Voyager didnt fare so well in Francis

[capran]

I know this is a long shot. We have been a regular poster (Randy Thies)and visitor to Abaco aboard Voyager, a Catalina 34. This morning got the bad news that she is "down". We have stored her (on the hard, the the storage yard)at Harbortown Marina at Ft Pierce for 5 years, spending summers in the Abacos. I know everyone is probably reeling themselves...but I am wondering if anyone in the Ft Pierce area could go by the Marina storage yard and take a digital pic and send it to me. Our boat is a Catalina 34. It was originally put on stands next to the fence just nw of the pool, over by the yacht brokerage office, near the laundry. We are sick and heartbroken, but worst of all is not knowing how bad. Harbortown had absolutely no details, and it's the not knowing that is killing us. We are 3000 miles away in washington state, and I work in the schools which just started up. If anyone could go by and get a picture or a report of some kind. The boat should clearly be visible from the parking lot. Sincerely, if the situation were reversed, I would be glad to do the same for any of you. I would be forever indebted for any report I can get on the condition of her.

I hope that you all are safe. I watched every news report out of Marsh Harbor and hope you all fared OK. The power of mother nature....a major bummer. well, if anyone can assist with info, It would be such a great thing. Thanks

Randy

[TurtleDreams]

Randy, very sorry to hear this news! I hope you you will be fortunate & hear that original reports were in error.
Best wishes,
Susan

[Mont]

capran, please put another post with your request on a good friend of mines' site, based in Ft. Pierce. www.fishingfortpierce.com One of the regulars there, posted up that there isn't any power, traffic lights, ect., but it's coming back up pretty quick.

[PASSAGE Paul]

I just posted this over on the Florida Sportsman Forum. I'm sure we can get info from there as there are lots of members in that area.

PP

[FarmerBob]

Randy,
Since you did not provide contact information, if I get any responses from thehulltruth forum, I will provide the persons contact info on this Abaco Board thread. Good luck. Bob

[Mont]

thanks for the cross post, folks. That's cooperation with a capitol C. Here's one of a certain Texan cutting up non native invasive species in Ft. Pierce. That's short for Chief Chainsaw. I even had my hard hat on ;)

[capran]

Hey, thank you so much. I thought my contact info was there automatically. e mail is capran@yahoo.com phone is 509 4662706 address is 17426 N Brookside lane Colbert Wa 99005

I appreciate the gesture of kindness. I know many have it much worse, but it was our second home for two months of the year. I have never had an insurance claim and being 3000 miles away I have no idea what to expect, but as I said earlier, it is the not knowing exactly how bad that makes it so difficult. I will check back frequently and check the other web site mentioned. Thank you all again.

[capran]

Sounds like it is such a hit and miss. All the news coverage was the same pan of the Ft Pierce City Marina where the floating docks came in, bringing all the boats and damage, but just to the north, one arial shot on cnn showed many boats looking OK in the inner little harbor north of, and part of the city marina ,I suspect.

I did just hear from someone who keeps their boat at Riverside marina. Some boats there sunk and in bad shape but his, as others, that were tucked in close and well tied off suffered not even a scratch!

He reports Harbortown is a mess "unbelievable". They said a morgan 41 was punctured by a piling. there was a hunter 35 up on the resteraunt dock, and very little resteraunt left. Some boats sunk, in pieces. about 50% of the boats on the hard are down with varying degrees of damage. They were not letting people in to the storage yard and it looked unbelievable from outside the fence.
Our boat, Voyager, is on it's side, near the fence. he wasnt sure but the boats on either side- he thought ,were still on stands. He said my mast was just touching the boat next to it. Not sure about the damage to the side and under, as the angle was bad. Thought maybe stancions bent, but really couldn't tell. Said at first the keel looked twisted but then said maybe it was the angle and an optical illusion, but not sure. If anyone in the Ft Pierce area happens to have a digital camera and posted pics of mine and others boats I am sure many would be interested and appreciative.

It is the boating community that pulls together when things are bad that I so appreciate. The friendship of both power and sailboaters we experienced , especially as well all approached West End around August 9th,just before Charley hit, was the best the summer had to offer. I had never seen conditions like that at west end- 10 foot breaking seas at the Indian Cay channel entrance and 7 foot breaking seas at the entrance to Old Bahama Bay. We Got back to Florida and got hauled on Thursday afternoon, Aug 12th. The Wed forcast was tracking Charley to Ft Pierce but as we hauled Thursday late they revised it westward. And we may be the lucky ones, as it sounds like so many fared so much worse, both from Charley and Francis. And now we watch and wait for Ivan the Terrible. All this gives me pause and if our boat is OK, and survives this season, I think I'll make a date with dockwise.com and ship Voyager back to the Northwest. I will miss the snorkeling, the hog fish, grouper and lobster, sandy beaches, warm water, and the people...but I won't miss the Lightening, thunder storms and hurricanes! After 28 months over 12 years of cruising the Bahamas, I think it's time to chill (yeah, quite literally, I know) in the Northwest.

Please keep in touch. Send or post pics if you have them and lets pray for a huge high pressure system to form over Florida and the Bahamas.

Many thanks

Randy and Jeanne Thies
capran@yahoo.com
Voyager

[Sail41]

Randy,

Sorry to hear about your boat. We're in Port St. Lucie and will take a ride up today. If we can get near the boat, I'll get some pics for you.

Girard

[capran]

We have been told Voyager "doesn't look too bad" but being 3000 miles away, and never having had a boat knocked off it's stands before, I don't know what to expect. So any piture of my boat and the area would greatly be appreciated. We dont even know how or when to expect getting her back up. When the forcast for Ivan was still including the center of the state I was thinking I'm probably better off staying on the ground, but now that that is alittle less likely, I'd sure like to get upright. I have no idea what laying down like that does to the engine oil, fuel vent, etc. So, yes, would wecome a posting or email of all related pics as well as others input. My boat is close to the fence in the storage area NW of the pool at Ft Pierce Harbortown Marina. I have been told she is on her port side and nothing more. Thank you all for your eyes and ears, and thoughts.

Randy
capran@yahoo.com
509 466 2706
17426 N Brookside Lane
Colbert Wa 99005