Celebrations of Life Friends & Family
Home Page Living Aboard The Boat
The Hurricane Chronicles:
The Madness of 2004
At Flamingo, the site of the famous "Mosquito Horrors."
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Have a Happy & Safe
Fourth of July Holiday
Click on the link below for Fireworks!!
Charmaine & Bill
Aboard s/v September Sea
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Little did we know when sending out the email out above, wishing all a Happy and SAFE Fourth of July... that the following month of August would put us in the middle of danger. It would be Bill and I who would worry our loved ones, as our safety during the hurricane season would be in question many, many times.
The other intertwining emails serve to show that life goes on regardless of hurricanes or whatever Mother Nature throws our way. Things still happen, both good and bad, to those we love who are elsewhere. People worry. We worry about one another. Our friends and family also have things going on in their lives--the fact that we're running for our lives from hurricanes certainly doesn't stop the rest of the world. It thus becomes a delicate balance as you sympathize and try to help others cope with their unique situations, while facing some dauntingly unique ones of our own. The emails are in chronological order, with the exception that associated replies are directly beneath the original email, regardless of date. Come along with us as we face an incredible six weeks of HURRICANE MADNESS.
Lighter reading highlights are:
If you're looking for hysterical MAIN EVENTS at Flamingo... check out:
"HURRICANE HELL & MOSQUITO MADNESS,"
an email originally sent to our dear, dear friends Peggy & Edwin Aboard m/v TIEMPO.
Another is: "Escape from the Everglades."
Many of the scads of emails I wrote during our hurricane escapes and horrors at Flamingo & the Shark River (aka The Everglades) during the Hurricane Season of 2004 have made the rounds on the internet. I'll happily grant permission for anyone to reprint what I've written, just please contact me: Charmaine@SeptemberSea.com
Also to be enjoyed is "The Hurricane Prep List." Enjoy!
Part I: Hurricane Charley
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Hello all...
Looks like we might not make it back to Illinois
this week as planned.
We were to leave Friday morning and fly out of
Ft. Lauderdale.
However.... Tropical Storm Charley has the idea
to become a full
fledged Category 1 hurricane in the Keys by
Friday. YIKES I've attached a five
day forecast map of it.
Looking at hte map, we are located exactly at the "i" of the word
Friday. They say it might slip
to the east, but that's won't help us at all.
Looks like we will plan on leaving
The Keys (Marathon) tomorrow and heading to our
Hurricane Hole at Little Shark River.
It will take us about 12 hours to get there.
Lots of rope and back up
supplies and we'll get through this just fine.
We'll tie up to the mangroves
with rope out the ying-yang and wait it out.
We're sure to have plenty of
company, as others from here with their boats to
tie up at Little Shark
River as well.
Here's a picture of a great slot to slide
September Sea in while at Little Shark River:
You can see that the river has "slots." We'll
put our boat in the slot and tie
up to the mangroves all around it. The
mosquitoes there are known to
be horrible, but with the winds of the Hurricane
they won't be a bother,
I'm sure. Anyway, got our 100% Deet that the
soldiers used in Vietnam.
It works!
Somehow I'd love for Charley to go WAY east and
pass us up altogether,
but it sure doesn't look like it right now.
Wish us the best. Hope to be online again
soon.
Love yaz....
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: John Porter
Date: 08/10/04 19:49:03
To: Charmaine Smith Ladd
Good Luck on avoiding the Hurricane. I will
say prayers for you. I am going to be in
Springfield this weekend. My family is
gathering there for a possible reunion. All
my family from my mother's side are coming
to Springfield, and we hope to meet with my
father's side (The Porters.) Too bad you
can't make it, it would be good to see you
and Bill. Take care and Good bless.
John
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Say your prayers for us... we'll make our
final decision as we read the forecast in
the morning. As quickly as
Charley turned toward us, it could possibly
veer otherwise. Let's PRAY so!
I would love to see you all, that would so
wonderful. Family reunions, how great for
you, John. I do recall a family of Porters
that lived on Washington Street back in the
day, down near the Big Four grocery store,
I believe. Do you know what I'm talking
about? ha!
