Johnny Cash Sang.....

... as he remembered hearing... "How high's the water, mama? And the answer eventually got to... "Five feet high and rising." Last week and again yesterday we were beginning to ask the same question.

There was quite a storm a week ago to the point where the marina was  closing the doors on all the out buildings which they had never done before during our time here. Loose items were picked up and some things tied down a little better as a storm was brewing. There was a low pressure area over us with a full moon and a big southern rainstorm headed our way. The winds peaked out at about 35 mph with gusts to 40.

The parking lot was not set to grade to let the water run off so some deep pools formed for a while. Because the tide was high [for them] at +2 feet, the water did not drain away very fast.

We were not concerned during this time though. What the heck... we were on a boat!

But it was a totally different story in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina came through. All those of us away from that storm heard about was the devastation around New Orleans. These guys caught the brunt of the storm as well. The picture below shows a glimpse of the waterway in the marina to the west of the bridge that is in the backgound.

There used to be a restaurant on the east side of that bridge but it is there no more. The water surge pushed that building under the bridge and through the marina wiping out boats, covered moorages, and docks. The pictures below show some of those that have been replaced.

These folks have rebounded really well but it makes us think that it is not so bad for us to put up with an occassional earthquake now and then.

Now... if Johnny Cash were singing that same song and asked during the middle of Katrina... "How high is the water, mama?"... he would have heard... "Fourteen feet high and rising"! The horizontal blue marks on either side of the doorway in the picture below were placed there after the storm to indicate the height of the water during the surge. It is amazing to us that they are still here and still in business!

Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]

Bail:

1. To clear water out of a boat by dipping it up with a container and throwing it overboard.

2. To pump water out of a boat.

From Great Loop Jargon:

3. The money required to secure one's  release from jail after a particularly fun night out with other folks doing the Loop.