The relief of having Seaweed survive the storm with minimal damage must have been immense. To be home and welcomed by the manatees AND Buddy was perfect. phew! 😊

We were all certainly fortunate to have not just dodged a bullet but we dodged a BOMB! As you mentioned our biggest concern is always the surge, like the weathermen say “Hide from wind RUN from water”……unless you are at a floating dock it is impossible to prepare for a huge tidal surge! So relieved we are able to go over our prep and learn lessons for next time….there will be. A next time as it is the price of Paradise! It was awesome to be able to stay in touch with you during the storm and know you were safe!

It was so nice to return home... I opened up the back and there was a single manatee. I confess that manatee meant a great deal to me. Of course I wanted to take a picture and it disappeared!!!

But, a few minutes later there were two more off my transom. It felt like the Welcoming Committee (Welcome Wagon -- does that still exist?) ... and I loved it. I sent pictures to Baby too. My Original Grand loves manatees.

What surprised me is how tired I was. Putting things back after the storm was exhausting. Plus I've got a few things to put away under my bunk. That entails moving A LOT of stuff.

And it's almost Christmas. Okay, almost Halloween too. :) Still I'm figuring out what to make for the chart ornament this year. I'd like to find something that is new, though I could recycle some of my favorites from previous years. Anyway, lots going on... I'll tell more about that (probably in the next article).

Anyway, thanks for your Comment. It is very much appreciated. J. (And yes, seeing Buddy was a relief... he's a handsome boy, or girl!)

Thanks again for letting me use your great pictures. The tide was lowwww. You're absolutely correct re the potential for disaster that we avoided. That the water was not turbulent (no waves) was a real saver for the boats that ended up grounded. We were lucky. Very very extremely lucky!

As for me, I work hard to avoid fetch. It is in my view the most dangerous part of a storm. In Pensacola I was able to get under a bridge and go up a bayou. For that storm (Isaac maybe?... it's been a while) I was in a sheltered area. Back then I only had one solar panel and the wind gen didn't provide much power due to the hiding spot I had chosen! When I was a kid we would go into mangroves (fighting mosquitoes of course) however there is safety there too.

I'm seeing (have I mentioned how cool it is to have a tablet?!?) YouTube videos of Christmas stuff hitting the stores. If you want someone to ride shotgun, text me. :)

I did mount the two Perko hanger gizmos I bought at the nautical flea market in Madeira. I have one more to go down below. It's a mate to the one Jesse gifted me back at Doyle Sails over in St Pete all those years ago -- single hook hat holder gizmo. I'm probably going to use it for an added laundry line. It's getting closer to winter and that means I'll have more laundry and blankets take a longer time to dry than my summertime sheets.

Anyway, thank you for your comment. It is appreciated. J.

Love your format - great pictures and well written verbiage. And your LESSONS LEARNED toward the end was perfect. Keep up the good work, lass.

I am relieved that my mistakes can hopefully help others avoid these things. ADDITIONALLY I hope that I remember too. :) On the bright side, I have secured the fenders properly so this should not be an issue again.

Thanks for your comment Cap'n Sid.