One of the kids there was my age, but I
can't remember his name. He was somewhat
fair skinned and kept his hair shaved real
close to his head. Dayam, can't even think
of his name.
Anyway, I love you. I'll be in touch as
soon as I can.
Love,
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September
Sea
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From: Antoinette Genesis
Thinking about you babe! Been there, rode out those hurricanes! Well, shit, just throw a party!
Love you. Will say our prayers for you.
Donna & Ray
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From:
Letitia and Bill Anderson
Date: 08/11/04
08:41:00
To:
September Sea
Subject: Re:
Hurricane Charley
You are in our prayers. Please
keep us informed as to your
safety and wherebouts. We love
you!
Leittia and Bill
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Will do, my Loves. We will be
out of communication range from
now until after this is over.
Even when it's over, our
hurricane hole at Little Shark
River (in the Everglades.. yes,
where the alligators love dark
meat!) won't allow us to
communicate via radio or cell
phone until we are closer to the
Keys.
Therefore, you probably won't
hear from us until Monday. Keep
an eye on what's happening down
here and and soon as cell phone
communications are up and
running as of Monday you will
hear from us.
I'm sure we'll be fine, we have
another boat with a couple
onboard that are going with us.
Safety in numbers!
Love you all very, very much.
Special hugs and kisses to Bill.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v
September Sea
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Wednesday morning, 9:25 am
Tropical Storm Charley is
predicted to become a Category 2
hurricane as it reaches the
Keys. Right
now, the probability is 28%
that its center will reach
within 75 miles of Key West.
There is another update coming
at noon. We are all ready to go
in the event that the noon
update
says to skeedattle. Everyone is
bustling around here, preparing
as the Mariner's Warnings are
out and
Marathon Emergency Staff is
readying for it all.
It's said that by Thursday
evening there should be winds in
excess of 60 knots with very
strong storm
surges which will produce
flooding. If Hurricane Charley
hits here, the winds are
expected to reach
in excess of 100 knots. Don't
think we want to be in a marina
where the majority of boats are
barely holding
on their anchors and self-made
mooring balls. Ouch! I can see
the flying debris in my mind...
no way!
Looks like Illinois will have to
wait a couple of weeks. If the
forecast is accurate, leaving
here right around noon will be
perfect for getting to
Little Shark sometime
in the wee hours and
anchoring outside of it. The
weather is to change by late
Thursday afternoon, evening and
by then we'll be tied up and
nestled in. Then the big hit is
predicted for Friday.
Love you both, knowing that you
two have us in mind, makes me
feel all the more safer. It's
like you're there with us.
Chris and Yanni of s/v Magus
will be joining us, so there
will be some help to the
nerves knowing there is usually
some safety in numbers.
Love you both so very, very
much. I will send you one more
email as we leave.
Smooches and Hugs and all that
stuff... and thanks for the
toast.... I felt it last night.
It felt dayam good!
Miss you both and I'm sure we'll
have some stories to catch up on
with ya after this is over.
Thanks so much for replying
right away, so glad you checked
to see that I had emailed ya.
You both are a comfort to
me, even though you aren't right
here. Now that's some kind of
special love vibes!
Hugs and kisses
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v
September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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We have to sail the boat to Little
Shark, my Love. That's the only tricky
part.... but we'll get there. Charley
will
be a Category 2 hurricane, expected to
hit here in the Keys on Thursday night
with high winds and tidal surges.
It will be a full fledged monster
by Friday.
We're leaving just in time. There will
be an updated forecast at noon, we'll
wait to hear that and then if things
stay the way they are, we'll be backing
out of our slip at noon and on our way.
Another couple will be in their boat but
going along with us. Safety in numbers!
Love yaz... I'm sure we'll be fine....
I know the alligators are partial to
dark meat, so I won't be doing any
swimming!
(Little Shark River is in the
Everglades). Now that's a place I said
I'd NEVER go to.... what was that my
mother
used to say about "never say never..."
or was that James Bond?
Love, Charmaine (& Bill) Aboard s/v September Sea |
From: s/v September Sea
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Hello my Darlings!
