[Previous entry: "Here it is:"] [Next entry: "Hurricane Ophelia"]

09/11/2005: "Projects and Hurricane Preperation"

Friday and Saturday were project days. We need to get the varnishing done before we move aboard. Most of the V-berth is done. We tried doing the salon earlier but the weather would not cooperate. It was too hot and humid for varnishing. It would dry as fast as we put it on giving an uneven finish. It has now cooled off - in the 80's - and the humidity has dropped. Friday I prepped the salon and galley and we got a good coat on by evening. Saturday we sanded and put on the second coat.

Sunday was dedicated to preparing for Hurricane Ophelia. The weather service has issued a hurricane warning for the area. See the story about preparing in the "stories" section. This will be our first hurricane if she does hit our area. Up to this time it was all hypothetical planning. What will we do with the boat? Where will we go if we have to evacuate? Well now the reality is here. We spent the morning and early afternoon getting things ready. I don't know how many times I walked through the boat asking "what am I forgetting". Finally we decided we were ready and headed out to anchor. Hopefully we didn’t forget anything and all will be ok. It is kind of scary to trust everything we have to a 5/8th inch rope and some chain. We will see in a couple of days where the storm hits.

The other part of the plan is where to go with the RV. We are kind of vulnerable here next to the water. Also we don’t have any kind of tie down system in case of high winds. Our defense is to get out of the way if a storm comes. This involves loading up everything into the trailer and the RV and heading inland. We will update here as the situation plays out. Wish us well.