ELIZABETH RIVER STORM - WIND 58 KNOTS

AUGUST 15, 2012

We had company yesterday, Joan & Wolf from Whiskers, a catamaran from Jacksonville, Fla.  They have had their boat in Trinidad for the past 2 year's & loved it.  They left there this spring & will winter the boat in the Chesapeake.  We had a very interesting chat & enjoyed the company.  In the spring their next stop will be Canada.

DINGHY INTO TOWN
PASSING A BATTLESHIP IN DRY DOCK

Today a storm is forecast for the afternoon and Rod has decided to stay put for another night.  We went into town to pick up some milk, do a load of laundry & got sidetracked.  While biking through the neighborhoods, the English Basement homes, built in the 1800's were too interesting to pass up.  We toured the Hill House which was open & shown by docents of the Historical Society.  The house had been owned by the original family since 1825 when it was built & still had all original furnishings. By the time we finished the tour & I took a few pictures the clouds were gathering.

STREETS OF PORTSMOUTH

By 3PM were back aboard & had everything buttoned up.  It looked like most of it was going to pass us by so we settled down for a afternoon shower.   All of sudden the rain came down in sheets, the wind hit 30+ knots & the water was crashing around us.  Within 2 minutes we could not see more than 100 yards off the boat.  As Rod started engine, we saw the yellow buoy & an anchored boat pass by our port side.  The wind hit 58+ knots & our anchor was dragging.........    
Rod fought the helm to keep It's Perfect headed into the wind & stop our backward motion.  At that moment there is nothing on your mind except the storm & nothing to do, except deal with it.  You are far too involved in what your are doing to think of anything else.  Well as they say, "It came on us fast & it left us fast"  In less than 30 min. the 58 knot wind began to let up & visibility improved, the torrential rain became a hard shower.

Sirens were going off & you could hear the whine of ambulance going by.  A big thunderstorm has a whole new meaning when you live on a boat.  As the wind died off & the water calmed, we checked for damage.  Other than a new scratch on the side of the boat from our ladder, It's Perfect was perfect.  One of our neighbors dinghy was floating upside down behind his boat & there was trash floating everywhere.  After catching our breath, we retrieved our anchor & returned to our spot in the anchorage.


This life of cruising is a new experience every day.  Time to put up our feet, pour a glass of wine & relax, we weathered the storm.