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Any of you east coast guys that haven't been monitoring Irene need to focus up...

http://bertram31.com/newbb/viewforum.php?f=8

Bring it on, bitch......

I just back from Turks Sunday, not a moment too soon!

And we just had an earthquake here.......

I'm praying. While a reply to Capt Pat's hurricane forecast we had an earthquake here in Virginia. Centered about ten miles from the Lake Anna Nuclear power plant (oh, goody!) and about 100 miles from us. Shook the crap out of us but luckily no apparent damage.
Whew!

Rockin' and rollin'!!! 5.8 magnitude centered in Mineral, VA. Biggest I have felt here (I know it small to the west coasters).

Bring it on, bitch......

mike
no dont need anymore of this crap

Hurricanes and Earthquakes.......like Walter said....global shaking....and global warming.......better get your "Storm Taxes" paid up to date.

Strange things happening nowadays

hb

Better get your salad spoons crossed out there along the East Coast to steer that bitch away. Good Luck to everybody up yunder.

DQ

Sitting here in Wilmington, NC looking at the estimated forecast path of Irene 5 days out, and see she is supposed to be coming right down my street.

Tomorrow going to check out the generator, get the gerry tanks filled, get the barbecue grille propane tank filled, and buy beer and potato chips. Also need to get my foul weather gear out of the closet.

Your suggestions on what else I should do would be appreciated!

Close the door on the shed where the boat is? :wink:

IRGuy,

Your suggestions on what else I should do would be appreciated!

My 2 cents worth, if your in the path of a Cat 3 or highter Hurricane, check with your insurance co., badden everything down & throw the storm anchor out, and get all your important papers, take a vacation somewhere else.

Best advice you can get!, and You take that to the bank in my opinion as someone who has rode them out and done it on the coast. Never Again with a Cat 3 or higher!

DQ

Frank,
I think Wilmington is going to get lucky this time. At least you boat is in a nice building. I ran generator yesterday, clean yard up tomarrow, Thursday strip boat and place in center of canal.
Go to work on friday and get held over sat because of Iren(wife's Birthday) she is not happy. I was supose to be in Ocracoke this weekend. What every happens I just hope it over fast. I hate when storms stop and sit on us.

5 days out when it was SE of PR all tracks were to the Keys. Give it a day and it will change. They are not that good. When it is "2" days away they seem to be rather accurate, but 5 is a joke. I think it is for TV ratings some times. Probably going to be sunny here. I agree with the CAT 3 or higher. I saw damage from every storm form the keys to Diamond head Miss. form 01 to 05. Structures no matter what they are made of do not do well at 140ish. That is why I am aggravated with wind ratings of windows to 155. The window will be fine but it will be at the bottom of the canal and it will be the only thing left.

I have decided that if you give Jim Cantory a couple of days to work himself up into a lather, he will have the storm destroying the entire of North America.
But you guys do need to keep an eye on this one! Here’s my hurricane tips;

1) Place several gallons of water in the freezer, when the power goes the now blocks of ice will save your food.
2) Fill the tubs with water, use a 5 gal bucket to flush the commodes.
3) If you have a trailer boat, fill the tank. Use the fuel to run your generator and avoid running around trying to find gas everyday.
4) Place a large sign in the yard that states “ U loot we shoot”
5) Sign up for your FEMA goodies, I ended up with a chain saw and generator.
6) Keep ALL receipts for FEMA and/or your insurance.
7) “Final” insurance settlements are not final. You can go back and file for more if you discover more damages later.
8) Without electricity, at the 10 day mark most people go feral.
9) Get the chain saw blades sharpened…,.,and make sure it runs!
10) If you don’t have one, locate a friend with tractor before the storm hits the fan (they are gold after a storm)
11) Go to the auto store and pick up a few tire repair plug kits. There will be roofing nails everywhere and flats can be daily.
12) Call your local contractor and have him put you on the list.
13) Wait a few days to hire the out of town clean up contractors that will be EVERYWHERE. When works starts running out their prices dump fast.
14) Go buy a Radio Shack “rabbit ears” TV antenna; you can get the local news with the cable out.
15) Send the wife and kids somewhere else!! It’s easier to deal with the mess by yourself.
16) Make sure you have several gas cans (full)
17) Cell phones are useless during an evacuation because the systems are over loaded. Bring your hand held VHF for NOAA updates. Make a plan in the event you get seperated from your other family members. Cheap Walmart walkie-talkies in the hunting section are the best bet, unless you own 2 hand held VHFs.

