Hurricane Hostages

I would like to start by thanking everyone for the messages of concern and support we received after the last post.  This week has been much better, but I still can’t comfortably sit without a pool noodle or life jacket (thanks for the tip, Tom) protecting my tailbone👍

Our original ‘plan’ had us enjoying the Florida panhandle beaches for the past week, but we are currently hiding out in Demopolis, Alabama. First Zeta slowed, and now Eta has halted, our progress south. 

 After our flash flood experience we searched for a safe place to ride out the heavy rains promised by Zeta. We anchored in this oxbow (at the green dot) in Columbus, Mississippi.  We reasoned that this would be a safe place (relatively speaking) because it didn’t provide drainage from a large area, and wasn’t connected to any dam (mindful of the spelling) spillways.  There were some storm drains from the streets of the town, but big trees couldn’t fit through there!  

We were confident 🤞 that debris being carried down the main river would not make a 90° turn into our oxbow.  We deployed both a bow and stern anchor to ensure we could let out adequate chain to hold us in place, in light of potential flood waters, while not being blown into the river bank if the storm brought strong winds.  Our exact position was closer to the bank on the inside of the bend to ensure calmer water should a strong current pick up speed on the outside of the bend.  After double checking that everything on our decks was secure, there was nothing left to do but wait for Zeta to arrive.

We are the blue dot in Columbus, MS, and as you can see Zeta brought us plenty of rain.  Luckily, we saw very little wind, but we did have a few anxious moments when a very loud ‘air raid’ siren went off in the town.  This was a first for us, and we didn’t know what type of danger the siren was announcing.  From recent experience, my first thought was flash flood.  I ran for our life jackets while Keith went to the VHF radio to dial in the weather station. 

As it turns out, we were experiencing our first ever tornado WARNING!  There was a tornado on the ground 25 miles south of us and moving in our direction.  We turned on three different radar sources (both our own radar and apps) to watch the movement of this very active cell.  We devised a quick plan to run for the bridge abutment a few hundred yard away.  We called Roy and Krista on Kedge (both boats were still hiding out together) to tell them that we would pick them up in the Whaler if this cell didn’t change strength or direction in the next few minutes. Luckily, while we were discussing our escape plans the cell started to dissipate.  Phew...stand down!

We ended up with a 4-5 ft rise in the water level from two days of rain, but no swift currents and no debris slamming into the boat.  We did, however, get a chance to play one of our least favorite games (that all boat owners are familiar with)...’there is a drip, where is it coming from’.  This game comes in second place, as the most frequently played games, right behind ‘what is that sound and where is it coming from’, and thankfully ahead of our least favorite, ‘what is that smell and where is it coming from’...this one usually doesn’t end well!  

This town turned out to be a great place to ride out the storm.  There was a nice dinghy dock, which provided easy access to a fabulous park with an extensive river walk.  Additionally, it was an easy walk to restaurants, an amazing pie shop, and a coffee shop with the best muffins EVER!  We were happy to stay for a few days to allow the flood waters to recede and the debris to move out of the channel. Being from Maryland, we were pleasantly surprised to see this beautiful bell on display on Main St.

Continuing our journey south 5 days after Zeta passed, and there is a lot of debris still in the water, but luckily the tugs and barges have pushed most of the big stuff off the the sides of the channel.

A lot of debris is trapped on bridge piles waiting for the next flood to continue the journey.

We found a hitch hiker onboard.  This little guy was hiding under the cap rail that I was preparing to refinish, so we relocated him to the Whaler to he wouldn’t get near any of the chemicals I was using.

Sorry to break up the meeting.

Interesting topography!  This part of the river has numerous sharp bends as it twists and turns south.

And here we are anchored in Demopolis, Alabama...for the foreseeable future.  We are approximately 120 miles from the Gulf coast, as the crow flies, but 214 miles, as the river winds.  We are getting ready to enter the ‘chute’ where there are few safe places to anchor or seek refuge.  While we have plans to have the boat pulled out of the water, in Carrabelle, FL, on Nov. 23, we are not progressing any farther south until we have a clearer picture regarding the track and strength of ETA.

This Army Corp of Engineers depth sounding boat provided some entertainment as they surveyed the creek where we are anchored. Since they only surveyed up to the Coast Guard boat, we are guessing the exercise was only to ensure the Coast Guard can get in and out.

I’m still complaining about teak woes.  How do you keep the bugs off??  Within 20 minutes of brushing on a new coat, 100s of bugs are stuck in the finish...ugh!

Until we are able to get a true ETA on Eta we plan to stay right here with the geese!