Wilma

[Miles Offshore]

welcome back chuck!!!!!!

[Capt Chuck]

Here's a few pictures I took just from my property [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] I'm sure you have seen enough of the damage to South Fla. on the news.....

The first three pics shown were taken from within the house during the initial blow. You can see the screens being ripped out and the 100+ mph winds bending the trees and snapping off limbs. Blinding sheets of horizontal rain pelt the house.. Take notice of the 2'- 4' seas in the normally flat canal in my back yard.







This next shot shows my patio furniture I threw into the pool to keep from being tossed like missals by the category 3 wind gusts....



During the eye (approx 1 hour) the winds die a bit, the rain quits and then WHAM! they pick back up and slap ya hard from the opposite direction... It's kinda an eerie and silent aura!!!



Then afterwards the damage can be seen....









The sky clears and the night falls with a beautiful sunset



I'll sleep good tonight knowing my SeaCraft has yet made it threw 4 Hurricanes safe & sound [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[joey]

Well,Finally back home!As you all know we had a little water down here.I live on the second floor so no damage in the house.The fleet made it through just fine and my truck and jeep,but my wife's E320 seems to have bit the dust.Thank God,I hated that car!We probably had 2 to 3 feet of water.Anything on the ground level got pretty much trashed,but nothing that can't be fixed or replaced.Got news on Monday that I had to go to SC for a family issue and the lines for fuel were incredible,all the way from Key Largo to Ft.Pearce and were just as bad today comming back.
Mark,Thanks for the offer of gas,but filled up in New Smyrna and made to the Keys fine.
Glad to hear everyone fared OK.
The backcountry here is still quite cloudy and the wind is blowing a bit,but I think I'll go chum up a bonefish tomorrow and just chill!

[NoBones]

Hey Joey, Glad you came through the storm good too.
One way to get rid of a vehicle you don't like.
Easier then leaving the keys in it, in Liberty City. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Bet you filled up at Casey's Shell. I bought gas there
Thursday at $2.51 gal. It is coming down. Yeehaw!!
See ya, Ken

[joey]

Thanks Ken,I stayed on beachside so I hit the circle K on the way to 95.But,we did get gas in Georgia for 2.04 at a Pilot around mm29.Now,why can they sell it for 2.04, and I'm sure they are still making money,and everywhere else it's 2.50-2.60?

[TUGBOAT]

Why does a Marina charge .40 + more than a regular Gas station ? They get the Fuel delivered to them the same.The average boat takes at least twice(4 times + + +) as much fuel as a vehicle.So they can't blame it as low consumption.
We've got 2 stations here 1/2 block from each other in sight & their .18 diff.. [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
Man0Man it's Bright here with No Tree's !! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] At least We're all here to Bit*# about Her ! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]
WELCOME BACK ALL it could be worse !! It could be SNOWING !!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
TUG [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[NoBones]

Keep it up Brad--- Our luck has not been real good the last two years. We might just get a white Christmas. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]
Hummm, better start lookin' for snow chains. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]
See ya, Ken

[ScottM]

Glad to hear everyone made it through okay. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

It could be SNOWING !!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
TUG [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

I know it's no nearly as bad as a hurricane, but we ended up with a dusting last night, so don't laugh! [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[other tom]

We are generally fine. Midnight Sunday before the storm I fired up the Bertram, turned off the house panel and backfed the home so we could watch TV as it developed. As each band of bright red/orange on the TV radar approached (they had it zoomed in) we could countdown as the windgust would approach and then impact. It was waycool, but then the second floor of the house started to move, and roofs were flyng through the air down the canal. We had the roll-down shutter deployed, so it was hard to see, but pulled them open after the eye to seed the backside NW'rly take the neighbors patio roof and fly through the air into the Bertram's flybridge, tower, etc...bummer.

Many of my buildings are heavily damaged, but in 5 days, we have totally re-roofed 140,000 sf of buildings and dried in 200 apartments. It pays to be loyal to vendors, our roofing guys had spec bought 3 trailers of roofing materials, and we were first on his list. I drove to all our employees houses with 5 gallon cans of gas siphoned from the whitewater, and 2 coolers of ice and swordfish steaks with ice made from the Bertram. we were popular...

Fort Lauderdale and just north got hit hard, but the pains are easing and as soon as power comes on to most places it will be better. My whitewater is fine, we actually ran out last thursday, after powering up the boatlift with the a portable genset, and took the family on a boat ride. Well, we sort of had some rods on the boat, and it sort of looked nice offshore, so we sort of put the gear out and sort of trolled due east. 2 mahi, 1/1 wahoo (daughter wiffed boatside), and then the sun was going down, and I sort of had some frozen squids aboard, so we sort of went swordfishing. 9:15 a little guy darts into the lights as I was pulling the gear in, and I tossed a bait & the fight was on....without much freezer space, we released a 47" r after a short fight and ran home, back to our reality.

Hope everyone else down here is ok.

[cSickNick]

I have been following this post and glad everyone is OK.

Hope the worst is over, sorry to hear they are now using the Greek alphabet ..... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

A fun NE winter is on the way for us ... [img]/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]

- Nick