DQ may have some more tips, he's a hurricane pro!


Good luck and hunker down.

Hey scot, tell me how you know?? :)
Good luck guys, be prepeared but dont buy into the hype the media creates. If it where me, i would get your hands on one of the little gensets everyone has talked about. They are easy on fuel and can keep your fridge running. I had a big 10kw durning ike, i couldnt keep gas in it, but my dad lived on 5gals for couple days with that 1kw, and it wasnt even one of the bad ass hondas .

I will add that I'm with Doug...get the hell out, especially if your are in a low area!! I would suggest finding serious structure on high ground that is local and close to the house.

If you do evacuate, the National Guard will have the roads blocked after the strom and will not let you return to your home until they see fit! After RITA the roads were blocked, BUT if you were returning with fuel, generator, food and a chain saw they would let you pass. Basically they wanted to determine if you were self contained and would not require them to support you once you were in!

If you decide to stay, be prepaired to get the hell scared out of you where ever you are! Houses breath, vibrate, shake and generally make you think it is going to come apart at any minute and it goes on for hours (take it from Doug lol).

All of the above is good advice....and not to be taken lightly

If you plan to leave just as the pros have stated get yo stuff together and go......leave at the least, 1 to 2 full days before projected landfall.....dont wait and I repeat dont wait until the last minute.

If you do wait you will be on the road with at least a million other ill prepared drama queens who did the same thing and its my opinion that you will be better off facing the hurricane head on than being on the road in bumper to bumper traffic all in a frantic frenzy.

Ask me how I know......actually I don't know.....I have always chosen to stay on high ground, from beneath trees and in a reasonably sound structure.

Like Scot said, once you leave its difficult to get back to your own home. If your neighborhood experiences a direct hit, you may have to wait 3 or 4 days (or more) just to get back and investigate your damage.

Hurricanes are not fun at all, and they do not come with guarantee....but neither does earthquakes, mud slides, fires, floods, riots, ice storms or life in general........just be safe and make good judgment calls.

The hurricanes that scare me are the ones that form way far south just off the coast of Africa........dem beez the baddest of da baddest.

And there you have it directly from "Advice Central" reporting from South Alabama.......good luck.

hb

Well, I've lucked for FLA, but Long Isle may get it. Be proactive buddies .....good luck!

I went and bought a generator last night so it should go well east of Virginia! LOL!!

Scott has some excellent tips - I can tell he's been through a few.

I'll also add - get some CASH - ATM's run out - or don't have electricity.

Cash talks

If you have kids - get a portable TV and make sure you have lots of batteries - also make sure their video games are charged - AND make sure you buy a car charger - Buy some board games at garage sales and keep on hand (or take with you when you evacuate)

- and I also live by the cat 3 strategy - if it's that big - or close - we are leaving...

Rawleigh that is excellent insurance that it will not come to your house!! Good call.

A small 8000 BTU window unit for $200 bucks at Home Depot is another good idea. They will all be gone post storm. At least they can keep the bedroom nice and cool at night.

Power was out for 30 days after RITA. I had some friends that were without power for 6 months! Feral is the only word that comes to mind.

For me, it was the trees or should I say the logs on the ground. I lost 15-17 30" dia pines. I was in the logging business for a month.
Thank God I had no water with RITA, each storm is different. IKE was the storm surge flood in my area.

Anderson Cooper came and stood in a ditch off Hwy 62 to make it look deeper..lol.

Also, FEMA WILL hire contractors to come around and pick up the logs that you drag to the street...don't bother paying someone to remove them, just get them to the street. I saw several guys pay $10K-$15K having ALL their logs cut and removed from their yards...2-3 weeks later FEMA contractors came around and picked ours up for nothing. We were responsible for getting them on the street. (hence the tractor comment)

Scot: I live in the country, I doubt I will see FEMA!

Think I'll rebuild the carburetor on the coleman genny today. Mild panic mode will kick in after Fridays forecast.
August storms scare me. It's the only time our inshore waters are warm.