Tropical Storm Charley, near Jamaica at this
point, is on its way to the Keys, due Friday,
where it is expected to become a Category 2
hurricane. We are preparing right now to leave
as of noon (when the next storm update will
be posted). If it doesn't change its pattern at
that time, we will be on our way to our
hurricane hole at Little Shark River.
Chris and Yanni aboard s/v Magus will be joining
us. We'll get there and tie up to the mangroves
tighter than a priest's sphincter when he's been
accused of child molesting. We will be out
of touch, as cell phones don't work out there in
the Everglades. I suspect that by Monday we
will be on our return trip back to Marathon and
will be in touch as soon as phone service is
up. Let's pray for the best.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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Ennie
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From: Dr. Dlugie
Date: 08/14/04 10:14:54
To: September Sea
Subject: Hurricane Charley
Dear Char,
Hope youse guys are all well and that you
and your boat took off and fled the path of
Charley!!! We know that's so if you got the
warnings in time, or if you were already out
to sea, but let us know, if you can, so we
won't worry about you.
We know you probably got 10 e-mails like
this from illinois, so a form reply will be
more than sufficient.
Our thoughts are with you,
Dr. D., Lida and Claudia
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Hey Doc!
Make that 20 emails!
The puter was loaded when we got back
today... I wanted to let you and Lida know
personally that we're fine and dandy! We
actually took off on Wednesday for our
hurricane hole, the Little Shark River,
located in the Everglades (oh yeah, gotta
wear full mosquito armor and pray that an
alligator ain't hangin around!).
Unfortunately this time... we went closer
to the hurricane than if we had stayed put
in Marathon. The good thing is that the
hurricane hole is a labyrinth of tall,
stout, mangroves meandering along the river
beds. We were snug as bugs up in there....
bugs is right! We were hit with 70 knot
winds but faired well with no problems
whatsoever. We barely moved. Bill chained
the ropes to the mangroves and we had six
lines strung, three on each side of the
boat. Then we put out heavy anchors fore
and aft and were sitting like rocks in the
river. Fantastic!
Now to keep an eye on
Earl. He's moving westward down in the
Caribbean... but too close to call right
now. If he turns our way, we'll be heading
back to the Little Shark. So we're
provisioning again just in case.
Dayam, I love air
conditioning! Sitting here in our slip with
the AC blasting.... took a shower and lost
four pounds of dirt I think...
hahaha
Thanks so much for
watching over us.... we could feel your good
karma and it felt so nice. Love you both.
Smooches
Nice and calm here now.
 
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September
Sea
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And... a big kiss for
Claudia!
Bill and Charmaine
Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: rudy and sue
Date: 08/16/04 09:13:42
To: s/v September Sea
Subject: Hurricane Charley
Charly,
Tell me you are okay. This hurricane
stuff is something! Guy Anderson wants to contact you. Is that okay?
I brag on your life every chance I get.
Love S
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You know I would LOVE to hear from Guy! Please give him my email
info and all... you'll get my other email too; letting you know
that we're safe and sound. I'll give him a call.
Love you Suzi... you're a great Sis to me, always have been.
Hugs and Kisses to you and Rudy.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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Subject: gator deer hunting (picture attached)
[Note: You'll see it later down the page.]
From: s/v September Sea
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OMG that is HUGE!!!! Better
get my big ass in shape so I can get the
hell out of a gator's way next time we end
up at Little Shark River.... think I'll
start now:
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v
September
Sea
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From:
s/v September Sea
To:
Suzie
Sent: Wednesday, July 21,
2004 8:49 AM
Subject: Re: Would you
use it? (Pics included of Sept
Sea)
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From: rudy and sue
Date: 08/16/04 09:57:06
To: s/v September Sea
Subject: Re: Would you
use it? (Pics included of Sept
Sea)
Charly, I was re-reading your email.
Sept 1 makes how many years? 32 or
something extraordinary? Wow....
