Gustav

Well this one seems to be making a beeline for the Gulf Coast. The predicted track moved a bit westward overnight, putting*it anywhere from the FL panhandle to the middle Texas coast on Tuesday, based on the five day cone. Oh well, I didn't bother taking off all the extra lines from the boat since the last "storm" came through.
Check the storm's progress at the NHC:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml

Luckily my boat is pretty simple and I can "hurricane and un-hurricane" it in just a coupla hours. I still think it is a little too far out to call. I haven't looked at all the data today but it is unnerving that they keep shifting it West. The ridge over the Eastern Gulf needs to dissipate so it will make it's turn.

I'm sitting here w/ a bullseye painted on my boat, not a great feeling. The New Orleans folks are on standby to evacuate, the govt is mighty nervous. Old School (my trawler) is sitting on blocks in a boatyard in Slidell, LA, where its been since late May.*Not sure if that's good or bad as far as hurricanes go. Does it usually take 3 months for a bottom job, bow thruster install, holding tank replacement, and new zincs? At any rate, by this time next week we should be done w/ Gustav. Good luck to all.
Mike
Baton Rouge, LA

-- Edited by Gulf Comanche at 12:13, 2008-08-28

Mike, a properly blocked and chocked boat on land is probably the best place for it to be. My insurance company will even pay half of the expenses for me to do this since they think it is the best idea as well. You might check your policy and get a little cash bump from them if indeed the storm does come your way. Good luck.

Well Guys it looks like you are going to be having some very interesting weather in the next few days. I went through 3 hurricanes aboard Sea Eagle in 2004 but I doubt that there is any advice I can give you that you don't already know.

The water here on the St Johns is currently about 6 inches above where it was after three storms in 2004 and the river hasn't crested yet. If we get another major storm before it clears out we are really going to be screwed. We will be thinking about you guys in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi etc. and wish you all the best of luck!!

Should be a hell of a ride, 3 of these s.o.b.'s at one go. Lets see who's still standing next Thursday. Good luck gentlemen.
Mike
Baton Rouge

Does it usually take 3 months for a bottom job, bow thruster install, holding tank replacement, and new zincs?

If they have the big buck hole drilling gear the bow thruster is more a matter of running the power (electric or Hyd) inside out of sight.


The holding tank will be the hassle of how much boat has to be removed to see the unit.

Have had TT at our place that required the engine to be pulled to get the rotten iron fuel tanks out, that is a bunch of hours!

FF

Bottom job takes a couple of days around here, that's it. The bow thruster installation on my boat took about a month, according to the dates on my pictures. There's a lot to that job, although I have to say they weren't in a hurry, since I was having a lot of other work done on the boat. Holding tank shouldn't take that long either. Sounds like they're just not actively working on your boat. Hope they aren't charging you a layup charge by the day. If they are, that may be why they're dragging their feet.

I'm glad I am between boats, I sold my Camano in July and will by a replacement in November to avoid storms bringing her home.
Yesterday I helped a friend bring his 40' power cat fishing machine from Cocodrie up to Houma, Louisiana for shelter, Gustav seems to be headed this way. It was going to be a quick 30 mile trip he has 2-450 HP Cummins and about 40 knot top speed. But the boat hadn't been run in a year or more, so about 30 min into the trip the starboard engine overheated and had to be shut down knocking the speed back to 6 knots. I drove while he spent about an hour down in the engine compartment. God knows how hot it was down there. One of the fresh cooling water lines had sprung a pretty good leak. A cat under one engine doesn't steer very well so when we got to a tight spot or bridge ( four of them) he would pour a couple of gallons of fresh water into the system and run the engine long enough to complete the maneouver. The fresh water tank soon went dry but he had several cases of bottled drinking water which the engine didn't seem to mind at all, this lasted just long enough to get to his dock not far from the Houma Municipal Marina.
So, as often happens in these situations a simple trip turned out to take about 3 times as long as planned then there is all the logistics of getting to the boat then going back for one of the cars etc. It is always a good idea to plan and do all of this well in advance and done before the waterways get crowded with other boaters in the same fix. Same thing happens with trailerable boats on the highways, broken trailers, dry rotted tires and so on. Oh well I need to go down to Cocodrie to get my fishing camp secure and bring my Whaler Montauk back to "high ground" 12' above sea level in Thibodaux.
Good luck to all in the landfall cone.
Steve

Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 11:24 PM
Subject: FW: Guns and Gustav (UNCLASSIFIED)


> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> Thought y'all might find this interesting. . .
>
> Ol' Jim, hisself
>
>
> We just got a call from Devline Rossell, a charter captain based out of
> Venice, Louisiana. He was shopping in New Orleans to get some supplies
> before the arrival of Gustav (currently listed as a tropical storm that
> has left at least 22 dead in the Caribbean) and reported that the item
> most in demand was not food, clothing or shelter.
>
> "I just left a sporting goods store and you would think that the
> number-one selling item would be plywood or potable water or gasoline
> right now," he said. "Apparently it is AR-15s and .223 ammo. I watched
> at least 20 people buy AR-15s and cases of .223."
>
> Can't say I'm surprised. After the nightmare that was Katrina I think it
> would be unwise for anyone to assume the state, local or federal
> government could guarantee his or her personal safety during a natural
> disaster. Of course, I think it is foolish to assume that under any
> circumstance.
>
> The AR buying spree demonstrates that people don't think of it as an
> "assault weapon" but rather an arm that is ideally suited for
> self-defense, which it is. I also suspect that for some of the folks
> this is their first firearm. Goes to show that not only is there no such
> thing as an atheist in a foxhole but that there is no such thing as a
> gun-control advocate in one either.
>
> -John Snow
>
> Posted at 08:08 PM in Gun Rights
>
>
> It takes seconds to call 911. Waiting for the police to arrive may take
> the rest of your life.
> When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
> "... your call is important to us... Please cower in fear until the
> next 9-1-1 operator is available..."
>
>
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>

Go get 'em Mike.

It'll slide since it was hurricane related but thanks for looking out for the common good of the site!!!!

Spam? FF wasn't selling anything. I can tell you, when I stayed aboard when Rita was supposed to come through (I lived there, no place else to go) I had my 12 gage shotgun right by the aft door, and my 9mm handy as well. The AR-15 stayed in storage... a bit overkill for the marina.

It doesn't have to be selling anything to be spam. A lot of people consider any unsolicited e-mail spam.

I agree with Mike and Baker. It might be border-line but, being FF, it had to include hard-core political rants, which put it over the edge. (it doesn't matter that this time I agree with him)

Now that that's out of the way........I think the best personal protection is a sawed off 410 shotgun. Little recoil, can be fired one handed, not powerful enough to go thru walls and kill your neighbor, and (being a shotgun) no expert marksmanship required. It might be a small bore scatter-gun but it still looks humongous from the barrel end.* I don't think you really need major killing power to stop the type of creeps we're talking about.* Just scare them enough and they'll run like hell and look for easier pickings somewhere else.

Wow, what a difference in preparation for the hurricanes. The Governor is providing leadership and direction on what to do. He is telling people to leave, he is providing transport for those who have none.There is a plan in place, the animals have kennels, some people are actually following directions.

A change for the better.

Ken

Speaking of boats & guns, while I still have a boat depending on Gustav sparing Old School, I bought a .410 pistol, 5 shot Taurus, very cool & popular w/ my gun buds. Talk about can't miss w/ your eyes closed, this thing is the bees knees.
Mike
Baton Rouge*

FF's note was a posting on this board, not an unsolicited e-mail sent to anybody. Why do you keep calling it spam?

No need to apologize Mike!!!! Somebody's gotta keep FF in line!!!!...

Back to the storm-
We are in a marina on the north side of Lake Ponchatrain- about 5 miles up river. Fixed piers. Katrina had about a 6 ft storm surge at the marina I am told. I extended the pilings an additional 3 ft using 2x6's attached with lag bolts and used tie wraps (shortened with a loop) on 2 sets of lines to keep the the boat in place till*the water rises and pops the loops out. When it drops I may get banged around a bit. Hope this works!
Steve

"Why do you keep calling it spam?"

The left have their own version of REALITY.

History doesn't matter , there are no Facts , its all an emotion ,

and ANYONE that doesn't express the current group think is a Heretic , so meaningless as a human.

Std Illiberal,

FF

Steady high wind & pretty strong gusts here in Baton Rouge, not as much rain as I thought there would be. Gustav seems reluctant to come ashore, wish it would and get the hell out of here. Any other hurricane reports?
Mike

From our on the scene reporter:
_________________________
Just getting light enough I can see my keyboard and the action outside. First
logbook entry for 9/1/08 is: 0530. Captain's up; coffee's on. Davis weather
station shows winds of around 15 kts though as I look up at the tree tops it's
much higher there and the clouds are moving briskly from the NE. Scattered
showers. Nothing heavy yet. Barometer reads 28.44. All day yesterday, it
pumped as it dropped slowly but at 2300 last nigh it made a straight plunge
and continues to do so.

Water's up a little but not much. Took a benchmark depth reading of 13.6'.
Present wind's keeping Lake Ponchartrain relatively steady but as the wind
clocks and increases, we look to see it make a fairly quick rise.

I know, I know, I know; we should have already potty-trained the Cowboy but we
didn't and he isn't. Guess I should strap on my .357 and head for his pooh
ground--the only high ground around-- and get his business over with before
the torrential rain and high winds set in. I'm going to let it get a little
lighter outside so I can keep an eye out for alligators. The Cowboy would try
to stand them off, little devil.

Don't know if I described our situation but the trees to the NE of us are
about 100 yards away and form a great shield. As the wind clocks to the east
and increases we pick up the greatest fetch- maybe 250 yards. Think that'll be
the bumpiest ride. Nexrad showing belts of yellow rain- not too bad. Ship's
radar beam is almost useless because of the trees but we do see the odd cell
when they get close. No TSTM's yet. From the Nexrad it appears the eye is
currently south of Timbalier Bay-- about 80 miles from us-- but that distance
will shrink as it draws abeam.

