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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
There is a Bertram God
Posted By: Randy Cootes
Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2005, at 10:47 p.m.
Just got the best news in 3 weeks since Katrina kicked out butts here in NO. Marshall has recovered Suzie's Pissed, which remained moored at Venice Marina through the storm. Talk about tough boats, here's one for the record books.
I spent all day Saturday before the storm lashing her down at the marina. We usually move her inland for these events, but our schedules just simply didn't allow a relocation on such short notice. I left her at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday knowing things were not looking good. After the storm and all of the terrible reports in Plaquemines parish, I was sure that she was toast. But Marshall gets ahold of this video that some guys shot running through the Jump showing the devastation and son-of-a-bitch, there is a 31 sitting in the jump about a mile from the marina that might just be her. He gets a buddy in a flat boat to run him down to Venice (can't get past Port Sulphur because the levee in lower Plaquemines is breached and you can't get there by car). He drives right up to her in the jump. She is almost beat to death, has a 1' x 4' gash in the side about 8" above the waterline caused by the large barge in the jump which had a piece of angle iron that stabbed her over and over during the storm. The steel ruptured the starboard oil filter and takes out a coolant line. The rear transom cleats were pulled off, she's dragging around a couple of the dock pilings, all of the 5/8" dock lines had broken, BUT she's floating. Takes several hours to get her off of the sandbar, but Marshall successfully tows her back to the marina. A second reconnaisance trip checks her out...rudders are bent, bowrail is smashed, swim platform is gone, windows are broken, pulled cleats damaged transom, and a million other bruises. BUT, shafts look good, no water damage, and the Cummins fired right up... she will see bluewater again and will be recommissioned again as "Another Chance" after the major rebuild and in honor of one of our Bertram idols, Uncle Vic, the owner of AJ. Hell, she needed a paint job anyway!
When I left Venice Marina, about 30 sportfishing boats remained there. While some of the boats were tossed up on land by the tidal surge, Suzie's Pissed is the only sportfishing boat we know that survived the brutal forces and didn't sink. The next few weeks will be consumed with getting her back to the house for the rebuild process.
Other B31 owners didn't appear to be so lucky. Dr. Brian Jordan has traveled twice to the area to try and find Centurion with no luck. The only evidence is a cleat still tied to the dock. The Aw Heck is missing. Rick Brownlee's Baha Cruiser survived but is in the trees 1/4 mile from the marina. The marina is a wasteland, with a gas/diesel sheen 1/4" thick on the surface. Boats of every size and shape are scattered everywhere.
Best of luck to you guys in the path of Rita, she is going to put the hurt on someone.
More stories to follow.
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