Dear Group,

It sure takes a sorry bunch of losers and lamers to spend so
much of their time posting here when they could be sailing. I
can understand how those who have no boats and sail vicariously
through those of us who do have boats are caught in this insidious
trap but I just can't figure out why those who DO have boats
forsake sailing them in lieu of blathering inanities here.

Instead of pontificating in this forum about how great one's boat
is on paper compared to others' boats and trying to justify yet
another uninformed purchase, would it not be better to be out sailing
said vessel to ascertain her strong and weak points so the weak can
be corrected and the strong appreciated?

It is ever a sad state of affairs when those who pretend lead around
by the nose those who cannot recognize a pretender, is it not? Sorry
guys, but I, Capt. Neal, am intelligent enough to not fall prey to such
nonsense. I'd rather be sailing.

My latest sail consisted of a rowdy broad reach up to the Little
Shark River in the Everglades to ride out Hurricane Wilma. "Cut
the Mustard" and two other vessels ("Harbinger" - an Atlantic
City Cat 24 and "Breakin' Wind" - an Irwin 32 center cockpit)
sailed up from the Keys the Wednesday prior to the storm's landfall.
We arrived with a couple of days to spare before Wilma (who hung
around the Yucatan for days) made landfall on the peninsular. We
sought safe harbor way up a Shark River tributary and on a side
creek of that tributary where the mangrove's grow higher than
anywhere else in the USA. Imaging fifty and sixty foot tall, thick
groves of mangroves. That's where we sheltered. We tied up to the
mangroves on either side of the little side creek. Luckily, the mosquitoes
were nowhere to be seen but, unfortunately, the no-see-ums were
thicker than lies in a Bobsprit post.

We experienced the core of the hurricane and the south eye wall
with sustained winds of well over 120 knots and higher gusts (Joe,
put me down for riding out without a scratch yet another storm!).
Have any of you ever experienced 'rain' consisting of crushed and
shredded leaves? That's what we had. The lush tropical forest
canopy was turned to brown and broken branches by the time the
storm had passed - a period of about 10-12 hours.

Interestingly, we had a two or three knot current sideways to the
creek when the fifteen foot storm surge rolled in. All three boats
came through without a scratch or breakage of any sort. It took me
three hours, though, to clean all the bits and pieces of leaves and
sticks from my boat. Luckily I had plenty of bleach to counteract
the tannic acid from the leaves which had stained my light green
nonskid brown and my white paint on the deck yellow/brown. Yuck!
But a little elbow grease was all it took to get things shipshape again.

We three single-handers enjoyed the storm and the company of real
sailors and even had plenty of rum and ice too keep us in good
cheer. We enjoyed an abundance of good food and music and tall
tales.

After the storm passed we waited a day for the storm surge to
subside and the river current to free itself somewhat of flotsam
and headed back downriver. We sailed out of the mouth of the
river just as a Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead. They had
'spotted' all seven or eight vessels that had sought refuge up
the river prior to the storm and had returned to make sure
all was well. I can imagine the crew looking down and thinking
to themselves, "Now, there's three "real" sailors down there!
If all sailors were like them we'd be out of a job."

The wind was very light out of the northwest as we ghosted
down the Gulf Coast toward East Cape and the yacht channel to
the south. We ran out of daylight near Schooner Bank and anchored
in its lee in a freshening northeast wind. The wind built during
the night and the next day we enjoyed a screaming reach down
to the yacht channel markers and Intracoastal Waterway. I sailed
all the way to Steamboat Channel and put the Irwin and the
catboat hull down. From Steamboat Channel it was a motor
job up to the anchorage off the "OV" - that's short for the
Ocean View Bar and Grill (which sits on the bayside - go figure) -
where we went ashore for a cheeseburger in paradise. The skipper
of the "Breakin' Wind" is a real ladies man and sort of a local
legend and he had several women all over him so Catboat Jim and
I had plenty of attention as well dealing with the overflow.

A good boat, a fresh breeze and a woman in every port - it doesn't
get any better than that. . .