Rawleigh,

They cover the county areas as well during clean ups. I was not inside city limits myself, county + FEMA picks up the debris. The key is don't pay anyone to haul the stuff off until you know if FEMA will be doing the job at no charge.

Being in the country is a good thing, I bet you have your own well...plug the genset in and you'll have water, nice! commodes are a VERY good thing to have working!!!

Scot makes some real good points above,

Here is a link that Fema recommends, which is pretty good if you stay and I would add armed & dangerous to that list. If you decide to leave be sure to take your family pictures or anything special you want or go store your stuff somewhere else.

Just remember this one point, anything can be replaced EXCEPT Your life and your Family's life's. Every storm reacts differently, and once your in it, YOU are own your own. No help will come during the height of the storm.
Just be safe & try to make good decision before it hits you. But I still stand by my first statement, get out and take a vacation somewhere else if your in the path.


http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html

Good Luck Everybody on the East Coast, I think if anybody needs anything after the storm that the Faithful here on this site, will help in anyway possible.

DQ

And 5 chainsaws, 2 tractors, D2 caterpillar dozer . . . What can I say, I like to be independent.

a 200 mile miss (out in the ocean)would be nice but right now it looks aimed right at me!

And 30 minutes after you slow it down, Randall, Dug and I get it in the Old Lyme/Groton area -- fortunately, and hopefully, it won't have enough time over Long Island Sound to strengthen back up! Batten down the hatches and have plenty of good single malt and ice!

i have a choice on where i can put the boat in the yard if i pull her out. the hurricane turns counter clockwise so i would assume if the hurricane hit west of oakdale yacth(about the center of long island) the winds would be coming from the southwest and if the storm hit to the east the winds would come from the northeast . is the the way you figure it or is there something i am not looking at????

Bob, it' tracking the same as Gloria did in 1985, as of the last report it will be going over Babylon. ...Russ

Bob,

Only thing I would ask them to do is to strategically put the boat up against a good building. So you are in the lee of the predominant winds. This as opposed to being out in the middle of an open parking lot...

My yard does not have bolts in the ground. Just got off the phone with them, and the tension in the voices was apparent... They are busy.

D

russ we were lucky with gloria it hit at dead low here.i checked tide chart low tide 5:42pm sunday at least it will it hit about that time.how far are you inland?

I'm thinking it's started it turn earlier than forecast and everybody might be spared - next 12 hours are critical - but wouldn't be surprised if the models start shoving it east and further offshore.

Bob I live on a island, 1600 ft. from the ocean, on a canal. It doesn,t get any better than this....Russ

JeremyD wrote:I'm thinking it's started it turn earlier than forecast and everybody might be spared - next 12 hours are critical - but wouldn't be surprised if the models start shoving it east and further offshore.

I'LL KEEP PRAYING!!

Just got word that they have me "tucked in" next to about an 85' enviro lab boat. Big, heavy, and solid. Good wind protection. Unless it falls over... :)

D

In a boatyard in Urbanna, across the river from me, they hit a power line with the backstay of a sailboat and knocked out power to the whole town for 3 hours. I understand that the red hot stay flew across the yard and landed on the hood of someones car, branding it!! Not good to be too pressed fro time in a boatyard!

They just moved the track to the west. Gonna hit my office. Some time over the weekend, a water heater in my office burst and flooded the place. Then the earthquake hit. Now the hurricane is coming.

Soon it will be locust, frogs, and the killing of the first born.

And then we leave for the promised land.......

mike ohlstein wrote:They just moved the track to the west. Gonna hit my office. Some time over the weekend, a water heater in my office burst and flooded the place. Then the earthquake hit. Now the hurricane is coming.

Soon it will be locust, frogs, and the killing of the first born.

And then we leave for the promised land.......

See what happens when you say

Bring it on Bitch!!!!

Mother nature can be a Big One!

Funny that it went east of their [NHC] projected point - yet they brought the projected path back to the west because one of their higher weighted models brought it back towards the coast line (GFDL).