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32 years.... WOW! Seems like yesterday. |
From: s/v September Sea
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Hey my Darling Sis,
DAYAM, when you stopped by, I had just
gotten out of the shower... shoot! We MUST
get together while the boys are here. MOST
definitely. Even if it's just for a little
bit, we'll make the time. I heard ya out
there and hurried to get something on and
then Bill came back in and said, "They were
in the dink, I told em we were just sitting
down to eat dinner." HELL!
I could
have at least stuck my head out the fricken
companionway to say HEY to my siblings!! We
were so tired after just having got back
that afternoon from the Little Shark; but
I'm never too tired to say hey to you both.
I love you with all my heart!
Got to see my Big Twin and my Sistah's
kids... ya know! They got an Aunt they
haven't even met yet.
Love you two so very, very much. Got lots
to tell ya about the Little Shark River.
WOW! All I can say is that if a Category 5
were coming my way and I had time, I'd be
hunkered down in the Little Shark watching a
movie and eating freshly popped popcorn. It
is so sheltered there it's almost like God
provided it for us. Unbelievable.
Talk with ya soon. SMOOCHES and SO SORRY I
didn't see you last night.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v
September Sea
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I forgot to tell you all that
Wednesday the 11th as we made our
way to Little Shark River from Marathon,
that night was the greatest
Perseids Meteor Shower I've ever seen. We
were headed north, and
the annual Perseids shower is always in the
Northeast part of the
sky, so we had an incredible view as we
sailed. They're so fast
that my little camera didn't stand a chance
to catch any, but I
found a pic on the net that was similar to
the lightshow we saw.
Some of the meteors were very large and
golden, reminding me of
the whistler fireworks that spew out every
which way. AWESOME.
There were meteors about once every three or
four minutes. I'm
telling ya, I've seen many of the Perseids
showers, but none quite
like this one. Not even the one a few years
ago that they said
would be the best in a few decades.
We were so under the gun and rushing to get
there, I completely
forgot to ask our very good friends Yanni
and Chris Aboard s/v Magus
if they had seen any of the Perseids as they
sailed down ahead of
us. Yanni and Chris were there with us
there at Little Shark, albeit
in another section of the River nearby. We
were in touch
with each other via VHF Radio. They were
troopers throughout,
and I'd go with them anywhere, anytime,
anyday.
On another note, being up there in Little Shark River (yes, the Everglades are UP to us, we head North all the way there).SWAMP COUNTRY... where only the nuts go to explore (yes, I'm one of those nuts).
Mangroves and skeeters everywhere and their
roots are
almost impassable. Walking on them is like
walking on a moving
carpet that's laid over muck... the
distinct possibility that a gator
might sneak up beneath ya makes the legs
shake... so it could
just be one's legs that's really moving. I
tell ya, I'd give that area
a sphincter factor of about TEN. hahahaa
You don't see that
kind of scoring at the Olympics games, at
least not yet (I dunno Puerto Rico beating our asses in B-Ball might be
close!).
Here we are at Little Shark
(I forgot to give Bill the camera while
he was in the dink, he could have gotten
some great pics of us
tied up.) Be sure to scroll to the right if
need be so you can see
how meandering these creeks on the River
are. Little September
Sea is nestled in to do battle. (I knew
Friday the 13th would bring
something and it DID: Hurricane Charley.)
There is chain around the
tree, then shackled to 5/8 line tied around
the mangrove base and then strung back to
the boat. Each line has
a plastic tubing around the areas that could
chafe against the boat. No need in securing
lines if they're gonna be sawed off
by high winds! Then the line is cleated
back onto
the boat. We ran six lines, three each
port and starboard (left and right sides of
the boat, respectively). Then two
anchors fore and aft (in front of, and
behind
the boat, respectively).
The naked dink. The dinghy
was stripped down to the bare bones so
nothing would be lost. Dang she look nekkid!
A girlfriend (De Lynn) just sent these to
me. The question is:
Should I kill her?
(Click the thumbnail pics to enlarge).
That's an alligator with a
mature deer in its mouth. He's HUGE.
Unbelievable. Looks like they're learning
that tan is
good.... shit... if they start thinking: "the
darker the berry the sweeter the juice," my ass ain't got a chance!
hahahahaha
Love ya!
