At first she was just a question mark way, way out in the Atlantic... then, she started to gain some strength and take a course - a course that looked like it was going to bring her right through the Fort Pierce Inlet.
For about two days it was prophesied that she was going to visit me personally here in Fort Pierce and honestly, I was nervous. I'm new to this whole boat/sailing thing and have no idea how to prepare for a tropical storm, much less a possible hurricane!
Fortunately, my slip neighbor, Jack on s/v Drifter does have experience with this type of thing and because he had to go out of town, he storm prepped his vessel well in advance and left me a visual cheat sheet on how Annie should be secured.
Then... time... slowly... advanced... and updates came... Erika was changing her mind... plotting a different course. She was swinging further south.
With her change in course she also was losing strength. Now the Keys were threatened but she was not going to reach hurricane status. I would still get lots of wind and rain, but it would not be close to a direct hit of a Cat 1 hurricane... my stress level lowered.
Then... time... slowly... advanced... and more updates came... Erika was still changing her mind... another course correction...
It looked like Erika had decided she preferred the West coast of Florida instead of the Right Coast... frankly I was relieved.
As of this morning, Erika's course has changed again, (and probably will do so a couple of more times before she makes US landfall), it appears Cuba will reroute her and take most of the wind out of her sails.
So, it appears I have dodged a bullet... Now, BACK TO WORK.
I have to ready my icebox for icebox stuff. I am tired of buying blocks of ice every three days and it's time to install a DC refrigeration system. At this point, I'm not sure which way I'm going to go as to the type system but I'm going to go some way... (I'm considering the NORCOLD SCQT-4408 Icebox Conversion Kit, so if anyone has any recommendations, please speak up). For now, until I decide, I can run the power line to the planned compressor location and then I will install the system myself.
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| NORCOLD SCQT-4408 Icebox Conversion Kit |
So, "Hasta la vista" Erika and let's get back to work.
Fair seas and God bless!
I don't have any recommendations on a fridge unit. My boat came with an old ColdMachine system that seems to be working for now.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice having cold water so I'm sure you'll get some use out of it. The unit I have, the few times I've used it, can go on a low setting and it'll still freeze things. I've usually stored bottled water anyway so not an issue right now.
One thought I have, that I'm looking at doing myself, once you have a fridge unit, what if you got reusable ice packs to go along with it? Then, if you're away from the dock, you won't have to keep it running full time and still have something to keep things colder for a while before you have to turn it on again. I might give that a try sometime. Power on a boat is sometimes a precious commodity.
Anyway, good thing you won't have to worry too much about the weather. Life moves on :)
Take Care,
Daniel
Thanks Dan,
DeleteGood idea about the ice packs. I'll probably do some more research and find the most economical and efficient system I can.
Glad the weather didn't become a major deal... that was a little scary.