So, let this be a lesson to all of you who think sailing is nothing
more than a pack of lies and bull**** on a sailing newsgroup. Get
out there and go sailing. Even a hurricane offers us real sailors an
opportunity to DO instead of imagining doing. How many of
you reading this can claim over a hundred and twenty miles
of sailing in the path of a hurricane and are able to look back
on it as some of the best days of your life?

No response? I figured as much.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glad to hear you thrived under such adverse conditions.

Well done!

Amen!

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
Dear Group,

It sure takes a sorry bunch of losers and lamers to spend so
much of their time posting here when they could be sailing. I
can understand how those who have no boats and sail vicariously
through those of us who do have boats are caught in this insidious
trap but I just can't figure out why those who DO have boats
forsake sailing them in lieu of blathering inanities here.

Instead of pontificating in this forum about how great one's boat
is on paper compared to others' boats and trying to justify yet
another uninformed purchase, would it not be better to be out sailing
said vessel to ascertain her strong and weak points so the weak can
be corrected and the strong appreciated?

It is ever a sad state of affairs when those who pretend lead around
by the nose those who cannot recognize a pretender, is it not? Sorry
guys, but I, Capt. Neal, am intelligent enough to not fall prey to such
nonsense. I'd rather be sailing.

My latest sail consisted of a rowdy broad reach up to the Little
Shark River in the Everglades to ride out Hurricane Wilma. "Cut
the Mustard" and two other vessels ("Harbinger" - an Atlantic
City Cat 24 and "Breakin' Wind" - an Irwin 32 center cockpit)
sailed up from the Keys the Wednesday prior to the storm's landfall.
We arrived with a couple of days to spare before Wilma (who hung
around the Yucatan for days) made landfall on the peninsular. We
sought safe harbor way up a Shark River tributary and on a side
creek of that tributary where the mangrove's grow higher than
anywhere else in the USA. Imaging fifty and sixty foot tall, thick
groves of mangroves. That's where we sheltered. We tied up to the
mangroves on either side of the little side creek. Luckily, the mosquitoes
were nowhere to be seen but, unfortunately, the no-see-ums were
thicker than lies in a Bobsprit post.

We experienced the core of the hurricane and the south eye wall
with sustained winds of well over 120 knots and higher gusts (Joe,
put me down for riding out without a scratch yet another storm!).
Have any of you ever experienced 'rain' consisting of crushed and
shredded leaves? That's what we had. The lush tropical forest
canopy was turned to brown and broken branches by the time the
storm had passed - a period of about 10-12 hours.

Interestingly, we had a two or three knot current sideways to the
creek when the fifteen foot storm surge rolled in. All three boats
came through without a scratch or breakage of any sort. It took me
three hours, though, to clean all the bits and pieces of leaves and
sticks from my boat. Luckily I had plenty of bleach to counteract
the tannic acid from the leaves which had stained my light green
nonskid brown and my white paint on the deck yellow/brown. Yuck!
But a little elbow grease was all it took to get things shipshape again.

We three single-handers enjoyed the storm and the company of real
sailors and even had plenty of rum and ice too keep us in good
cheer. We enjoyed an abundance of good food and music and tall
tales.

After the storm passed we waited a day for the storm surge to
subside and the river current to free itself somewhat of flotsam
and headed back downriver. We sailed out of the mouth of the
river just as a Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead. They had
'spotted' all seven or eight vessels that had sought refuge up
the river prior to the storm and had returned to make sure
all was well. I can imagine the crew looking down and thinking
to themselves, "Now, there's three "real" sailors down there!
If all sailors were like them we'd be out of a job."

The wind was very light out of the northwest as we ghosted
down the Gulf Coast toward East Cape and the yacht channel to
the south. We ran out of daylight near Schooner Bank and anchored
in its lee in a freshening northeast wind. The wind built during
the night and the next day we enjoyed a screaming reach down
to the yacht channel markers and Intracoastal Waterway. I sailed
all the way to Steamboat Channel and put the Irwin and the
catboat hull down. From Steamboat Channel it was a motor
job up to the anchorage off the "OV" - that's short for the
Ocean View Bar and Grill (which sits on the bayside - go figure) -
where we went ashore for a cheeseburger in paradise. The skipper
of the "Breakin' Wind" is a real ladies man and sort of a local
legend and he had several women all over him so Catboat Jim and
I had plenty of attention as well dealing with the overflow.