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v
September Sea
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From: Dr. Dlugie
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Barring any hurricane activity near our trip...
we'll be home, in Springpatch of course, on
Friday, September 10th. Got our air tickets
again... cross your fingers, eyes and toes!
Hopefully, we'll make it this time.
Miss you all so very, very much. Hoping to make
the Oktoberfest in Havana this year. It's been
a while! Bill's parents will be just getting
back from Colorado so it will be nice to see
them there.
We'll let ya know what is going on and when we
all can get together.
Can't wait to see everyone.
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From: Enyo Dewith
Date: 08/29/04 14:59:22
To: s/v September Sea
Subject: Re: Trip to Springpatch
HOW LONG U GOING 2
B N SPRNGFLD? I WOULD LIKE 2 BRING THE
'WILD-ONES-WITH-SHORTER-LEGS-WHO
EAT-MUCH-AND-MAKE LOUD NOISES'
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From: s/v September Sea
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hahahaha Love my Enyo!
We'll be there for ten days. Would love to
see you and the not-so-little rug rats.
Love you so very, very much. As if you
didn't know.
See ya then... we'll keep in touch.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September
Sea
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Part II: Hurricanes Frances & Gaston
From: s/v September Sea
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Hey my Darlings,
Donna you are a Love, indeed. Thank you very much for your
very wise words. I'm sure that Frances will become a
Category 5, with Gaston right above her... she's got the
fuel on her side and she's using every bit of it.
I'm praying that Frances turns away before she reaches
land. Every Category 3, 4 or 5 that has had the same path
as Frances historically has moved back out to sea prior to
reaching land. Thee is one exception however, and that was
Hurricane Connie in 1955, she went all the way up to the
Great Lakes (though toned down by that time to a tropical
depression). Can you imagine?
If history serves us right, Frances will veer off and go
back out to sea. However, history has a been a bitch
lately, LOL. The things you think can't happen... DO.
I agree that riding out a Category 5 in a marina would be
very dangerous indeed. But the Little Shark River, Donna,
is truly an incredible hurricane hole. We have mapped it
all out and it meanders miles and miles away from the sea.
Once you get inside there and find a very narrow offshoot
creek of the river, you can tie up to mangroves on all sides
if necessary. I mean you are hunkered down bigtime. We
have chains and shackles and tie the boat three times on
each side, to large mangrove trunks. There are anchors set
fore and aft. We also, if need be, have chains encased in
fire hose that will be used in front and aft of the boat to
make a horizontal secondary "wall."
We are prepared. I truly believe it would take nothing less
than a tornado to get us pulled out of there. And yes, that
COULD happen. If so, the worst would probably be that it
would pick us up and toss us up into the mangroves. Not a
bad place to be. The nice thing about mangroves is that the
way they grow, they more than likely won't hole your boat if
you're set on top of them.
Then we simply wait the hurricane out and call for the
American Express helicopter to pluck us out. ha!
Don't worry, my Darling. If it looks like we are truly in
harm's way and that it would be a very high chance of a
direct hit, we won't ride it out. Anything less than
that... we'll go to our hurricane hole plans.
Love you so very, very much. Give my love to Ray-Ray. I
love that man of yours. Hope you both are fine and doing
well, I know that you have that grandbaby on your mind...
I'm so jealous I could spit cherry pits!
So happy to hear that Gaston will not cause you much
trouble. I tell ya, Girlfriend... we're in for the shit
this season. I think I'm gonna find a way to spend next
hurricane season in Aruba. Gotta get out of the hurricane
belt during hurricane season, it is just too much. With
global warming... I think it's just gonna get worse as the
years go by.
Kisses and Hugs, my Loves.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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Hello my Darlings,
I'm praying that you don't get much trouble from Hurricane Frances.
That bitch is gonna be bad. Supposed to be a Category 5 sometime
today and I believe she will be. Historically, as I'm sure you've
already tracked, all but one hurricane on France's path turned back
out to sea before reaching land. That was Connie in 1955 and she
was so crazy she ended up blowing all the way up through the Great
Lakes. Now that's insane.
