[C320-list] Helene/now Milton

[Dennis Cookson]

Fingers crossed, Jack. I really hope it won’t be as bad as the forecast indicates, and Sonas emerges unscathed. To be forced to take up golf instead of sailing is a crime, replacing pleasure with frustration.

Dennis Cookson
‘Catalina’ #0577


> On 6 Oct 2024, at 00:18, Jack Brennan via C320-list <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:
> 
> So now we on the west coast of Florida have Milton, predicted to be a cat 3 with 115 mph winds landing right on Tampa Bay on Wednesday, probably with a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet.
> 
> Wish us luck.
> 
> If the forecast is accurate, I'll be taking up golf again. At 71, I'm too old to take on another sailboat. Mine will be wrecked. So will most other boats in the Tampa Bay area. There is no refuge from the Big One in a large, shallow bay.
> 
> I drove through St. Pete Beach today. Every inch of swale was covered with flooded appliances, furniture, various household items, soaked drywall. Probably 80 percent of the houses and first-floor apartments had significant flooding in Helene.
> 
> The island I live on fared well in Helene. Most places are built high or have flow-through garages on the first floor. We didn't even get any water in the garage. But Milton is very different. With the ground already soaked, that 12- to 15-foot surge would be disastrous.
> 
> Boy, I sure hope the National Hurricane Center is wrong and it fizzles out.
> 
> Jack Brennan
> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
> Tierra Verde, Fl.
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>