Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Fun and Hurricane Ida...








Mom and I had a great day touring several of Charleston’s historic homes. I have always been in awe walking the streets of Charleston at the size of many of the homes. Yet the reality is that once inside they aren’t that big. Especially when you consider that a large portion of the first floor would have been designated as office space for the man of the house.

After a day of walking I decided to kick back and read. I put on my pajamas, went below and crawled into our bunk. The winds had started to pick up and the rain had started to fall – all remnants of Hurricane Ida. A few minutes later I heard it – thump. I continued my reading then heard it again – thump. David was still in the salon so I asked him to take a look at what it might be. Moments later I heard David yell, “Joanne get up here.” So me in pjs and stocking feet raced up on deck to find David in a full wrestle with the bow line. With the hard winds the line had stretched and allowed the bow of the boat to move about 5 foot away from the dock. The only thing keeping us from running into our neighbor, a 48 foot Catalina, was the thumping I had heard which was the left hull stern striking the back of the dock.

In a panic I rushed 2 boats down and yelled for help from our friend John on Marylee. He came running up on deck in his boxers and bare feet. The three of us fought the wind to bring the bow back to the dock. We ended up having to use a line around a cement piling and a winch on board to bring the boat back in – it was damned windy! Once everything was under control the dock looked like Charlotte’s Web. We had run 5 additional lines from the bow and midship to the dock to secure the boat. We were going to make sure the boat was going nowhere!

Soaking wet from the rain, we helped John move Marylee back in her slip as she was at risk of her bow striking the dock.

It was an unbelievable evening. We returned to the boat, pulled off our soaked garments and had a cup of hot cocoa to take the edge off. There would be no early to bed tonight. The adrenaline rush from the event would keep us up for several more hours!

The Admiral
11/10/09

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Dave and Joanne
Well, I guess it is good to have your first wild and crazy event of this journey under your belt!! It is a warm up for more adventure. Good to hear that things are working well and you are back at the helm of Tropical Breeze. We'll be keeping track from our landlocked home here in Mono Centre Ontario.
Fair winds, friends.
Dave, Shirley and Christopher (Tiffany Rose)