Hope you are hunkered down, I think she's gonna just nip ya a bit.
Let's hope that's all.
We're geared up to get to the Little Shark, though others think
we've lost our minds trying to ride out a Category 5. Ya know, they
haven't been there like we have. There are new places we have found
in there that are only 100 ft. across as you enter then they narrow
down inside to about 50 ft. across and the meandering mangroves have
you blocked on all sides. The way we chain up this boat and anchor
it down, it ain't movin. There's no way. Short of a tornado coming
down and plucking us out of there, we will be just fine. Those
mangroves have been there for thousands of years... and they've done
just fine. I have no qualms about riding it out there.
Fortunately, since there is safety in numbers, our friends on s/v
Magus (Chris and his wife Yanni) feel the same way we do and will be
joining us. There are a few others too that want to come down with
us. The only thing I'm having a hard time getting across to many of
them is that I don't want them in the same creek as I am. That's
the whole point of going down there, getting away from other vessels
that can come down on you. That's what causes the majority of real
damage in marinas and anchorages... other boats and their debris
hitting you.
Well, I think they think I'm being anti-social... but they just
don't get it. So I may have hurt a few feelings, but I've seen
the way some of em tie their boats up too.... no thanks!
I know you know what I'm talking about. What's the point of going
all that way to be SAFE and then deliberately put yourself in
jeopardy by letting someone tie up in the same place that you do.
It makes no sense to me. None.
Anyway, be safe my Loves. Bill and I love you like we love our own
brothers and sisters and that you are to us. Yes, I'm a bit worried
about you, but I know that Eagle Scout has everything under
control. You two make a great team and you'll do what you have to
do to be safe, of that I am sure.
Let me know how it's going. If we leave here it will probably be on
Wednesday. I will drop you a line to let you know, since we'll be
out of touch. Bill is out trying to get that new battery for our
satellite phone....
No wonder it was such a deal on e-Bay, hard as hell to find a
battery for it!
Love you so much. Please stay in touch when you can.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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Hello my Darlings... and yes, I got my Peek-a-Booo-Peggy Blinds.
The company doesn't know they have to change their name... I'll let
them know. They are everything and MORE than I imagined... all
without the view of one beaver. Can ya stand it? I'm elated but
somehow feel like I have pornographic shades. They are IT, Girl,
you done good, Peg. They are fantabulous.
Now, about that Bitch running around loose, Frances. If this ain't
the shit I don't know what is. She'll be a Category 5 today, no
doubt about it. So what's a little black Mama to do.... wish she
were a little black mamba snaking her way through the little Shark
and getting down in the mud and the mangrove roots... that's what.
Hell, this is bad, Peg.
Historically, every Category 3, 4 or 5 that started and has the path
of Frances has veered off and gone back to sea before hitting land.
That is with one exception, Hurricane Connie in 1955... a bitch if
there ever was one who ended up in the Great Lakes!! Now that's
nuts.
I know, I know... I can hear ya now... "Throw history out the
window, history told us that Christopher Columbus was Italian, now
we find out he was a Spaniard." You're right. History don't know
shit about nothing. With global warming in the picture and Gaston
sitting up in the Carolinas adding fuel to the wrath of Frances, who
the hell knows?
(Peggy is tapping her foot and tilting her head waiting for me to
get to the fucking POINT.... "are you gonna try to ride out
Frances... like a FOOL?")
Dunno.
So you can be half relieved. hahahaa We'll figure that out by
Tuesday. I will stay in close touch with you, my Loves. Please
kiss my Edwin for me (with just a little tongue).... gotta make
sure if I have to watch "Last Tango in Paris" as my dying deed, that
I leave Edwin with a good one.
Hope Dirk is there there. Hope that Edwin is getting to be his same
ole onery self. Love that man so much. Peg, you're my sister and I
love you with all my heart. Don't worry, Darling. Your "Charmie"
ain't no dummy.... I won't do anything that would jeopardize not
seeing you all again. Besides, I haven't met Dirk yet in person.