A good boat, a fresh breeze and a woman in every port - it doesn't
get any better than that. . .

So, let this be a lesson to all of you who think sailing is nothing
more than a pack of lies and bull**** on a sailing newsgroup. Get
out there and go sailing. Even a hurricane offers us real sailors an
opportunity to DO instead of imagining doing. How many of
you reading this can claim over a hundred and twenty miles
of sailing in the path of a hurricane and are able to look back
on it as some of the best days of your life?

No response? I figured as much.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bob Crantz" wrote in message nk.net...
| Glad to hear you thrived under such adverse conditions.
|
| Well done!
|
| Amen!


The Good Lord created Heaven and Earth that mankind might enjoy the
splendor of it all. Girly men such a Bobsprit might quake and quiver and
hide from the elements but us real men and accomplished sailors take
whatever God has to offer in the way of the forces of the world in stride.
God put this whole Earth here for us to enjoy. He never intended for us
to quake in fear and to run from the Glory. To run and hide and not partake
and enjoy is to rebuke His plan for us.

CN




|
| "Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
| ...
| Dear Group,
|
| It sure takes a sorry bunch of losers and lamers to spend so
| much of their time posting here when they could be sailing. I
| can understand how those who have no boats and sail vicariously
| through those of us who do have boats are caught in this insidious
| trap but I just can't figure out why those who DO have boats
| forsake sailing them in lieu of blathering inanities here.
|
| Instead of pontificating in this forum about how great one's boat
| is on paper compared to others' boats and trying to justify yet
| another uninformed purchase, would it not be better to be out sailing
| said vessel to ascertain her strong and weak points so the weak can
| be corrected and the strong appreciated?
|
| It is ever a sad state of affairs when those who pretend lead around
| by the nose those who cannot recognize a pretender, is it not? Sorry
| guys, but I, Capt. Neal, am intelligent enough to not fall prey to such
| nonsense. I'd rather be sailing.
|
| My latest sail consisted of a rowdy broad reach up to the Little
| Shark River in the Everglades to ride out Hurricane Wilma. "Cut
| the Mustard" and two other vessels ("Harbinger" - an Atlantic
| City Cat 24 and "Breakin' Wind" - an Irwin 32 center cockpit)
| sailed up from the Keys the Wednesday prior to the storm's landfall.
| We arrived with a couple of days to spare before Wilma (who hung
| around the Yucatan for days) made landfall on the peninsular. We
| sought safe harbor way up a Shark River tributary and on a side
| creek of that tributary where the mangrove's grow higher than
| anywhere else in the USA. Imaging fifty and sixty foot tall, thick
| groves of mangroves. That's where we sheltered. We tied up to the
| mangroves on either side of the little side creek. Luckily, the mosquitoes
| were nowhere to be seen but, unfortunately, the no-see-ums were
| thicker than lies in a Bobsprit post.
|
| We experienced the core of the hurricane and the south eye wall
| with sustained winds of well over 120 knots and higher gusts (Joe,
| put me down for riding out without a scratch yet another storm!).
| Have any of you ever experienced 'rain' consisting of crushed and
| shredded leaves? That's what we had. The lush tropical forest
| canopy was turned to brown and broken branches by the time the
| storm had passed - a period of about 10-12 hours.
|
| Interestingly, we had a two or three knot current sideways to the
| creek when the fifteen foot storm surge rolled in. All three boats
| came through without a scratch or breakage of any sort. It took me
| three hours, though, to clean all the bits and pieces of leaves and
| sticks from my boat. Luckily I had plenty of bleach to counteract
| the tannic acid from the leaves which had stained my light green
| nonskid brown and my white paint on the deck yellow/brown. Yuck!
| But a little elbow grease was all it took to get things shipshape again.
|
| We three single-handers enjoyed the storm and the company of real
| sailors and even had plenty of rum and ice too keep us in good
| cheer. We enjoyed an abundance of good food and music and tall
| tales.
|
| After the storm passed we waited a day for the storm surge to
| subside and the river current to free itself somewhat of flotsam
| and headed back downriver. We sailed out of the mouth of the
| river just as a Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead. They had
| 'spotted' all seven or eight vessels that had sought refuge up
| the river prior to the storm and had returned to make sure
| all was well. I can imagine the crew looking down and thinking
| to themselves, "Now, there's three "real" sailors down there!
| If all sailors were like them we'd be out of a job."
|
| The wind was very light out of the northwest as we ghosted
| down the Gulf Coast toward East Cape and the yacht channel to
| the south. We ran out of daylight near Schooner Bank and anchored
| in its lee in a freshening northeast wind. The wind built during
| the night and the next day we enjoyed a screaming reach down
| to the yacht channel markers and Intracoastal Waterway. I sailed
| all the way to Steamboat Channel and put the Irwin and the
| catboat hull down. From Steamboat Channel it was a motor
| job up to the anchorage off the "OV" - that's short for the
| Ocean View Bar and Grill (which sits on the bayside - go figure) -
| where we went ashore for a cheeseburger in paradise. The skipper
| of the "Breakin' Wind" is a real ladies man and sort of a local
| legend and he had several women all over him so Catboat Jim and
| I had plenty of attention as well dealing with the overflow.
|
| A good boat, a fresh breeze and a woman in every port - it doesn't
| get any better than that. . .
|
| So, let this be a lesson to all of you who think sailing is nothing
| more than a pack of lies and bull**** on a sailing newsgroup. Get
| out there and go sailing. Even a hurricane offers us real sailors an
| opportunity to DO instead of imagining doing. How many of
| you reading this can claim over a hundred and twenty miles
| of sailing in the path of a hurricane and are able to look back
| on it as some of the best days of your life?
|
| No response? I figured as much.
|
| Respectfully,
| Capt. Neal
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

