s/v September Sea Website: ADVENTURES/The Hurricane Chonicles

If you read the Hurricane Chronicles for last year, and read about Wicked Wilma and our venture to Little Shark River with, well... a real-life wimp... then you'll be quite familiar with why I knew Hurricane Chris would wimp out and be a non-issue. Thus, no need to write about Chris here... we didn't do any thing to prepare -- as we knew well ahead of time Chris would blow himself out. Like I say, "Ain't no ting but a chicken wing!"

Just one day later, suddenly looks like the Yucatan might eke out with a serious curve by Ernesto up to the Panhandle. Could this be accurate??!! Yikes!

What is this, the year of the wimps? Don't get me wrong, that would be perfectly okay with moi. We decided to keep an eye on Ernesto and if any doubt remained as it approached the Keys, we'd head for the Little Shark River, about 60 miles north of the Keys in the southwesternmost section of the Everglades. If Ernesto didn't threaten us as it passed, we'd still be nestled in our hurricane hole and benefit from the exercise of implementing our hurricane evacuation plan.

Though Ernesto turned out to be nothing more than a 45-50 knot wind for a short period of time, as he went right over us AGAIN at Little Shark. LOL But up there, we're ready for it. What the emails below show is that life goes on... and it doesn't stop because it's hurricane season! Ha! You just do what you have to do and get on with it... and doing things right the FIRST time is the key to total success! When you are the one who has put out the lines and take the precautions, you either are in total trust of your work or you need to jump ship 'cause you were slackin'. Your life won't allow too many times of you being lax... you may get lucky once, or ever twice... but the bottom line, in this lifestyle, is that your life is in your own hands. Even so, as I said before, even as we sat up at Little Shark watching alligator eyes at night and entertaining ourselves with the sport of drowning noseeums... the land life with all its drama, and those we love who live upon it... goes on nonetheless.

From: Charmaine

Date: 08/26/06 20:39:16

To: Melissa

Subject: Hey Liss

Hey Sweet 'Liss,

Have you been getting my emails? I sent you one about our family reunion coming up in October... and the one about all the stuff I'm selling from the storage in Scottsdale.

I was surprised I didn't hear back from you... thought you would want something to keep... but then again, you already have a bunch of furniture items that are probably already taking up way too much room in your house. Just kidding!

I love you and miss you. How's my Little Bj? I tell you, I think of you all every single day, and that's actually an understatement. It's much, much more than that.

Let me know you got this. I'll give you a call in a day or so, we're preparing for Tropical Storm Ernesto... who MAY come by the Keys, but let's hope he changes his mind, wants some Tequila, and goes right over to the Yucatan to get it.

I love YOU. Bill sends love.

Hugs and Kisses to my Boo and Barry

And don't forget Kayla.

Mainie & Bill

From: Charmaine

Date: 08/27/06 12:41:16

To: D.V. Hartley

Subject: Re: Anchor Snubber

Hey David,

So glad to be of some help to you. You're right, many people don't know a thing about anchor snubbers. The reason, I believe, is that most do not use an all chain rode. There's nothing at all a problem with using all chain as long as you add the snubber. Let's face it, David, most people are LAZY. LOL

The snubber will be worth putting on... as a matter of fact, I'm going to add one to our boat for when we're up in Little Shark for hurricane protection. It's so much better to have an all chain rode when you're facing hurricanes. As I type, I'm rushing out of the outside of Boot Key Harbor and heading up to the Little Shark River. Hurricane Ernesto is kicking up his heels. Should only be a Category 1 or maybe 2 when it reaches the Keys, but being in the Harbor with lots of boats unattended is just not my cup of tea. Time to head for the Little Shark to protect our vessel. It's beautiful up there and we just love it. We also know that Wilma, a Category 3, passed right over us there and it really wasn't bad at all. The mangroves really add

protection, and the narrow canals don't allow you to move much. I'll let ya know how it goes.

So, in closing, thanks for bringing this item up... it's truly something I know I'll need at one time or another. It was good to refresh mymemory on how they work and how valuable they can be.

All the Best my Friend,

Charmaine

From: Charmaine

Date: 08/26/06 20:03:10

To: David

Subject: Anchor Snubber

Hey David,

FINALLY I get what you're talking about... had to ask my husband (shhh, I'll never admit it to another soul). LOL

You could use a shackle for your chain on a cleat (one that has a hole in it)... but what you really need is an "anchor snubber."

The snubber allows you to go ahead and leave your chain on the windlass, without it carrying the load.

Here ya go, found it at www.BosunSupplies.com

ANCHOR SNUBBER:

An anchor snubber is a bridle used to take the strain of the chain rode.

This reduces wear on your boat from the chain and also acts as a shock

absorber and silences the chain. Using 3-strand nylon line (drop a note or

call us for prices), splice 2 eye loops to go around your port and starboard

bow cleats (see our Deck Hardware section for some great ones!). Splice

these two lines together a distance about equal to the height of the bow

above the water. The diameter of the line depends on the size of your boat.