So now you know I'm gonna live!
hahahaha
Love you. Talk with ya soon.
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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I saw this article and thought you might find it interesting. The
Little Shark River, the setting of the short story, is our hurricane
hole. For those who don't remember, it's where we sail to when
we're threatened by adverse weather (as we might be soon with
Hurricane Frances). Let's hope she veers back out to sea soon. In
the meantime, as I am reminded of by this story, I am ordering full
body mosquito netting as I type. For September Sea too! Love yaz!
Bill and Charmaine Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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Hey my Darlings,
You know I was so glad to hear that you were with Katie and
Charlie. I miss them! I got their email address from Rob eons ago
but whatever I send their way always comes back undeliverable. Ask
them to get me their email addy... I'd love to hear from them.
What about BJ, and his boat, and what is he doing
When Hurricane Charley came through, Bj tied his boat up in our slip
and then slipped away with his girlfriend, Denise, who lives on
Grassy Key. She works at the Dolphin Research Center (yeah, I know,
this is yet another girlfriend who works with dolphins. She's
a Sweetheart.
Denise is nice, but I still don't see how he can go from being with
Skank Hoe Major to a Doris Day Minor.
Denise looks like sugar and spice and all things nice. She's
blonde, very, very fair-skinned... very "que sera, sera" looking."
We adore her. So once again I stand the chance of having another grandchild so
white I'll have to bring ID to see them. Hell, at least she ain't
no Heidi Doody. Don't need no red-headed, buck-toothed, horse-faced
women in this family who can't even think about getting a tan. I
tell ya, Kermit the Frog (like you know another anything named
"Kermit?") and I have much in common: It ain't easy being chocolate.
People say, "Well, you're not prejudice!" What are they thinking?
I sure am. I see cullah too. And red headed people are often a
nuisance, at best. I mean who else has to have SPF 300? Who else
seems to be on their periods 24/7 if not for red-headed females?
It's like they were all born on a sweltering Sunday or a frigid
Friday. They're either steamin' mad about something or so
emotionally cold they don't give a dayam. You can probably tell by
now that Bj had dated five red-heads. hahaha Well, not
really... not!
hahahaaaaaaa Shhhhh! Jesse Jackson might hear us (I can hear him
now): "What we have here is an explemplification of a color reversal
revelation. That an oppressed soul of a given goal can be overcome
by a demandingly strong and ultimately conquering desire not to
expire but to transfer and transpire one's historical oppression to
another contemporary racial succession." Whew! I tell ya, that man
cracks me up. Does he know that half the words he uses aren't even
words? They are Jacksonisms. Besides, he doesn't have to get all
tongue-tied to talk to me... after all... I Love Lucy!
Back to Bj: He'll probably tie his boat up in the mangroves of
Whiskey Creek. That's where Little Jack and others go when their
boats are suspect of not making the trip all the way to the Little
Shark. If things are to be pretty bad here. It's really a pretty
good hole over there. Only problem is that people who come late
wanna get nasty (with their guns in their hands) if they can't get
past you after you've tied up... I mean really, what cha gonna
do... untie your boat so they can pass and then drag down on ya when
the high winds come? I ain't gettin next to nobody... especially
not some kind of special stupid who has the nerve to complain that
he needs more ice for his rum (while his wife is trying to tie the
boat up and don't know the difference between a bowline and a clove
hitch).
Anyway, he'll be fine over at Denise's. When Charley was coming
through he had told us that if they evacuated Marathon, he and
Denise would drive out of here. That's good, makes me not have to
worry about him. Denise is pretty wind shy so the first 45 knot
winds that come by, I'm sure they'll be outta here, evacuation or
not.
Chris and Yanni of s/v Magus will be joining us again. Also,
some have hinted they want to follow us down. I'm like the
potato chip commercial: GET YOUR OWN BAG. I ain't even gonna be
doing that, no way. The whole reason to even go down there is to
get away from the marina and all the boats that might drag down on
ya. I certainly don't need a flotilla of wanna-be mega yachts on my
tail all the way down there. Besides, one of em would faint the first
time they saw me naked. It's so much easier to just strip while out
on the boat. And yes, I remember those old stories--my mother used
to tell me about teats and wringer washers. I'll be sure not to be
hanging full-tilt boobies over any of the winches.
