Better To Be Lucky Than Good

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

A couple of days ago I posted:

This morning, I was on my boat about 120 miles from Micheal. About 5:45 am I took a wave OVER the transom dumping about a foot of water in the cockpit. That’s 4’ of freeboard! I couldn’t get to boat yesterday in time to turn it around. Swim platform is gone and one of my frameless windows blew out. When I say it blew out, I don’t mean it fell out and broke. It EJECTED over the side deck in one piece. I’m not complaining and I’m in no way comparing my experience with the hell of those folks on the Gulf. I’m very lucky. The eye passed over my farm in Aiken about same time as my wave; we escaped with no damage.

This this morning...

IMG_9708.jpg

Recovering the swim platform was no big surprise. It's a beast of a platform especially when you have to get it on the dock.

Recovering the glass is almost an act of God. It was sticking straight up in the mud, pointy end down buried almost two feet!

The takeaway: Saltwater is really a great way to remove window film.

[oscarvan]

Can you put both pieces back on and viola, never happened?

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Can you put both pieces back on and viola, never happened?

Glass will go back tomorrow. There is a good bit of evidence that it was reinstalled previously. I also had someone reseal it that I wasn't happy with. So, I should have dismounted the glass and reinstalled it myself. When I leave the boat tomorrow, the glass should be in and suction cups pulling it home for a day or two.

I've never been a fan of platforms on convertibles. However, the family thinks otherwise. I've just removed the brackets so I can more easily transport a 17' platform. Clearly, it's a boatyard job after I repair the corners where the brackets stayed with the boat. We'll see how that plays out. At least I've got options.

[Bob Bradley]

Platforms just get in the way of the tuna coming onboard.

[Holiday]

Robert,
I'm trying to determine if you were on the Gulf coast or the Atlantic coast during Michael. You said you were 120 miles from Michael. Your profile says Charleston SC is your homeport and you recently commented that you moved to Windmill Harbour in Hilton Head for Hurricane Florence. It would be a long trip for you to reach the Gulf since Florence so are you saying you were 120 miles from Michael on the Carolina coast when Michael left the mainland and re-entered the Atlantic?

I think I saw where Michael was predicted to still be a Cat 1 when it reached the Atlantic after crossing Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. I live near Atlanta and we had trees down. Thank goodness it was moving fast and didn't linger and do more damage up here than it did.

But did the Carolina's experience hurricane force storms on the opposite coast? The media is not telling that story at all. The poor Gulf coast is devasted. I'm old enough to remember Camille and Andrew and the aerial photographs look similar.

Good luck with your repairs. May this hurricane season come to an end quickly.

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Robert,
I'm trying to determine if you were on the Gulf coast or the Atlantic coast during Michael. You said you were 120 miles from Michael. Your profile says Charleston SC is your homeport and you recently commented that you moved to Windmill Harbour in Hilton Head for Hurricane Florence. It would be a long trip for you to reach the Gulf since Florence so are you saying you were 120 miles from Michael on the Carolina coast when Michael left the mainland and re-entered the Atlantic?

I think I saw where Michael was predicted to still be a Cat 1 when it reached the Atlantic after crossing Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. I live near Atlanta and we had trees down. Thank goodness it was moving fast and didn't linger and do more damage up here than it did.

But did the Carolina's experience hurricane force storms on the opposite coast? The media is not telling that story at all. The poor Gulf coast is devasted. I'm old enough to remember Camille and Andrew and the aerial photographs look similar.

Good luck with your repairs. May this hurricane season come to an end quickly.

The storm passed over Augusta, GA and then my farm across the line in SC at Aiken. I am 120 miles from Aiken at my dock in Charleston (closer, that's 120 road miles).

We had 50 MPH + gusts in Aiken and a bit less here but higher gusts. That was about the max SC suffered. Winds here were from the south, and I have a long fetch in that direction. I was in MS earlier in the week and ran behind because of a breakdown or I would've turned the boat around into the weather.

Thanks for your concerns. I'm glad you fared well. What I've seen is tragic. I remember Camille as well. I have an ex named Camille and that's just a bad deal all round.

[ageless]

sorry to hear of your troubles--just an excuse to make her better

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Window in.

[bigbill]

robert, were you in ms. for camille? i was young but do remember some stuff. i live in pass christian

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

robert, were you in ms. for camille? i was young but do remember some stuff. i live in pass christian

No sir. I remember it probably because it was one of the first extensively covered on TV that I recall.