Hurricane IDALIA

[Jim_ME]

Fitful sleep last night. Got up early and checked in with NOAA weather...

"...IDALIA RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES INTO A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE... ...CATASTROPHIC STORM SURGE AND DESTRUCTIVE WINDS ARE NEARING THE FLORIDA BIG BEND REGION..."

I see that the path is forecast to go right over you, Kurt, and fortunately predicted to weaken to a Tropical Storm by then. No doubt you have been following it closely.

Wishing you (and any others) well as you ride this out.

 

[Frank]

It will be a mess for any boaters around the panhandle as the surge will reek havic! Hopefully everyone stays safe.

[Jim_ME]

Just checked the updated cone map...

It may be a small consolation to Kurt that Idalia's symbol changes from an H to an S... Looks like the red H area extends close to Georgetown, so if it becomes a Tropical Storm it may still be a near hurricane.

[wolverine]

I can't find 2 forecasts that are the same for my area.  I'm not worried about the surge, but the winds are predicted to top out at 60 mph in some forecasts, and only 35 mph in others.  Either way the boats are secured and prepped, but the wife is worried.

[Jim_ME]

Guess I'll post the current cone map, so they show the forecasts over time at the moment of posting...

Idalia is a now a Tropical Storm, but at [70 mph sustained] only just...

I remember with one of the previous storms it made a big difference for Kurt which side of him the eye passed by on, and which direction the wind was... That time, the direction was such that there was little fetch for waves to build up, but if the other way he could get the opposite...

[Frank]

Capt K, how are you doing?
It’s bad enough tending to one boat in wind and a surge, you’re tending to 3!
Hopefully all went well with minimal stress and damage.
Be safe

[Jim_ME]

Capt K, how are you doing?
It’s bad enough tending to one boat in wind and a surge, you’re tending to 3!
Hopefully all went well with minimal stress and damage.
Be safe

Ditto this.

[Bubba the Pirate]

I had decided to run up toward Washington, NC from Oriental. I ended up stopping in South Creek near Aurora as some squalls and blinding rain appeared in my way. I had gusts forecast as low 40s, steady in the 30s. My oversized Rocna held us without trouble. Didn't sleep much anyway.

[CapnK]

Well, it worked out not too bad, although it was 2 days of work doing the prepping. That said, I've learned that if I spend a lot of time getting ready, the storms aren't as bad. ;)

She did weaken pretty rapidly (Yay!) and by the time the central part went overhead we'd had some wind gusts in the (?) mid 30's or so, BUT - from the ESE and then after eye went by, clocking to the W, which is the directions for little fetch at this marina. Winds, even strong ones, don't mess much up, but waves are a different story...

Did have the usual 3 to take care of, BUT - Sundance, the A-30, has a new owner now, Zach. He is a member here, though quietly so far. :) He'll be taking her soon up to near Wilmington NC, at the same boatyard Toodd/Bubba did his refit work. I've got her ready to travel, after some fuel tank issues. Found out that for some reason the main tank pickup is not working, and so have converted her to what I had intended to do for myself to make life with a diesel easier: changed to a 5 gal tank in the cockpit locker, with a manual bulb-style primer coming off the tank, which leads into an electric fuel pump.
If you've ever had to bleed a diesel using that tiny little actuator on the lift pump of the engine, you could REALLY appreciate how much better this arrangement works! Reprime the entire system in a couple minutes, tops. And have an easy accessible tank for cleaning, that still holds fuel for 15-20 hours or more of motoring time - bazinga. :D

Anyway - putting things back together here, hoping fervently that we are "one and done" for the season... Long way until the end of that, however.

Work continuing on Katie and also my little expedition power launch. The launch, tentatively named "Rumabout" :) is 12' LOA, w/a 9.9 engine that'll push her to 24mph. Designed to be near unsinkable, she'll carry gear and provisions for a week or two, and Barque and I can even sleep aboard at anchor. I've built her as a learning test bed for my new composite construction technique, using XPS foam as a core instead of more expensive PVC/Divinycel. Has about the same basic weight at about 1/10th the cost. I've learnt a few tricks to make it possible, that I am not quite ready to divulge quite yet. :D

Some pics below: Sailboats ready for storm (almost!), the new tankage setup for Sundance, one of Rumabout from a week or two back with the Super keeping an eye on thinsg, and last, 7th of the 7 crabs that jumped into my crabpot to avoid the storm, only to meet their maker at the hands of a ravenous sailboater... :D

Thanks for the thoughts and well wishes!!!

[Jim_ME]

Good to hear that you got through it without much or any trouble, Kurt. :)

And that you sold your A-30, although man that is a fine looking boat from the photo...

Interesting setup with the small fuel tank and new electric fuel pump. And to see your work on Rumabout.

Your photo of the crab reminds me of seeing a local article recently about how blue crabs can now be found up here...
My former GF and I used to enjoy these big blue crab feeds when we would go down to visit her family in Maryland.
It all seemed exotic and far away...