Here's a pretty neat site that shows model animations (page down - left hand side)
http://vortex.plymouth.edu/

Forecast NA GFS path is pretty scary

I learned many years ago - to look at all the models and that really the NHC estimated track is really a "best guess"

Don't focus too much on exactly where the eye is headed. We made that mistake with IKE. We were really happy to see it going ashore 70 miles west of our area...only to get a massive surge and MUCH of our area went under, swallowed a couple of towns on the upper Texas coast and erased a small coastal town in SW Louisiana (100+ miles from the eye)

Assuming you are not in a location that goes under, I think the key for you guys is to be ready for no power for an extended period (weeks not days).

Good luck guys, I don't envy you.

Hurricane Watch
Small Craft Advisory


Synopsis...MAJOR HURRICANE IRENE WILL APPROACH FROM THE SOUTH THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. IRENE WILL MOVE ACROSS CAPE HATTERAS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY AND BECOME STATIONARY JUST TO THE SOUTH.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Afternoon...SE winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Dominant period 13 seconds. A slight chance of showers and tstms.

Tonight...SE winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 8 to 10 ft. Dominant period 15 seconds.

Fri...Tropical storm conditions possible. E winds 15 to 20 kt... Increasing to 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 40 kt in the afternoon. Seas 12 to 15 ft. Showers likely with a chance of tstms.

Fri Night...Hurricane conditions possible. E winds 25 to 35 kt with gusts up to 50 kt...increasing to 45 to 55 kt with gusts up to 70 kt after midnight. Seas 18 to 20 ft. Showers with a chance of tstms.

Sat...Hurricane conditions possible. N winds 60 to 80 kt with gusts up to 90 kt. Seas 23 to 27 ft. Showers with a chance of tstms.

Sat Night...Tropical storm conditions possible.

Sun...W winds 25 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt... Diminishing to 20 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Seas 7 to 10 ft.

Sun Night...SW winds 15 to 20 kt...becoming W 10 to 15 kt after midnight. Seas 4 ft.

Mon...W winds 5 to 10 kt...becoming S in the afternoon. Seas

Scott's list is spot on but you should also take tons of pictures of your house and possessions so you have a good reference when wrestling with your insurance co.


During Gloria in 85 we went to Porkies for bisque and beers during the eye, this looks to be a horse of a different color.

Good luck everyone,
RussP

well just called in 4 crews from upstate ny to join the party should be here sat , here we go, as capt pat says i dont have another one in me, well i guess i have no choise

Good luck guys this one does not look any fun at all! Hope you and your families stay very safe!

The eye went over our home on Elbow Cay, Bahamas yesterday. The Duchess is still on her jack stands at lighthouse marina (I've been told, but still would like to see for myself). So I am assuming my roof is still on the house too. No structural damage has been reported yet. The island was cut in two near White Sound, the wind and waves breached a this area of land, washed over the road and into the Sea of Abaco (bayside). The pictures I have seen look promissing. Our info site is www.hopetownfirerescue.com If you ever travel to Hope Town, consider a donation to the Volunteer Fire/Rescue at the link. I hope everyone is ready up in NC area and above. Be safe, and God bless!

Hurricane Warning
Flood Watch
Hazardous Weather Outlook


Today: Tropical storm conditions expected, with hurricane conditions possible. Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. East wind 16 to 21 mph increasing to between 32 and 37 mph. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Tonight: Hurricane conditions expected. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 77. East wind 45 to 55 mph increasing to between 45 and 65 mph. Winds could gust as high as 80 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 3 and 4 inches possible.

Saturday: Hurricane conditions expected. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 81. North wind 85 to 105 mph decreasing to between 65 and 85 mph. Winds could gust as high as 125 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts in excess of 4 inches possible.

Saturday Night: Tropical storm conditions expected, with hurricane conditions possible. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 76. West wind 33 to 43 mph decreasing to between 26 and 31 mph. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Sunday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Windy, with a west wind between 23 and 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.

Wednesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75.

Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 82.

In hindsight I think I would have put the extra roll of clear plastic adhesive film on all my windows and hull. I forget the name of this stuff, but Patrick told me to use it when I transported the boat on a truck. it works great to keep road trash off and I bet it would stay on and protect the boat in a hurricane, whereas I could not say that for any canvas. Take off your bimini tops, etc, they will get pulled off otherwise and torn to shreds and any tops will act like a sail. Get low and streamline. Make sure your bilge pumps and batteries are in great shape too. Take antennas down, etc. Before next season I would like to build my own cradle instead of relying on Jack Stands. Good luck to all of you in the path.