"Captain Joe Redcloud" wrote in message ...
| On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 17:45:42 -0500, Capt. Neal® wrote:
|
|
| "Bob Crantz" wrote in message nk.net...
| | Glad to hear you thrived under such adverse conditions.
| |
| | Well done!
| |
| | Amen!
|
|
| The Good Lord created Heaven and Earth that mankind might enjoy the
| splendor of it all. Girly men such a Bobsprit might quake and quiver and
| hide from the elements but us real men and accomplished sailors take
| whatever God has to offer in the way of the forces of the world in stride.
| God put this whole Earth here for us to enjoy. He never intended for us
| to quake in fear and to run from the Glory. To run and hide and not partake
| and enjoy is to rebuke His plan for us.
|
|
| So, How many kids do you have Neal? God must be mighty ****ed at you for not
| procreating. That was one of his "biggies" on the "To-Do" list. I guess everyone
| may have something that makes them run, hide and quake in fear. In your case
| it's women.
|
|
| Captain Joe Redcloud
| Mohnton PA



Binary Bill is a good example of one who sails a newsgroup instead of a boat.
Instead of knowing his folly he attempts to change the subject.

So sad!

CN

OzOne wrote in message ...
|
| I'm happy for you Cappy.


Thank you, Sir! There is nothing like a good sail to put things into perspective.

