Friday, September 8, 2017

Evanston: ghost town

        A replacement compass cover arrived yesterday.  I wonder if next week I will have a compass to put it on.  The latest projected track for Irma shows her eye passing directly over Marathon.
        Under normal conditions Marathon is the best natural harbor in the Florida Keys.  Carol and I once rode out at anchor a tropical storm there.  But Irma is far more than a tropical storm.  The Weather Channel ran a graphic depicting the exponential increase in wind force with speed.  Considering the power of a Force 1 hurricane as 1, the power of a Force 4 hurricane is 250, and a Force 5 500.
        GANNET is more than a nautical mile from the southern side of Boot Key and a mile east of the entrance to the narrow channel into Boot Key Harbor.    She is actually more exposed to surge from the north, where Florida Bay is only a quarter mile away. As I have pointed out the highest thing in Marathon is a curb.  I doubt that any land is more than 10’/3 meters above sea level.
        While I wish the storm’s eye wall would not pass over Marathon, I can hardly wish it to hit anyone else.
        I find myself thinking of those beautiful new sails hardly used.  New foul weather gear never worn.  Ah, well, others will lose far more than I.
        I am in fact fortunate that Marathon’s heat caused me to haul GANNET and fly home last week.  Originally I was scheduled to haul this week.
        As Karen and Flip drove toward the mainland yesterday afternoon they observed that Marathon was a ghost town.  That is how I  imagine it:  people gone; buildings empty; the deserted yard filled with boats awaiting their fate.