We think we might go to the Bahamas for one more hoorah in
the the winter months, actually to the Exumas, where we love to be
the most, and maybe you can join us there, either with your boat or
fly to !
FANTASTIC!! Bill actually has been moping a bit, thinking that
maybe you guys wouldn't be down here anytime soon. Oh Peg, that
would just be delightful. We'd love nothing more than to join you
down there. If we have the time we'd love to sail it, but if not, a
short hop on a plane and we can be there a few days. Oh that would
just be marvelous! I'm so happy that Ed is feeling better and can
actually even think about doing such things. Marvelous, Darlings,
Marvelous.
Too funny about the Peek-a-Booo blinds... I didn't tell ya this, but
when the package finally arrived, I told Bill "If there's one pubic
hair in there, they're going back." hahahahaaaaaaaa
Oh have we had some fun with our Peek-a-Booo blinds! And since they
are what they are called, you know that I had Bill on the outside of
the boat, in every direction trying to peer in. It's like I got to
thinking about it... maybe the "Peek-a-Booo" part is YOU! "You buy
em, you become them." I can just imagine being the show for the
whole damn marina while I take a shower... ya know I don't look too
bad from the boobs up. hahahaaaaaaa But it was okay, BIll said ya
couldn't see a thing..... I'll continue to have the head light off
until I get my ass out there and check for myself. You know men:
"Oh, I didn't know you meant shadows too." Duh. Who wants to be a
labeled a shilouette exhibitionist?
ANYway, it's wonderful to hear from you, my Love. Kisses and hugs
all around. I ain't worried about a thing... I have a feeling that
Miss Frances is gonna remember to take her Prozac and just might be
calming down a bit here soon. Let's hope so! They downgraded her
to a Category 3, when they thought she'd be a 5 today. That's
good. Of course she has lots of warm water to travel over which
will give her more intensity. We'll soon know what we have to do.
Love you MORE THAN YA KNOW....
Smooches and HUGE HUGS!
Charmaine (& "Das 'White Guy' auf diesem Boot.")
Aboard s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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Hi Sweetheart,
If you're tracking Frances, which you should be.... the best
tracking if you don't already know is at:
The computer models there are excellent, showing the major models
and they results of their individual storm tracking
programs. BAM, historically, has been the most accurate by far.
If you look at the computer model below, NOGAPS (our Naval tracking
system, the blue line) shows Frances going across the State of
Florida over to the Tampa area on Saturday.
Go to the
http://www.wunderground.com site and you can see the 5-Day
Forecast map as well. We're all in the risk area for the extended
forecast, so I would watch the updates at the wunderground site,
which are every three hours. It's amazing how quickly things can
change. With the winds from Gaston in the Carolinas, the
forecasts are dependent mainly on whether or not we get high or low
pressure systems from Gaston. That could change in a heartbeat.
You're probably already tracking it, but even if so, I found this
site to be the best for maps, informative discussion page, and
their strike probability maps are very useful as well. You can also
see the satellite pictures of Frances, or whatever hurricane is out
there.
I watch this site every day to track any tropical depressions that
even look remotely like they may wind up being a hurricane. I'm
always a week ahead of most of the people around here. When you
live in Florida and it's hurricane season, you cannot have too much
information... that's for damn sure.
Love you.
Kisses and Hugs and Love to Syd and Carol.
C ~
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From: s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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From: s/v September Sea
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Hey Julie,
Thanks, Sweetheart. Looks like Frances should hit northeast of us.
We decided to ride this one out in the marina, where we expect
tropical storm winds in the range of 72 mph. We can handle that
just fine. Sitting through this has been torture.... whether or not
to scurry to our hurricane hole or not. We decided at 5 am with the
latest projections that we'd do better to stay put.
However, there is a margin for error that is unsettling. Right now,
Frances is over the Bahamas and heading to Nassau. Eighty miles to
the left or right at that point and you pray the projections are
accurate.
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