The following is a guide for the 3-strand nylon rope size:

Boat Size Rope Size

Under 26’ 1/2”

26’ – 32’ 9/16”

32’ – 40’ 5/8”

When in doubt, always size-up for the line.

Next, splice a stainless steel thimble to the end (we carry standard, heavy

duty, and extra heavy duty). The total length should be 2 to 3 times the

height of the bow above the water.

Finally, use a stainless steel shackle (we have a wide select for you) to

attach a stainless steel grab hook to the end. Size the grab hook to your

chain size... or call us to have one made for you!

Bosun Supplies Inc.

PO Box 86, Arnold, MD 21012

Phone: 888-433-3484 Fax: 410-431-7008

info@bosunsupplies.com

From: Charmaine

Date: 08/27/06 15:23:32

Subject: Hurricane Ernesto

Hey my Peoples!

The latest report on Hurricane Ernesto has prompted us to err on the side of caution and go directly to our hurricane hole in the Little Shark River. We're sailing there now as I write this. I'm sure we're being extra safe this way. We're

in a mooring field in Boot Key Harbor and no longer in a marina, so there's much more danger for our vessel in the Harbor, as it would be among many other vessels that aren't tended to and thus not prepared for the big blow. Having another boat break free of its anchor or mooring and hit your vessel is not a good thing. By going to Little Shark, where there are no manmade objects and no other boats to cause harm to our sweet September Sea.

The path projections changed this morning, thus Errnesto, instead of being on track to hit the Yucatan Peninsula and then heading for the Gulf and on track to collide with New Orleans... it now is projected to come right through the Keys and on up the west coast of Florida, possibly hitting the mainland around the Ft. Myers and Tampa areas, or going on up to the Panhandle.

What we do know is that the likelihood of Ernesto hitting the Keys is pretty iffy but a distinct possibility. It takes us time to get up to the Little Shark River, located in the Everglades, on mainland Florida; so we have to decide quickly and then act on the decision with like speed.

To know more about how we get there and what we do once we're there... and how SAFE we are there, go to our website and select "Hurricane Chronicles" from the menu. It's a run down of all the times we've encountered hurricanes and how we got through them safely, and often hilariously.

We had already been out cruising the past few days and have had a fabulous time snorkeling and swimming and just lounging to the maximum. We're rested up and the boat is all ready, we have excellent provisions and we're only ten gallons down of our 85 gallon fresh water supply. Perfect! We have a full load of diesel and gasoline for the generator... so those mosquitoes up at Little Shark are gonna see this "Black Meat" in high style. LOL The generator means that we can run our central air when we feel the need. We've been out on a mooring in Boot Key Harbor since June... and I'm very proud to say we haven't run the air... no need for there's always a breeze inside, and when there isn't we head outside of the Harbor to find those breezes!

So all is well and we're snug as bugs and enjoying the sail up north. We have a satellite phone and will keep in close touch with our daughter Breighan. Our cell phones and broadband internet will be out of range in about an hour (4 pm Eastern) so we'll be out of touch via email. Please email Breighan for info on our safety if you're so inclined:. It would be good to email her anyway, then when I want to report I can do it through her and she'll already have your email address (E-ddress). Just put "September Sea Info" as your Subject line and she'll know... or drop her a line, she loves to chat a bit... just like her Momma. LOL

We love each and every one of you and don't worry about us, we're off on another adventure and we're LOVING IT!! And ooooh, how we LOVE YOU!!

Hugs and Kisses,

Charmaine & Bill

Aboard s/v September Sea

"Life's a Gift... Unwrap It!" - C~

www.SeptemberSea.com

From: Charmaine

Date: 08/27/06 16:03:17

To: jason@auction

Cc: Brother Bobby; Ennie

Subject: INFO for Contacts

We've been to the Little Shark River so many times in past years, we feel like it's ours. You come to know a place very well when you frequent it often. Sounds redundant to me... oh well.

We provisioned and stocked up on water, diesel, gasoline, etc. and left for the Little Shark River (LSR) on Sunday, August 27th. We arrived seven hours later and anchored two miles outside the mouth of the River. We were smart enough this time to leave our lights out as we approached where we were going to drop the hook. We learned the hard way what happens when you arrive at the LSR at night with your running lights on... those little bastids come in swarms, all carrying knives and forks. In short, they eat you alive!

The difference in our outfitting than in years past, is that we've added a cockpit enclosure. We have screens and also plastic (Isinglass) so we're pretty much protected from insects and rain. Nice. Many people remove all canvas from their boats in the event big wind is coming... up at Little Shark, at least so far... we've never had to remove our canvas. Of course we take the prudent precautions of tying up our jib sail, mainsail cover, etc. You don't leave things out that can be blown away or torn if the wind gets beneath it. Our cockpit enclosure is very aerodynamic and the wind simply slides right by it... fabulous!

