re: Ian Observation Thread (Storm Track and Radar inside)

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I still remember Frederick…

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In 1979 before that hurricane hit, the dunes on the western end of Pensacola Beach (Gulf Islands National Seashore and Fort Pickens) were huge with small oak and magnolia growing on them. Fred cut the island about half way between the entry station and Ft. Pickens. That would be repaired and restored. However, the storm surge just washed away a century’s worth of dunes in that area that even after 40+ years has not returned to what it used to be. (Not to mention Opal and then Ivan’s effects.)

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Why did people leave their big boats in the water? Cause they had insurance?

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The only place I've seen most boats removed from the water is Corpus Cristi where they have had cranes to lift them, and bury the hulls on an upper berm.
Where do you put a large boat? You really don't want to move it to a boat yard which is going to inundated and the boats float off their supports. (And none of the boats there for work are going to have their fenders out.)
Ideally you'd have floating piers. Our marina in Eden Isles did, and they floated off of their pilings for Katrina. Our boat broke free and ended up in the chowder at the southeast end of the harbor. Undamaged because she's a foreign built with a two and a half in thick hull. Other boats on our pier sunk in place. Those massive storage units for out of water storage- have too much windage. Even inland, they seem to attract high winds, especially tornadoes. Tornadoes win every time.

Boats float, I'd like to see the boats that had anchored out that were shown as the winds were building. Sails were well tied down and they were in deep enough water not to get stuck in mud if the harbor emptied and their anchor lines could handle a lot of flood conditions. I couldn't tell if they were tied to their own anchors or to the big, really big buoys that are used some places in Florida.

Moving a boat, short of taking her into the center of the Gulf, isn't an easy solution. (And insurance wise, a lot of policies won't cover boats used in 'blue water', far off shore.)

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Where do you put a large boat?

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You either evacuate in it ahead of time, which can be a gamble of trusting the forecasts... or you hope that it doesn't get wrecked.

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You either evacuate in it ahead of time

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Yeah, the one by us will move it with no hesitation, big bucks. Good decision this time, the whole dock and storage got destroyed.

Drone footage from the Ft. Myers Beach area

I wonder if that guy got his wig at Morrie’s… they’re tested in hurricane winds you know.

Remember sail boats have really heavy keels. Ours weighs over 10T without its four diesel tanks full. The big displacement fishing boats aren't as heavy but I do remember one being pulled towards the Mississippi by a heavy duty gravel truck who was so lost trying to find lakefront. Maneuverability on that tandem sucked and he may have ended up a the navel support facility by Jack Dempsey's. At least he could ask them where he was supposed to go.

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If a boat is too big to be pulled out by an F-150, then special arrangements have to be made much more than 3 days in advance to move them.

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wut???

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We lost a couple of screens in our pool cage and I had one small tree down. Considering what happened around me, I was fortunate. Cortez was trashed pretty good too. Will be in the shop all day tomorrow getting set back up so I check the damage and reports then. Been cleaning up outside all day

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Is the Star Fish Company ok? We try to eat there when visiting family. I grew up in Bradenton and my dad and 2 siblings live there with there families.

We lived on Palma Sola Bay from ~79-2000 when my parents down-sized. I left for college in 81 and only return to visit. The house was built in the early 70s and is not elevated at all.

Still can't get a hold of family but niece said all are good - just without power even in the independent/assisted living faclity where my 98yr old dad lives.