CN




|
| On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 17:31:48 -0500, Capt. Neal®
| scribbled thusly:
|
| Dear Group,
|
| It sure takes a sorry bunch of losers and lamers to spend so
| much of their time posting here when they could be sailing. I
| can understand how those who have no boats and sail vicariously
| through those of us who do have boats are caught in this insidious
| trap but I just can't figure out why those who DO have boats
| forsake sailing them in lieu of blathering inanities here.
|
| Instead of pontificating in this forum about how great one's boat
| is on paper compared to others' boats and trying to justify yet
| another uninformed purchase, would it not be better to be out sailing
| said vessel to ascertain her strong and weak points so the weak can
| be corrected and the strong appreciated?
|
| It is ever a sad state of affairs when those who pretend lead around
| by the nose those who cannot recognize a pretender, is it not? Sorry
| guys, but I, Capt. Neal, am intelligent enough to not fall prey to such
| nonsense. I'd rather be sailing.
|
| My latest sail consisted of a rowdy broad reach up to the Little
| Shark River in the Everglades to ride out Hurricane Wilma. "Cut
| the Mustard" and two other vessels ("Harbinger" - an Atlantic
| City Cat 24 and "Breakin' Wind" - an Irwin 32 center cockpit)
| sailed up from the Keys the Wednesday prior to the storm's landfall.
| We arrived with a couple of days to spare before Wilma (who hung
| around the Yucatan for days) made landfall on the peninsular. We
| sought safe harbor way up a Shark River tributary and on a side
| creek of that tributary where the mangrove's grow higher than
| anywhere else in the USA. Imaging fifty and sixty foot tall, thick
| groves of mangroves. That's where we sheltered. We tied up to the
| mangroves on either side of the little side creek. Luckily, the mosquitoes
| were nowhere to be seen but, unfortunately, the no-see-ums were
| thicker than lies in a Bobsprit post.
|
| We experienced the core of the hurricane and the south eye wall
| with sustained winds of well over 120 knots and higher gusts (Joe,
| put me down for riding out without a scratch yet another storm!).
| Have any of you ever experienced 'rain' consisting of crushed and
| shredded leaves? That's what we had. The lush tropical forest
| canopy was turned to brown and broken branches by the time the
| storm had passed - a period of about 10-12 hours.
|
| Interestingly, we had a two or three knot current sideways to the
| creek when the fifteen foot storm surge rolled in. All three boats
| came through without a scratch or breakage of any sort. It took me
| three hours, though, to clean all the bits and pieces of leaves and
| sticks from my boat. Luckily I had plenty of bleach to counteract
| the tannic acid from the leaves which had stained my light green
| nonskid brown and my white paint on the deck yellow/brown. Yuck!
| But a little elbow grease was all it took to get things shipshape again.
|
| We three single-handers enjoyed the storm and the company of real
| sailors and even had plenty of rum and ice too keep us in good
| cheer. We enjoyed an abundance of good food and music and tall
| tales.
|
| After the storm passed we waited a day for the storm surge to
| subside and the river current to free itself somewhat of flotsam
| and headed back downriver. We sailed out of the mouth of the
| river just as a Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead. They had
| 'spotted' all seven or eight vessels that had sought refuge up
| the river prior to the storm and had returned to make sure
| all was well. I can imagine the crew looking down and thinking
| to themselves, "Now, there's three "real" sailors down there!
| If all sailors were like them we'd be out of a job."
|
| The wind was very light out of the northwest as we ghosted
| down the Gulf Coast toward East Cape and the yacht channel to
| the south. We ran out of daylight near Schooner Bank and anchored
| in its lee in a freshening northeast wind. The wind built during
| the night and the next day we enjoyed a screaming reach down
| to the yacht channel markers and Intracoastal Waterway. I sailed
| all the way to Steamboat Channel and put the Irwin and the
| catboat hull down. From Steamboat Channel it was a motor
| job up to the anchorage off the "OV" - that's short for the
| Ocean View Bar and Grill (which sits on the bayside - go figure) -
| where we went ashore for a cheeseburger in paradise. The skipper
| of the "Breakin' Wind" is a real ladies man and sort of a local
| legend and he had several women all over him so Catboat Jim and
| I had plenty of attention as well dealing with the overflow.
|
| A good boat, a fresh breeze and a woman in every port - it doesn't
| get any better than that. . .
|
| So, let this be a lesson to all of you who think sailing is nothing
| more than a pack of lies and bull**** on a sailing newsgroup. Get
| out there and go sailing. Even a hurricane offers us real sailors an
| opportunity to DO instead of imagining doing. How many of
| you reading this can claim over a hundred and twenty miles
| of sailing in the path of a hurricane and are able to look back
| on it as some of the best days of your life?
|
| No response? I figured as much.
|
| Respectfully,
| Capt. Neal
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Oz1...of the 3 twins.
|
| I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.

