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Date: 18 September 2017. Hurricane Irma (part 1)

© janice142
 

Most important of all: Seaweed and I are now FINE!



Skipper and I are a-okay back where we belong: aboard Seaweed.
 

This became a multi-part series about Hurricane Irma and the impact it had on me. The individual articles can be found here:
 

For those that prefer their reading all on one page (and it's a biggie)
the entire tale can be found on the
Hurricane Irma Saga page.


Over the decades I have experienced more than my fair share of hurricanes both afloat and ashore. Some have profoundly effected my sense of well-being. Others have helped frame my current life and lifestyle. This final one, Hurricane Irma, has cemented a decision made back in the late 1990s, one that I had disregarded for Irma much to my chagrin. This is a mistake I will do my utmost to avoid in the future.
 

There is an old saying "Fool me once, your fault. Fool me twice, mine."
Hurricane Irma was my Number Two... Keep reading for the whys and wherefores.

 


Skipper is with me, always. The opinions expressed below are definitely my own.
 

To backtrack a bit...
Kidlet moved to Pensacola for college in 2003. Hurricane Ivan came blasting through in 2004. Kidlet's neighborhood was without power for three long, hot humid weeks. If we had power, we could have saved the carpets. Instead they mildewed. Everything was a mess. It was just miserable.

 


Her kitchen did have propane for cooking so we became better acquainted with the neighbors. You know, the ability to make a pot of coffee first thing in the morning for the caffeine addicted is a sure-fire way to cement friendships. I highly recommend it.


Hurricane Katrina arrived a year after Ivan to rub salt in the wounds. Again Kidlet's house was without power for three weeks. The humidity could have been cut with a butter knife. To make matters more "interesting" Mother was in the later stages of Alzheimer's disease. On good days Mother was a hand-full. Post storm, sans power, was not something I would care to repeat.
 

Here's a quote from Kidlet's blog during that time: I wish my grandma would stop touching my stuff and insisting it was hers to begin with, then denying she ever touched anything, while my things are in her hands.


When I contrasted life ashore without power with my life as a child aboard our 40'er, there was no comparison. We made our own power. We had our own ship's stores with lockers full of necessities. We carried at least a month's worth of food at all times. We could fish, read, swim, relax and eat at will.


Son and I are sharing clam dip on crackers aboard the boat.


 

We were safe and secure aboard our boat. I wanted that. The hurricanes (Ivan and Katrina) that hit my Kidlet's home shook me to the core. I wanted to always have the means to create power in my home. Now it has taken me nine-plus years to get where I wanted way back when...
 

Today I make my own power. My life is virtually the same rather I am tied to a dock or at anchor in a remote cove. The air-conditioner does require a generator and yes, I've got one. Life is truly wonderful aboard my boat.


To leave Seaweed was untenable. I did not want to leave.
 

This storm, Irma, threatened massive flooding. NOAA was projecting five to seven feet above ground level on their Slosh Surge page.


Link: Update #46 for Hurricane Irma P-Surge 2.6


Frankly that worried me. When I was PROMISED an immediate return after the storm was through I wavered. For the first time since the fiasco in the Florida Keys when those of us who left were prohibited from returning immediately, I considered evacuation. It was a wrenching decision and I NEVER wanted to leave my Seaweed.
 

I was heartsick at even the thought of leaving my home.


There was A LOT of pressure to leave.


This is where I belong:

I love my boat, and life aboard her is sweet. I truly am blessed.


I believe it is all too easy for folks to say stuff like "you can replace your boat". No, I don't believe I could do so. Even the thought of trying to do such a thing is frightening. There were only six of these miniature Schucker's built. Just three are in existence today. Finding another would be darn near impossible. Replicating all I have aboard, even if I had the funds, would take time.
 

After the half-century mark, time becomes all the more crucial. Younger folks simply don't understand the ticking clock that accompanies those of us past a certain age. Throw in cancer and mortality resonates in our very being.


For the record, I am not dying. I am living. There is a difference.


To others a boat may be considered a luxury, a fancy way of living. To me, my Seaweed is more than just a home. She's my shelter, my safety, my tranquility and my happiness. All of that is in one 23' long package. I love this boat.
 

Even on a rainy day, life aboard Seaweed is happy.

I am inside with all my goodies enjoying the view sipping hot mint chocolate coffee.
 

Details on how to make fancy coffees are found in the Flavored Coffees (economical versions) vignette.


More tomorrow. This article has grown like crazy. I will post the next part shortly.

I'd love to hear what you do when ordered to evacuate.
And, do you regret your choice?
 

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