tides, the wind is the primary factor that controls how high or low the water is, Brass said.

“A strong easterly wind blows water into the river off the Pamlico Sound,” Brass said. “A strong northwesterly wind makes the water go out. If you look at a chart, the sound is shaped kind of like a funnel, and we’re at the small end. A few inches in change at Ocracoke could mean a few feet in change here.”

Brass said the river’s water level is currently at about 1 foot below sea level, which is about 2 feet below normal. Wednesday at 5 p.m., the river level peaked at about 3 feet below normal.

Dock F on the waterfront suffered damage from the extensive winds when a boat tied to it put tension on the cleats, causing wooden boards to break and taking the safety ladder attached to the dock with it.

A 32-foot Trojan Express Cruiser also sunk over Wednesday night, which Brass thinks was attributed to a leak in the boat. The owner indicated he was going to go bail out water Wednesday but couldn’t reach the vessel due to the wind, Brass said. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the boat was still floating, but started to sink more Thursday morning when Brass came in to work, he said. Brass thinks the boat will be named a total loss, he said.

“I suspected the boat already had water in it,” Brass said. “(The wind and waves) probably aggravated whatever leakage it had. I don’t think they know for sure why it sank. It was probably water washing over the deck because of the waves.”

The City of Washington Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard were contacted but after investigation, saw no evidence of fuel spills. Arrangements are being made to haul the boat away for repair, Brass said.

The damage done to the docks and boats on the waterfront join that of a 24-foot sailboat. The sailboat had been capsized on a sandbar on the south side of the river about 100 yards from the U.S. Highway 17 bridge for the past several weeks, according to Brass.

Brass said the boat being capsized is attributed to a previous storm on Feb. 4, which blew the boat into shallow depths on the south bank of the river.

“(The owner) didn’t register (the boat) with us when it was brought in,” Brass said. “It’s been here since sometime in fall so we have no idea who the owner is. The police have contacted the last registered owner, but we’ve not seen anyone coming to salvage the boat. It’s in shallow enough water that even when the water is high, we’ve been unable to get out there to pull it off the shoal. I would love if anyone recognizes the boat, contact us so we can get ahold of the owner.”

Brass said that while the dockmaster and dock attendants are there to maintain the dock facilities and keep an eye on boats docked there, good principles of seamanship include boaters claiming responsibility for their boats and the associated care involved in maintaining their boats.

“One of the reasons we’re here every day except Christmas is to protect the boats that are here,” Brass said. “It is just part of our job to go out there and double up lines and adjust fenders to make sure the boats are protected. We have some owners down here, who take really good care of their boats, and we have some who need to come down and check their boats and not solely rely on us. We want people to come down and enjoy the place and feel free to anchor their boats, but they need to exercise prudent seamanship. We’re more than happy to look out for the boats. That’s part of what we do. But it’s not a place where we want people to come and abandon their boat. Owners need to take some responsibility and maintain the boat in a proper seamanlike manner.”