0757: Well, as a sage individual once said, "If you've got to swallow a frog
today, it's best to do it first thing in the morning." Neither the Cowboy nor
the Captain had a big frog appetite this morning but I sensed a window of
opportunity and rassled him into the dink. Hit every snag and anchor line on
the way over to his high ground. Never have I EVER seen him do a 1 and a 2 in
shorter time, about 8' from the dink. Both of us got back soaked to the bone
and I took that moment, while already soaked, to snug up the lines which had
stretched over night.

Teri had the water hot and the shower felt GOOD. Since my retirement, I've let
my hair grow into a presentable pony tail. It's not so much a comb-over as a
stretch over. This part of the narrative will not be of interest to men but
ladies, we've gone mission-critical on hair conditioner. That's the last time
I shampoo till we get back; darn near impossible to brush. Thought I hadn't
got the soap off my body until I realized we had filled the tanks with RO
water now. Makes wonderful ice cubes as well.

Oh, and the water at the Cowboy's "drop zone" was up about 2 feet so I have my
bench mark.

Winds clocked to about 075 and it's up to 25 measured at 20' above the
waterline. The storm should be at its closest proximity to us in 2-3 hours.
Tree tops're just a swinging although there's no sense of motion on the boat
other than an occasional tap against the fenders. Glass at 29.39 and trending
down much faster.

Thawing out some venison country sausage we made during Fay. Sausage and
biscuits. Yumm.

Let me get this out while we still have email capabilities.

Regards,

Larry and Teri
M/V Cigano, 47' Prairie Sundeck Cruiser
Lying: 64 Cypress Road
********* Covington, LA
_______________________________________________

...and another. It's sunny with a nice 6 knot north wind here in League City, TX, just south of Houston.
_________________________________
0942: Winds beginning to clock around easterly. We're not getting the brunt of
the storm here on water; trees running interference but we can see the
anemometers on the sailboat masthead going crazy. Hear an occasional pine tree
snap but haven't seen anything except the trees really bending over with the
gusts. Kinda like limbo dancers. How low can they go?

By the way, thanks to one and all for the prayers and best wishes on and
offline. I'll try to get to each one personally when things calm down a
little.

It's still a little early but it looks like the glass is slowing its fall at
29.37. Nexrad indicates the storm will be abeam us in about an hour. Come on
clock!. Lot more boat motion as the gusts increase.

For years, when I get nervous or sad or apprehensive, I'd head for the
kitchen. Guess it's time to start the sausage and biscuits and quit looking
out the windows.

Thank God for small favors; the genset's just faithfully pushing out the amps.
Boat's mercifully cool although it's around 75 outside.

Till later.

Regards,

Larry and Teri
M/V Cigano, 47' Prairie Sundeck Cruiser
Lying: 64 Cypress Road
********* Covington, LA

The Industrial Canal in NO has waves splashing over- but all seems well at this time. Does anyone have a link to Lake Ponchatrain wave/ wind/ height info for Lake Ponchatrain?**I searched yesterday but had no luck. Mostly concerned with the Tchefuncte River on the North Shore.
Steve

Steve:
How did you all do? We got hammered big time here in Baton Rouge, no power, trees down, limbs and leaves everywhere, thankfully nothing thru the roof. My next big worry is my boat at the yard in Slidell; hope all is well but probably won't know till tomorrow. Hope y'all did ok.
Mike

Mike,
All seems to be well here. Some facial board damage and a few live oak limbs broken out of my favorite tree. Right now I have the grill fired up for marinated chicken breast before the next band hits. Charles Colatta hooked me up with a fellow boater who is on the Tchefuncte River aboard his vessel and all looks to be pretty hopeful there. I suspect we will be listening to the sounds of generators for a few days. WAFB reported a few minutes ago that 100% of power was out.
Steve

Steve:
I saw the post from the guy on the river, if my boat is still alive and it ever gets in the water I'll meet you guys and drink a cool one. So, for the short term we sweat it out and clean up. Later gater.
Mike

Things are finally getting back to normal here in Choupic near Thibodaux. The power came on last night, the phones, and internet connection this morning. We had lots of shingles gone and will need to replace the roof. I just got back from checking the fishing camp in Cocodrie, although it took pretty much a direct hit no damage at all to the camp. The fish cleaning shed and boat house roofs both gone, but they were due for replacement anyway.
I spoke to trawler owners in Houma, New Iberia, and on lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain all seem to have done well. I did see a sportfisheman in Houma which was damaged by broken pilings which fell on to it.
We were real lucky this time!
Steve W.

Steve,
We saw a higher surge Friday from Ike than we did with Gustav. All is well on the Tchefuncte. Man- I have seen enough storms for a while!! Mike- hope your vessel made out OK-
Steve

Got that right, we need a break from these storms. My boat is ok, still on blocks in the yard at Slidell. Wonder how the Galveston Bay crowd made out?
Mike