Glad to hear you rode it out in style. I must say I was a bit
concerned. Although the Snake is probably the most secure area for
100 miles, I doubt I would have had the nerve to go closer to the track.

I was curious if you had much of a surge there; they were predicting
12 to 20 feet. Also, what would it have been like closer to your
home, like in the mangroves around Lake Largo?



Capt. Neal® wrote:
Dear Group,

It sure takes a sorry bunch of losers and lamers to spend so
much of their time posting here when they could be sailing. I
can understand how those who have no boats and sail vicariously
through those of us who do have boats are caught in this insidious
trap but I just can't figure out why those who DO have boats
forsake sailing them in lieu of blathering inanities here.

Instead of pontificating in this forum about how great one's boat
is on paper compared to others' boats and trying to justify yet
another uninformed purchase, would it not be better to be out sailing
said vessel to ascertain her strong and weak points so the weak can
be corrected and the strong appreciated?

It is ever a sad state of affairs when those who pretend lead around
by the nose those who cannot recognize a pretender, is it not? Sorry
guys, but I, Capt. Neal, am intelligent enough to not fall prey to such
nonsense. I'd rather be sailing.

My latest sail consisted of a rowdy broad reach up to the Little
Shark River in the Everglades to ride out Hurricane Wilma. "Cut
the Mustard" and two other vessels ("Harbinger" - an Atlantic
City Cat 24 and "Breakin' Wind" - an Irwin 32 center cockpit)
sailed up from the Keys the Wednesday prior to the storm's landfall.
We arrived with a couple of days to spare before Wilma (who hung
around the Yucatan for days) made landfall on the peninsular. We
sought safe harbor way up a Shark River tributary and on a side
creek of that tributary where the mangrove's grow higher than
anywhere else in the USA. Imaging fifty and sixty foot tall, thick
groves of mangroves. That's where we sheltered. We tied up to the
mangroves on either side of the little side creek. Luckily, the mosquitoes
were nowhere to be seen but, unfortunately, the no-see-ums were
thicker than lies in a Bobsprit post.

We experienced the core of the hurricane and the south eye wall
with sustained winds of well over 120 knots and higher gusts (Joe,
put me down for riding out without a scratch yet another storm!).
Have any of you ever experienced 'rain' consisting of crushed and
shredded leaves? That's what we had. The lush tropical forest
canopy was turned to brown and broken branches by the time the
storm had passed - a period of about 10-12 hours.

Interestingly, we had a two or three knot current sideways to the
creek when the fifteen foot storm surge rolled in. All three boats
came through without a scratch or breakage of any sort. It took me
three hours, though, to clean all the bits and pieces of leaves and
sticks from my boat. Luckily I had plenty of bleach to counteract
the tannic acid from the leaves which had stained my light green
nonskid brown and my white paint on the deck yellow/brown. Yuck!
But a little elbow grease was all it took to get things shipshape again.

We three single-handers enjoyed the storm and the company of real
sailors and even had plenty of rum and ice too keep us in good
cheer. We enjoyed an abundance of good food and music and tall
tales.

After the storm passed we waited a day for the storm surge to
subside and the river current to free itself somewhat of flotsam
and headed back downriver. We sailed out of the mouth of the
river just as a Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead. They had
'spotted' all seven or eight vessels that had sought refuge up
the river prior to the storm and had returned to make sure
all was well. I can imagine the crew looking down and thinking
to themselves, "Now, there's three "real" sailors down there!
If all sailors were like them we'd be out of a job."

