****, Stuart again.......

Hi Dave,

I'm just getting home from a long night and I got your message. Thank you for checking on me. I'm fine, but man... that was a nasty storm.

You are right, the Good Deal was spider-webbed like a fly caught in Charlotte's Web. The original direction of the storm, due west from the Bahamas, had athiests in Ft. Lauderdale converting to new religions. I was beginning to think it's time to get a new zip code.

After putting the boats into bondage, I headed north to Jupiter to help a friend update his CBS house with a nice plywood finish. I decided to ride out the storm there, thinking the eye would come in south of us. I have now been stripped of any confidence I have about my decision making processes.

I stayed in Boca for Hurricane Frances and the bottom of the eye hit us. It was not all that terrible. In contrast, we were on the bottom of the eye last night in Jupiter and I was asking God to forgive me for breaking a few hearts.

Jeanne was a much more powerful storm than Frances, although they both hit the exact same point in Florida as Category 2-3's. The difference in intensity was remarkable. I am convinced that no matter what category a storm is... if a storm is undergoing an intensification process, such as the pressure is dropping and the wind is increasing, it has much greater punch than a storm that has already achieved the same level of intensity. I'm sure this has a lot to do with momentum.

We lost power last night and I'm just seeing the news this morning. This was UNFREAKINBELIEVABLE... another direct hit on Stuart!! What are the odds that 2 major hurricanes would strike the exact same place... within 2 weeks apart!!!! If I was a betting man... I'd have to open my wallet on this one.

Dave, I seriously hope you don't have any damage. If it's of any comfort, the worst of the storm was realized north of Stuart, between Ft. Pierce and Vero Beach... with Melbourne taking a beating like the Coyote in a RoadRunner cartoon.

In watching the news this morning, I just saw one of the best film clips ever... a reporter in Melbourne was doing a live report at midnight. He was standing in front of the headlights of a Hummer and camera man was inside the vehicle. The wind was blowing atleast 100 mph when the reporter's feet began sliding backwards. The next thing you know, the wind picked him up and blew him 30 feet away. That guy has GOT to recieve an Emmy!

From what I've seen, the storm surge along the barrier islands is not as bad this time around, as Jeanne was a much faster moving storm than Frances. There are not as many trees down, as the previous hurricane already pruned the landscape. BUT... the wind damage is more severe. Many of the condos along the coast have been completely breached. As for the homes... it's not just tiles missing from roofs. The entire roofs are gone! I can only assume these are structures that had been weakened by the previous storm.

Well... I've gotto go untangle the boat from its spider-webs and give it a bath. I'll be back online tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for looking after the site for me!

Jeanne......

Well, I got a call this morning that I'm still floating. My first mate couldn't get down the dock to make a close inspection. The 47 Post, two slips from me, was taken out by a house boat (50'). A salvage crew had tied the house boat at the end of the "T" dock, after refloating it.. When I left on Thursday afternoon for Bonita Springs, they were still trying to get the engines started. I mentioned to the so called "Dockmaster", they don't have the boat secured and it would cause a problem for the rest of the marina. Looks like they left it in the same condition.

I'm curious to find out who is at fault here.

I'm heading back to Stuart tomorrow afternoon. From there, when the winds calm down, I'm moving the boat to the Blowing Rocks Marina in Hobe Sound. I've had it with the hurricanes. My hotel bills are eating up diesel fuel and bait money. I was just about to order a new auto-pilot before Frances arrived. That's on the back burner again.

Guys,

I'm just getting home after a long day of clean up. Much of Boca is still w/o power. I'm one of the lucky ones. In watching the local news, they are supplying a steady stream of aerial footage from a helicopter flying over Stuart, Ft. Pierce and Vero Beach. The structural damage to homes and condos is much worse than Frances... and it's widespread.

It appears Stuart faired better than Ft. Pierce or Vero Beach, where homes and condos had their entire roofs lifted off, or faces of buildings are completely sheered away. Most of Port St. Lucie is underwater, even several miles inland.

