A factor may have been those projected paths. Early on, the weathermen were saying the models beyond 2-3 days were all over the map. The consensus had the storm going over Nantucket, then going inland over the outer banks, then just as wildly, headed to way east over water bypassing the US. This shifting of the path couldn't of been helpful to a captain trying to tip toe just out of the way.
Now, the storm itself was large, so given any path, one would need to give the storm a large berth.
Agree. It seems they lost propulsion at or before 7:30 on Thursday morning, so were unable to even attempt to sidestep.
The 2nd still image predicting the storm motion illustrates what transpired. The storm actually went WSW (non typical motion) and did not turn more northerly as models predicted. Also the storm achieved Cat 4 not Cat 1 strength.
This motion was a low probability move for the storm, but handily pinned the ship against the Bahama Islands to the west. The unanticipated explosive growth in strength, thus reach of damaging effects, was the most critical factor.