Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

This hurricane is astounding.  Pam and I turned on the Weather Channel yesterday and left it on all day.  I'm mesmerized.   We watched as news of the loss of HMS Bounty unfolded... what were they doing there?  We watched as weather news reporters stood on beaches, waves crashing behind them, telling us that everyone should evacuate and only a nut would be standing on the beach watching the roaring surf.

I'm regularly connected to many friends thanks  to Al Gore's internets... some friends that I met through his internets... and many in harm's way.  I watched as this hurricane unfolded.  Many are hunkered down in the Annapolis area and New Jersey waiting for Sandy to pass.   One friend in Long Island had a 90 foot tall Douglas Fir come down on his house and into his master bedroom, as he worries that the dock his beautiful boat is tied to will survive.   My old employer, Sound Sailing Center in Norwalk, Connecticut is fearful that the docks at Norwalk Cove Marina may float over the pilings this morning and they'll lose their entire fleet of boats.   Record high tides are being set.

Sandy has had a tremendous impact here in Georgia.  For the first time since February, I've had to put on long pants and socks.  Feels weird.

This is a serious storm.  It's not over yet.  Waves 18 to 22 feet are forecast for Lake Erie today, and two feet of snow will fall in western Pennsylvania and Ohio.  I hope that wherever you are, if you are in the path of this storm, you are safe, warm, and dry.   Don't fret about material things like boats and houses.  You can fix those, or buy new ones.  They don't matter.  You do.

We have a hurricane plan here on Drift Away.  We call it RA RA, which is an acronym for "Run Away!  Run Away!".  We evacuate in ten minutes.  I grab our cardboard box of personal papers (passports, birth certificates, 1099s and W2s) and Pam grabs the dogs.  We pile into the truck and drive to Dick and Deb's house in Macon Georgia (friends we first met at Isle of Hope Marina).  I have no illusions that I should stay on Drift Away to fend a 50,000 pound boat off the docks, or fend off other boats.  That's why I have insurance.

Well... that's my musings at 4 AM anyway.  Things may change as I wake up.



4 comments:

  1. As of 6am the buoy in westeren lake erie is showing 14'.

    Bill Kelleher
    Toledo,Ohio

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    Replies
    1. Update- except for the Douglas Fir that fell on my buddy's house, everyone escaped with only minor damage.

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  2. Any news of Sound Sailing Center? Concerned member here...

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  3. Any news of Sound Sailing Center? Concerned member here...

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