I hope you guys aren't the recipients of any gifts from Jeanne. If I can help in any way, just let me know...

I'm really surprised that any of those multi-story homes in the picture are still standing! Sailfish Point (including the road that leads to the island) would be an area subject to the greatest surge. There is literally no protection from wind, waves or water. What a shame... Sailfish Point is one of the most pristine developments on Florida's east coast.

I've been looking for something on the water between Jupiter and Stuart for the past few months. There was a running joke among friends that... "all we need is a couple of good hurricanes" to "make Florida real estate more affordable".

In retrospect, I'd rather pay the higher prices...

Dave and Hank,

Sailfish Point was opened up to homeowners and the media today. They had to walk 2 miles to get their homes, as the road is destroyed and several feet of sand are covering it, making it impassible with even the National Guard Hum-V's. I didn't get the exact total, but a good number of homes have been condemned, as they have shifted off their foundation, or in some case... they were split in half. Almost any home, condo or townhouse on the ground floor has been permeated by sand and water. Most of the frame houses have been turned into splinters. A few of the upscale, recently built homes with hurricane shutters... survived.

The Stuart bridge will be out of commission for 4 weeks and it may be months for power to be restored to the island, because the delivery infrastructure (power poles, wires, transformers, etc.) have been completely wiped out. Adding to this, FP&L can't get work trucks out to the island until a new road is built.

You guys may already know this through your own sources, but in case not, I thought you would want to know.

CTDaves Photo...

I was standing on that little patch of road in CTDaves photo yesterday. All I can say is WOW!!! The "House Of Refuge" is right there & had some damage as well. Walking on the beach any where along Hutchinson will blow your mind! William

William,

Is the city allowing vehicles to travel on what remains of the road? I can only imagine it has been deemed unsafe for vehicles. And is there any power to the island yet?

Folks my prayers go out to guys (and Gals) down there. It's been tough and I can't begin to understand whats it's been like. I only hope that the advice "Get Out" was heeded to and only our boats were damaged, if even that. I'm in the panhandle and we were the luckier of the coast. If any help from the community up here can be of any help, just ask. Quite frankly I wouldn't even know where to begin with the mess you guys are dealing with.

Carl...The Publix SuperMarket got their electric on, Thursday @ noon. But that's about it. There is so little need for electric, if any...That they shut down the nuclear powerplant on Hutchinson Island. There are very few telephone poles remaining to rewire the Stuart area & they will be out for weeks or months. I will say, that there are quite a few emergency power repair trucks running around, but they are defineately grossly overwhelmed. I went to our place on the beach for the first time to check it out & I was the only one around. I felt like Charleton Heston in the "Omega Man". The ocean came over the dune like it was'nt even there. WOW! Guess you have to be there. William

Jeanne......

Well guys.... The crane lifted my boat off of Jerry's Post yesterday afternoon. I had no hull damage. I will take my boat to a boat yard in Ft. Lauderdale for repairs tomorrow. The insurance adjuster will then, make his inspection of the carnage.

The owner of the salvage crew that had raised the steel houseboat had a first hand account of my rath toward him. He had the nerve to ask me during a phone call, was I a "meteoroligist", "How did I know which direction the wind would blow." Good grief..... everyone knows, northeast, then southwest in this area. Well, he came to the marina. I went over to him and introduced myself as, 'Meteoroligist, Hank Jackson', he extended his hand to shake. I took his hand and forced him to his knees. You should have seen the fear in his eyes. I walked him around the marina parking lot, without saying a word to him, still having a tight grip on his hand.

The insurance companies, state it was an act of God.

Allison

I can deffinately understand your "wrath". I lost my first boat (Sea Ray 580 SS) during Allison on the coast of Texas a few years ago. Needless to say I was not pleased with the Harbor Matser whom agreed to Dry-Dock my boat 7 days prior. But it all went through in the end. Thanks to his "Over-look" in protocol I bought my newest vessel. Insurance is a God-send, but we all hate the time in-between all the adjusters reports.

I pray that you all have a speedy recovery and get all back in order as fast as possible.