| Listening to NOAA
marine weather forecasts, several times daily, is a necessity when
you're moored 960 yards offshore. Afternoon storms can creep-up
with very little warning. I keep 1 dedicated weather radio in
"standby" mode 24/7 just to intercept the Alert-Tones issued when severe
weather warnings are issued. The Caribe dinghy
has survived numerous blows tethered abaft SEDATION 4 with only a little
rainwater to pump-out afterwards. I usually secure two lines from
the dinghy's bow eye to opposite sides of the big boat's transom, then
lead them through a snap eye centered on a custom bridle that
spans the aft deck. This keeps the dinghy centered behind SEDATION 4 for shelter and
minimizes off-center tugging which "steers" the big boat as it sways on
the mooring. One late-July storm was so severe that the snap eye
bridle broke! The redundant dinghy painters held, thank God! |
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| With hurricane Charley rapidly approaching, I decided to
fabricate a heavy-duty bridle from 5/8" nylon rope. I spliced a
thimble in the bridle's center and attached two short lines to it from
both
the dinghy's bow-eye and forward cleat. "That should work" I said
to myself. Everything else was secured, the bar was full and
shackles were re-checked, so all that remained was to lower the US Flag
and ride-out my first hurricane. Sounds like fun! :) |
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| My buddy, Vincent Keenan, had prudently moved his yacht into
Banana River Marine's harbor a few days earlier, since the dock at his
home in Cocoa Beach provided little shelter for the boat. Vincent
took his Hatteras dinghy for
one last spin as the skies darkened and dropped-by for a visit.
We enjoyed an early-afternoon cocktail, then he headed back onto the
river with some farewell advice; "You really should move your boat to
more protected waters." Vincent is one knowledgeable yachtsman,
with decades of first-hand Banana River experience, thus my concerns
increased. It was too late to retrieve the 3-anchor Bahama Moor rig and tow back to the
lagoon at Newfound Harbor, so I re-checked everything and settled in
for the blow. |
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| Charley changed course and headed toward Tampa, so we were
only expecting some tropical force winds. Whew!! Earlier forecasts for
sustained 35-45 MPH winds, with
peaks to 55 MPH, justified riding-out the storm aboard. As
Charlie turned to the east, wind forecasts kept climbing. Then NOAA issued a few alerts about tornados and waterspouts
in the vicinity. Oh well ... I've lived through three twisters in
Texas;
two were on the water. Then THIS monster poped-up about 4 miles
northwest! Seemed like a good reason to get the li'l boat to
shore muy pronto. Fancy
bridle or not, the Caribe could turn into a very expensive kite if such
a waterspout were to hit. I love kites, and own a bunch, but
$20,000 is beyond my kite-flying budget, so I decided to abandon ship. |
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| It's amazing how fast one moves when a tornado is
approaching. Within 5 minutes I'd covered the antique globe,
packed a "ditch bag", grabbed a bottle and was ready to depart. I
snapped this pic for posterity just-in-case then closed the salon door
and loaded the dinghy. |
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| Waves and wind hindered the boarding process but I finally
detached the lines and headed for shore. There were three other
vessels moored outside near mine. The Morgan sailboat visible in this
photo dragged its anchors later, during the hurricane, and crashed
onshore about 1/2 mile north. |
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| I was the last boat in, under the Banana River Marine
drawbridge. (BTW: Florida State Laws prohibit operation of
drawbridges when winds exceed 40 MPH) Here's a view of SEDATION 4 from the bridge just
after I had secured the dinghy. |
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| I secured the Caribe ahead of Vincent's trawler, tied to
four pilings with 3/8" double-braid lines. That would preclude
kite-flying activities in anything short of a direct tornado hit.
Vincent invited me to stay aboard "Osprey" during the ordeal provided I
would
tend to any potential problems. What a deal! His Mainship is very comfortable and
the neighbors really know how to throw a hurricane party :) |
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| From the south end of the dock I could see SEDATION 4 down the drawbridge canal. Darkness was approaching (although sunset was still hours away) along with the hurricane but I was able to snap this photo between bands of rain. So far - so good. The marina was busy. Between battening-down chores, BBQ grilling and beer-icing duties, the live-aboards recounted experiences of previous storms. These folks know how to prepare! The dock-party was rockin' by 1800 when the first wind gusts and bands of rain hit. After each storm band passed, everyone emerged from their boats and the party resumed. This continued for hours until the big gusts hit around 2100. |  |
| Electrical power went
out with the first 65+ MPH
winds. I had worked my way around to the east dock, between rain
bands, to keep an eye on SEDATION
4. Some friends had a night-vision scope and we watched my
boat riding the waves like a happy duck. That was cool! By
2300 the storm had subsided, so I passed-out from exhaustion aboard
"Osprey". I awoke at 0415, as usual. With no electricity in Merritt Island, everything was pitch black and eerily silent. Fortunately I had filled the thermos with 9 shots of espresso, before abandoning ship, so my caffeine-junkie fix was available. I wandered out to the drawbridge to find SEDATION 4 just bobbing in the post-storm waves. She was exactly where I'd left her and looked OK from a distance. The "Bahama Moor" anchor rig held perfectly, despite peak wind gusts of 71 MPH. I hopped on the bicycle and rode north in the darkness. Some folks had generators running, so spots of light were sometimes visible. A downed power line and numerous trees hindered my progress but I finally made it to the main road (State Road 520 a.k.a. the Cocoa Beach Causeway) and proceeded east. The view from atop the bridge over the Banana River was creepy, yet fascinating. Everything was dark except for a few spots of light where generators were running. Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island were essentially black. I only saw two vehicles during my entire eastbound travel - one was an ambulance. I arrived at the beach just minutes before sunrise ... a spectacular sunrise. I rode to Port Canaveral then back south to downtown Cocoa Beach. The damage didn't seem as bad as I'd expected. Wish I'd brought along a camera! |
No pix -
it was dark! |
