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exposure · 12-08-2004, 10:03

I just went down to the marina and pulled the sails off the boat with the help of a friend. I'll go back down tonight and rig some extra lines and fenders.

Bonnie will only bring us some rain. But Charley (who decided to spell the name that way?) will likely go right over the top of us. Here in NE Florida they are saying 50-60 mph winds with some higher gusts, worst case. The marina I am in is a man made basin with good protection.

By Sunday we should be sailing again.

Woody

Greg B · 12-08-2004, 10:20

Good luck Woody and keep us posted. We'll be thinking of you

Greg & Jane

Talbot · 12-08-2004, 10:20

Good Luck!

AnchorageGuy · 12-08-2004, 14:31

Good luck, we are sitting here in Marathon waiting on it also.

Harriet · 12-08-2004, 16:08

Having experienced Isabel in the Chesapeake last year and the far edge of Andrew while we were in Ft. Lauderdale, we wish you the best of luck with Charley.

exposure · 12-08-2004, 19:17

Thanks for the well wishes. We had a tornado just south of us today. The cell passed just past our house after the tornado died out. The clouds were very ominous as they moved out over the ocean.

I ran extra lines and fenders this afternoon. I'll check on things one more time tomorrow before installing the hurricane panels at the house.

And good luck down there in Marathon Chuck. It looks like you'll be geeting some hard rain and wind, but hopefully avoid the worst of it.

AnchorageGuy · 13-08-2004, 13:02

Well, we dodged the bullet this time. Max winds in Marathon were only about 50 knots with a squall last night. We did have a close call with a tornado threat. Still blowing in the 20's today. Looks like the Fort Meyers area is really in for it. We wish them all well and hope they come through safely.

exposure · 14-08-2004, 08:13

All came out well here in Fernandina Beach. We had maximum winds of about 50 knots and only a couple of inches of rain. The last minute turn to the east before landfall helped put us on the calmer side of the storm.

Personally, I think putting up my hurricane shutters and taking off the sails puts good mojo around the area and helps deflect hurricanes. At least thats the attitude I take when trying to decide if its worth doing. Otherwise its too easy to decide the storm is going to miss me anyway and "it'll just be more work". And now all those people who didn't do any preparations can thank me for causing the storm to go elsewhere!!!

Best of luck to all of you in SC and farther north. Get that mojo ready and going!

Woody

**Alan Wheeler** · 14-08-2004, 15:22

So with a Hurricane up your way, is the area of extreme wind very small?? OR is it that the storm is made to look small in area, due to the vastness of your country??
It's just that I don't think I have ever experianced wind of 200Kph or more. One storm we did have here back in 1975 was extreme and tore roofs of houses, but....200kph and higher just sounds increadable.

Down here in NZ, our country is small and mountanouse. Plus being so far South, the Cyclones/Hurricanes often have broken up by the time they get this far South. The odd one has made land fall, but most have downgraded to extreme Low's. But with that, as they break apart, the area of coverage often increases. We may not get 150MPH winds, but it still can be windy and very heavey with rain. The main thing is that it can cover such a vast area. Often close to all of the country.
Having said we don't get the extreme winds, we still get winds though. We tend to have a higher average of wind speed down here. 30-40Knts is comon around our coasts throughout the year. We often here stories of ones that have sailed the world, finding the worst weather they have ever experianced upon their arrival in NZ. Another interesting story, when the first oil rig came down here to NZ waters, they had to extend it's hight above sea level by another 10M.(30ft) This rig came from the North sea feilds.
Wheels

Talbot · 15-08-2004, 01:51

Quote:

Alan Wheeler once whispered in the wind:
. Another interesting story, when the first oil rig came down here to NZ waters, they had to extend it's hight above sea level by another 10M.(30ft) This rig came from the North sea feilds.
Wheels

The North Sea is part of the continental shelf, thus the main problem here when you get a storm is not the height of the seas, but the steepness and how close together the peaks are

delmarrey · 26-04-2005, 03:06

**Alan Wheeler** · 26-04-2005, 04:35

Hi Delmarrey, I have seen this photo many times and there has always been speculatiuon as to if it is ligit or doctored. What's your thoughts? Mine are,
Why is the sea dead calm. I would have thought waves generated within, would be traveling out of that circle.
There appears to be a circular shape to this, but it would almost seem to be too small in diameter.
And finally, what captain in his right mind would sail a tanker into that thing