The wind was very light out of the northwest as we ghosted
down the Gulf Coast toward East Cape and the yacht channel to
the south. We ran out of daylight near Schooner Bank and anchored
in its lee in a freshening northeast wind. The wind built during
the night and the next day we enjoyed a screaming reach down
to the yacht channel markers and Intracoastal Waterway. I sailed
all the way to Steamboat Channel and put the Irwin and the
catboat hull down. From Steamboat Channel it was a motor
job up to the anchorage off the "OV" - that's short for the
Ocean View Bar and Grill (which sits on the bayside - go figure) -
where we went ashore for a cheeseburger in paradise. The skipper
of the "Breakin' Wind" is a real ladies man and sort of a local
legend and he had several women all over him so Catboat Jim and
I had plenty of attention as well dealing with the overflow.

A good boat, a fresh breeze and a woman in every port - it doesn't
get any better than that. . .

So, let this be a lesson to all of you who think sailing is nothing
more than a pack of lies and bull**** on a sailing newsgroup. Get
out there and go sailing. Even a hurricane offers us real sailors an
opportunity to DO instead of imagining doing. How many of
you reading this can claim over a hundred and twenty miles
of sailing in the path of a hurricane and are able to look back
on it as some of the best days of your life?

No response? I figured as much.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jeff" wrote in message ...
| Glad to hear you rode it out in style. I must say I was a bit
| concerned. Although the Snake is probably the most secure area for
| 100 miles, I doubt I would have had the nerve to go closer to the track.
|
| I was curious if you had much of a surge there; they were predicting
| 12 to 20 feet. Also, what would it have been like closer to your
| home, like in the mangroves around Lake Largo?


Thanks for the good words.

They only got about seven feet of surge in the Key Largo anchorage on the
Bayside. I'm not sure where Lake Largo is but I guess they got seven or
so feet there as well. There were lighter winds in Key Largo because the
storm tracked north of here but I wanted to get away because I knew
even a Cat 5 was survivable up in the mangroves of the Shark River whereas
if the storm stayed powerful and happened to take a turn that tracked it
right up the Keys there would have been roofs, etc. flying around destroying
everything in site. The mangroves are short around here - only fifteen or twenty
feet and they don't really offer much shelter at all.

