Great article. Glad you and your neighbors are OK. Love your writing style and all the pictures you include in your articles. Keep up the great work?

Thanks for your kind words. I am so fortunate to have wonderful friends, and count you among them. Thank you again for your comment. J.

It's good to see you lucked out with the hurricane again!

We're glad it wasn't as bad as the previous storm. Up in Jacksonville Idalia wasn't too far away but had weakened to only being a gloomy day event aboard Grace. We are very thankful it wasn't worse here. I'm looking forward to your installation and review of the diesel heater!

Good to hear you are safe. Nature can be rough!

Yes Rob, it was lucky for me. There was a YouTube video of sailboats attached to a floating dock having their masts broken under a bridge. That was in Steinhatchee, and yes, I have been under that bridge. I actually anchored just past there. The docks were nice too.

Keith and Janet are the cruisers that sent the video (which is on that broken phone/thus no link) ... I anchored just past the bridge on the north side of the river.

Thank you for your comment Rob. I appreciate that. J.

I am happy to hear your area was okay... NOTE: gloomy days are the absolute best for reading. :) Grace is such a sturdy vessel. It is good that she has great owners.

I did find a second one of the thing I sent in the mail to you -- there was only one at time of purchase. I did order it, so if you two would like matching ones just let me know. I bought one for myself too.

Those diesel heaters do look interesting. Here's what I heard/learned so far: 3kw would be fine for Seaweed, however if I chose to do the Loop (I'm thinking POSSIBLY the New York loop or at the least a bit of the St. Lawrence Seaway (a personal favorite from my childhood -- it's incredibly beautiful up there though when I was up there it was a half century ago so there is the slightest possibility that there is a bit more "civilization" messing up my natural landscapes)... Anyway, for northern cruising I was advised to buy 5kw. I did so. Seaweed is drafty as heck so the added BTUs should not be too much of an issue.

Also, if you shop for the, you want a dial control versus digital. That's mostly it for my research thus far. The one I linked to in the article was $130 when I bought it. They go up and down. Just be sure not to buy digital controls because those fail, so I've heard.

Because our boats are diesel I do believe this is the best option. Propane is great however those Dickenson's burn through it rapidly. Wood makes soot. Salty driftwood causes the chimney to rust out. Electric is not yet sustainable for the amount of solar I have. My oil lantern works well however again, it takes quite a bit of fuel. I am hoping the Diesel heater I linked to will be the answer for many of us.

Your friend on the west coast, J.

It is true Cap'n Coen... here the weather turned. Autumn has arrived. It is MUCH easier to prep for a storm when the temperatures are lower and the humidity is at 60%. That made a huge difference. The cooler weather is so welcome. It has been a hot summertime.

As for me, I am gearing up for the holidays. Last year at some point I lost a thumb drive with all my music. It was the first year I did not listen to radio theater shows over the holidays in at least 30 years. For me, this brought a damper to the season. Now however, I have the music. And stories too! I have the radio version of It's a Wonderful Life (popular Christmas movie) with Jimmy Stewart (star of the movie) reading the script. It is charming.

So now I have the music and radio shows. I have used small portable rechargeable radios however mine seem to be failing. They are several years old. I will have to deal with that soon.

So that is my life here on the west coast of Florida. I am plugged in, enjoying air conditioning. Though my ac unit was supposed to heat (remember the fiasco?!? of the broken motor) http://janice142.com/Articles/MWM8-ACInstallFromHades.html Well, it cools but does not heat. The gent who got it going for me will make the heat work, but not quite yet. It's still too soon after his fall into his Formosa50. That was quite an event and recovery of course is taking a while. Over a certain age the bounce becomes more like a thud!

So that's life here. I've rambled -- no phone so! Take care and thank you for your comment Cap'n.

Hi, Janice. So glad to hear that the storm spared you damage. Good preparation on your part surely helped. I'd been worried when Idalia had aimed toward your patch. phew!😊

It was so much better than previous storms... just having cooler weather to do the preparations in made a HUGE difference. I have a lot more stamina when it is not brutally hot. This time we had cooler breezes.

I was fortunate in that I have been in areas with serious tides. The "secret" is to have long crossed lines so the boat moves up and down, but little forward and aft movement. This is described in boat books such as Chapman's (https://amzn.to/446vnh0) (affiliate link) -- and be sure to get a reasonably new edition. The thing is, when I was a kidlet we had to blow the horn three times in order to open a bridge. This is no longer the way it's done. So nothing 60-plus years old! ;)

Chapman's does have a lot of practical information. We were fortunate enough to be on his (Cap'n Mooney was the editor back then) Christmas card list. He would do a drawing, then mimeograph copies and mail them out to friends. The man was nice.

Anyway, though he is no longer the editor the books is useful. Check it out at the library and see if there is enough information to be helpful. I believe the Coast Guard Auxiliary's instruction book will have this info too, along with a course -- and probably cost less!

Anyway, thanks for your post. It is appreciated. J.

I'm so getting excited for Christmas. I bought my cards already and have an idea for this year's star ornament. This past week I was able to get to Walmart and have my eyes examined. The prescription is much better (stronger) than the Dollar (and a quarter) Tree. I'm up to 375's. It is lovely to see again more easily. Life is good.

Your friend in the south, J.

Great write-up, Yo outdid yourself!

It was an "easy" storm for us here. Having cooler weather was a real boon when it came to preparing. There is a huge difference between tying lines in 90-plus degree weather with a humidity to match. This time it was cooler, with a nice breeze.

Autumn has arrived. I hope it's more pleasant over on your coast. Here life is good. I've bought my Christmas cards so that pleases me. I'm waiting until Thanksgiving however having the cards in advance is important to me. I love this time of the year :)

It is lovely to hear from you. Thanks for your comment. J.