A Dark and Stormy Night

Alright, with all the lightening that was going on it really wasn't that dark. But what a night it was! It started off with rain, which advanced to severe thunderstorms, which turned into a water spout [read small tornado over water] that tore through the harbor somewhere close to 3 am. I'd been awake for a while listening to the rain and boat noises...I finally looked at the clock at 2:26 am and then things got weird. There was a roar and you could hear stuff sliding around the top deck plus several things crashed inside the cabin. The boat shook and tilted dramatically to the port side. We were both up and out of bed and holding on. The dog slid from one side of the floor to the other. Then another roar and the boat shook and tilted again. All in all, the scary part was over fairly quickly. We then turned the VHF radio to 68 to see if anybody was on [68 is monitored here in the harbor during emergencies and weather events such as what had just occurred] and it seemed as if the entire harbor was awake. People were recounting events as they happened to them and checking on neighbors and friends to see how they had faired. It was then confirmed, that yes indeed, we had had a water spout pass through. Someone else came back to report that the previous gust of wind had registered 106.1 knots...which by my calculations is 122 mph. Eek. Next were reports of a boat being loose and drifting through the mooring field coming to rest at the seawall on the southern side. It smacked a few boats on the way [& came very close to us!] but no serious damage. Later, when the wind shifted the boat was on the move again. A harbor resident, monikered Fiberglass Dave, announced that he was headed out to secure the run-away boat and of course Jeff volunteered to assist. I knew he'd been chomping at the bit to go take care of it but knew he couldn't tow it with our 3.3 motor. At least Jeff isn't the only boy scout in this harbor and the two of them quickly secured the boat on an empty mooring. And in the meantime came the damage reports: ripped canvases, broken or missing wind generators, lightening strikes and fried electronics, a cap-sized trimaran [no one on board],and dinghies missing or flipped upside down - motor and all. Our neighbor in the houseboat sustained quite a bit of damage with the refrigerator toppling over as well as shelves, cabinets, and computers. He and his wife were fine although they had to avoid quite a bit of broken glass and debris. The only thing damaged on the S/V Exposure was the wind generator. We didn't break any blades or lose it, but it did lift off of it's base and is no longing producing electricity. Hopefully it's just a wiring issue. We lost a few items off the decks...all of which have been recovered this morning. My flowers look as if they've been been mown down - and I guess they were - but I think they'll recover when the sun comes back out.

Article from the Key Noter