Maggie's Farm

You're certainly right about the trees. After Charley, they said the tree surgeons and roofers were scheduled up for the next year and a half. The chief engineer for the station had about a dozen pine trees on his property -- every single branch was stripped from them. It looked like a field of telephone poles.

The only trees we have here are palm trees, and they tend to ride it out pretty well. I don't remember a single palm falling over in Lakeland. The biggest danger from above will be falling coconuts. :)

Jon - Actually, I'm considering making money off this trait. What's that? You're in the middle of an 8-year drought? No problem! Just hire ME to move there and we'll have that ol' drought problem fixed in no time!

Rick - Well, good news, yes and no. Getting out of the path of the eye and into the east wall isn't much of a victory. If it moves a little further west, though, we might only see Cat 1 winds here in the upper keys. We had a marina meeting this morning but the big decisions (like whether to remove the biminis) will be made tomorrow.

Regarding spring lines, I've got double 3/4" lines (40' boat), but the big thing is length. It's the short spring lines that rip cleats off boats when the surge arrives. And in marinas that don't have pilings between slips, once one boat goes, it can take the rest with it. We've got triple pilings between every slip here, so we should be fine.

Roy -

"I haven't been in the Keys since 1944"

Personally, I think it's wonderful that they allow nonagenarians here at Maggie's, don't you? So equitable! So user-friendly! Yes, when they said "Bring us your tired, your poor, your old and mentally decrepit," they were thinking of Maggie's!

"I might appear on your doorstep or your poopdeck..."

This isn't my boat, but it's identical to it. Check out the poopdeck.

Sliding glass door? Steps leading up to the bridge? Grandad's poopdeck was never like this!

"P.s., Single malt or Bud?"

Hurricanes are traditionally 'Bud weather' since most likely the rocking of the boat will cause you to hurl what you just drank over the side, anyway, so no sense wasting money on the good stuff. But very considerate of you to ask!

Roy -

Fun story about your dad. By the way, you know when you see some 'mad scientist' movie and he's got some poor innocent slob strapped down to a table and a bunch of electrodes attached to him and then he hollars to his assistent something like, "Turn on the juice!" Wouldn't the assistant be a "neuropsychiatric technician"? I've always wondered what the proper term for them was. Via the wonders of the Internet, I finally know.

"We're getting ready to batten the hatches up here in Titusville."

Nah, you'll be okay. (famous last words) You're already out of the cone and it just took another step to the west. Actually, at this precise moment, if you carried the projected line out, it's aimed directly at...

...wait for it!

New Orleans!

Those guys get ALL the fun!