We'll start by backing up to the week leading up to Irma. We began by getting out our extra dock lines and tying up the boat like she was in a spider web. We are fortunate to be in a marina with floating docks so (in theory) storm surge is less of an issue. Next we stripped off all the canvas and moved everything we could inside the boat. By the time we were done the inside looked like the storm had already hit!
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| Extra Lines and Fenders |
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| Lots of 100 MPH Tape |
The house was newer construction with all the hurricane ratings and storm shutters so we felt we'd be pretty safe there. Funny thing about the way the house is situated the wind hit the back of the house for most of the storm so we were able to stand safely in the front doorway and record the events every hour. Jill took a short video about every hour starting at noon. The following is one taken about an hour before the eye got to our location.
Next picture is a screen shot from my phone taken about the same time. We were already without power but the cell service held up for a bit longer. We're located at the blue dot just above the eye.
I have to tell you that the stories about being in the eye of a hurricane are all true! After spending the afternoon listening to the wind howl louder and louder and hearing things hit the house suddenly it is silent...very eerie!!! A quick look outside the front door confirmed things were calm...just look at the poor stunned duck walking down the road.
Before too long we could see the sky darken again and moved back inside to prepare for the other side of the storm. While initially the winds were very strong from the west they died down much more quickly than it took them to build up. By about 9:00 the storm was down to a few strong gusts and there wasn't anything more to do until morning.
The next day was sunny with a light breeze as we set out to survey the damage around the neighborhood. We had a few tools and saws available so we cleared drains and cut back some downed trees so vehicles could get through.
By late morning we said good by to our safe house and headed North to survey the damage to our new home. Seeing the tree and roof damage on the way home had us both nervous about what we would find when we got there. There had also been much more rain than usual in the weeks leading up to Irma so we also had water to contend with. The following is from a street in our neighborhood.
When we got to the house we were amazed and thankful that there was very little damage! The Live Oaks in front of the house were still standing albeit with a few limbs down. The house itself was fine, no water had entered and even the screens around the pool were intact. The power was out of course and would remain so for a few days. Luckily since the house is new to us we had nothing in the fridge to spoil!! (little victories)
We spent the rest of Monday starting the clean-up around the house. The boat would have to wait one more day for inspection. After a bit more work around the house Tuesday we headed for the marina wondering if our luck would hold....well it did! Not only was the boat right where we had left her the marina already had power back! We were so happy to have A/C and a comfortable nights sleep after all the work.
So why has it taken so long to post you ask since everything was fine?? Well, besides a week of cleaning up we had all the usual things associated with buying a new house....buying furniture...a trip to Cincinnati to clean out our storage unit...Oktoberfest in Cape Coral...opening day at Stan's ...a road trip to the Ft. Lauderdale boat show...another trip to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving...we've been busy!!!
So that's where we are and what we've been up to. We'll be back boating around the end of January with a trip to the Keys and maybe the Bahamas. Till then we'll try to get another blog out on the progress of the house. I'll leave off with a few realtor pictures of the house as well as one from the "only in New Orleans" file. Enjoy!!
