One other thing to consider is that staying in port may not have been an option. The Harbor Master may have ordered larger ships out to sea. Wildman probably knows the rules here much better than the rest of us.
Interesting, the Harbor Master can make a final call such that the captain has no say? In this case, at least one person died after a ship headed out into a hurricane. I'm sure this is not the first case. So, we have precedence here indicating people's lives are at stake. I'm thinking the captain has got to have the final say, given the captain is responsible for the safety of all aboard. I'd like to know how this really works.