CN


|
|
|
| Capt. Neal® wrote:
| Dear Group,
|
| It sure takes a sorry bunch of losers and lamers to spend so
| much of their time posting here when they could be sailing. I
| can understand how those who have no boats and sail vicariously
| through those of us who do have boats are caught in this insidious
| trap but I just can't figure out why those who DO have boats
| forsake sailing them in lieu of blathering inanities here.
|
| Instead of pontificating in this forum about how great one's boat
| is on paper compared to others' boats and trying to justify yet
| another uninformed purchase, would it not be better to be out sailing
| said vessel to ascertain her strong and weak points so the weak can
| be corrected and the strong appreciated?
|
| It is ever a sad state of affairs when those who pretend lead around
| by the nose those who cannot recognize a pretender, is it not? Sorry
| guys, but I, Capt. Neal, am intelligent enough to not fall prey to such
| nonsense. I'd rather be sailing.
|
| My latest sail consisted of a rowdy broad reach up to the Little
| Shark River in the Everglades to ride out Hurricane Wilma. "Cut
| the Mustard" and two other vessels ("Harbinger" - an Atlantic
| City Cat 24 and "Breakin' Wind" - an Irwin 32 center cockpit)
| sailed up from the Keys the Wednesday prior to the storm's landfall.
| We arrived with a couple of days to spare before Wilma (who hung
| around the Yucatan for days) made landfall on the peninsular. We
| sought safe harbor way up a Shark River tributary and on a side
| creek of that tributary where the mangrove's grow higher than
| anywhere else in the USA. Imaging fifty and sixty foot tall, thick
| groves of mangroves. That's where we sheltered. We tied up to the
| mangroves on either side of the little side creek. Luckily, the mosquitoes
| were nowhere to be seen but, unfortunately, the no-see-ums were
| thicker than lies in a Bobsprit post.
|
| We experienced the core of the hurricane and the south eye wall
| with sustained winds of well over 120 knots and higher gusts (Joe,
| put me down for riding out without a scratch yet another storm!).
| Have any of you ever experienced 'rain' consisting of crushed and
| shredded leaves? That's what we had. The lush tropical forest
| canopy was turned to brown and broken branches by the time the
| storm had passed - a period of about 10-12 hours.
|
| Interestingly, we had a two or three knot current sideways to the
| creek when the fifteen foot storm surge rolled in. All three boats
| came through without a scratch or breakage of any sort. It took me
| three hours, though, to clean all the bits and pieces of leaves and
| sticks from my boat. Luckily I had plenty of bleach to counteract
| the tannic acid from the leaves which had stained my light green
| nonskid brown and my white paint on the deck yellow/brown. Yuck!
| But a little elbow grease was all it took to get things shipshape again.
|
| We three single-handers enjoyed the storm and the company of real
| sailors and even had plenty of rum and ice too keep us in good
| cheer. We enjoyed an abundance of good food and music and tall
| tales.
|
| After the storm passed we waited a day for the storm surge to
| subside and the river current to free itself somewhat of flotsam
| and headed back downriver. We sailed out of the mouth of the
| river just as a Coast Guard helicopter passed overhead. They had
| 'spotted' all seven or eight vessels that had sought refuge up
| the river prior to the storm and had returned to make sure
| all was well. I can imagine the crew looking down and thinking
| to themselves, "Now, there's three "real" sailors down there!
| If all sailors were like them we'd be out of a job."
|
| The wind was very light out of the northwest as we ghosted
| down the Gulf Coast toward East Cape and the yacht channel to
| the south. We ran out of daylight near Schooner Bank and anchored
| in its lee in a freshening northeast wind. The wind built during
| the night and the next day we enjoyed a screaming reach down
| to the yacht channel markers and Intracoastal Waterway. I sailed
| all the way to Steamboat Channel and put the Irwin and the
| catboat hull down. From Steamboat Channel it was a motor
| job up to the anchorage off the "OV" - that's short for the
| Ocean View Bar and Grill (which sits on the bayside - go figure) -
| where we went ashore for a cheeseburger in paradise. The skipper
| of the "Breakin' Wind" is a real ladies man and sort of a local
| legend and he had several women all over him so Catboat Jim and
| I had plenty of attention as well dealing with the overflow.
|
| A good boat, a fresh breeze and a woman in every port - it doesn't
| get any better than that. . .
|
| So, let this be a lesson to all of you who think sailing is nothing
| more than a pack of lies and bull**** on a sailing newsgroup. Get
| out there and go sailing. Even a hurricane offers us real sailors an
| opportunity to DO instead of imagining doing. How many of
| you reading this can claim over a hundred and twenty miles
| of sailing in the path of a hurricane and are able to look back
| on it as some of the best days of your life?
|
| No response? I figured as much.
|
| Respectfully,
| Capt. Neal
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
|

Capt. Neal® wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message ...
| Glad to hear you rode it out in style. I must say I was a bit
| concerned. Although the Snake is probably the most secure area for
| 100 miles, I doubt I would have had the nerve to go closer to the track.
|
| I was curious if you had much of a surge there; they were predicting
| 12 to 20 feet. Also, what would it have been like closer to your
| home, like in the mangroves around Lake Largo?


Thanks for the good words.

They only got about seven feet of surge in the Key Largo anchorage on the
Bayside. I'm not sure where Lake Largo is but I guess they got seven or
so feet there as well. There were lighter winds in Key Largo because the
storm tracked north of here but I wanted to get away because I knew
even a Cat 5 was survivable up in the mangroves of the Shark River whereas
if the storm stayed powerful and happened to take a turn that tracked it
right up the Keys there would have been roofs, etc. flying around destroying
everything in site. The mangroves are short around here - only fifteen or twenty
feet and they don't really offer much shelter at all.

I was thinking of Largo Sound, and the channels leading in there.
Lake Largo is one of those man-made holes that probably is secure, as
long as a flying roof doesn't hit you.

"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message
...
Dear Group,
No response? I figured as much.

Respectfully,
Capt. Neal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What, no pics?

John Cairns

I sailed a laser through Hurricane Isabel. Pussy.