I will admit breathing a sigh of relief as Bill dropped the anchor. We recently purchased a Spade anchor, a 44#er and we just love it! Neither of us have slept so well at night while anchored... we have tested the Spade every which way from Sunday... and it doesn't fail. It's an incredible addition to our ground tackle. Remind me to take those Danforths of mine and write "Lunch Hooks Only" on 'em. They're not very good for holding around here. Could be ours were just too small (20 and 22#)... I just can't feel good about an anchor that releases every time there's a wind shift... and then gotta rely on it to take hold again... or ya drag!!

Anywho... so we had an uneventful night two miles outside the mouth of the River. Great. Got up early the next morning to go in. Bill had written on our chart that we needed a minimum of +2.3 feet to get in. I told him we haven't been here since Wilma, and when we left at that time, if it weren't for those dolphin we'd a never gotten out of there. All the markers were gone... tree stumps in the middle of the channel... terrible. But with the assistance of two lovely dolphin, they led us out... still gives me chills to think about it.

Oh yeah, I remember this... he never knows what he's talking about! Why squeeze in when we can wait for tide and have more water beneath us?? Like DUHHHH.

So we go in... it's short, I mean really shallow. We draw 5'8 'cause we're fully loaded... and I can feel the shit beneath me... poor September Sea has some strange fingers scratching at her belly. Dayam. .05 Oh hell no, Bill... this is not good.

We hit something. LOL Yup. It was a soft hit, kinda like Mike Tyson with Robin Givens... 'cause even though she said he beat her up... you and I know that with Iron Mike's fist in her face, she'd still be recovering! Well.. okay, a soft hit. Scrape. Not too big, it's over. Look back... the tree stump was pulled up from us hitting it. Have mercy. I tell Bill that from now on we have +5 feet of water or we ain't going in! Dat's dat, Spanky!

He reluctantly agrees. The good thing is that all the markers are in place, so wonderful to see. Right after you enter the LSR you see a horseshoe shaped area to your left... many people anchor in there. We have found the holding not to be that good... it's rocky in there. Haven't tried it with the Spade, but don't wanna. We're going in to get to our hurricane hole. If we use the time to tie up today, we can rest tomorrow and wait for Ernesto in style.

We meander through the gorgeous landscape of the Little Shark River. It's one of those areas that if you don't watch your chart closely and make your own notes... you won't get very far in there before you're completely turned around. Everything looks pretty much alike... however, it is breathtakingly beautiful. Tons of wildlife. Manatees, dolphin, cattle egrets, oh yeah... and alligators and crocodiles. Uh huh. Only place in the world where they cohabitate. Just my luck, huh?

On a more somber note, so sorry to hear about one of my favorite people... Steve Irwin, better known as "the Crocodile Hunter." So sad. My heart goes out to his wife, Terri, and their little Bindy Sue. Steve, the world won't be the same without you. "Crikey, Mate!" Steve was snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef when a bat ray's stinger pierced his heart. Bat rays commonly have an 8-inch stinger. They're not like the stingrays around here... these suckers look like bats and they're huge! They can get to 6 feet across easily... they're tails are about the same length as their width... and then the stinger is enormous. So, so sad for Steve's family.

Okay, so... there's a little area in Little Shark River called "Point Charmaine." That's the spot where when we first went up there exploring years ago... I got stuck on that Point. LOL Jim and Kathleen of s/v Drummer were up there with us and they pulled us off. We came off easily, just a little bump of soft sandy mud. Anywho... I don't get stuck there anymore, I know that Point all too well.

So we round Point Charmaine with ease and keep heading towards our hole. We're on the home stretch and now we take a soft right and go back into our hole. My depth sounder suddenly blipped out... ZIP ZIP. I'm reading ZERO under me... no water. Oops! Soft bump. Shit.

Everywhere I look I can see a soft glaze on the water... a sure sign that things have silted in. What used to be a deep channel is no longer... it's all silted in since Wilma. When we left after Wilma, we left on a +7 foot tide. No wonder we didn't remember this being silted in.

I turn her hard right, then hard left, no motor... just trying to maneuver her off this bump... but where the hell does the bump end??? ALL the way back.... Have mercy. So I finally get her to catch hold of some deeper water and we turn around. We then enter a second hurricane hole nearby... one we're familiar with but have never used. Yup.

We get into the hole and it's perfect for Ernesto. We face West... Bill puts on three lines... two on the starboard side and one on the stern of the port side. Now we can face Northwest,West, and Southwest... which was Ernesto's projected path. Excellent. The Spade anchor held us the whole time we were getting lines ready. The current in there is very, very swift and powerful. With our engine, I cannot turn September Sea against the current sometimes. It can be a real trick putting together a plan on turning the boat in there. But it all went very well, Bill said the mosquitoes were almost nonexistent. I had looked up the "Mosquito Index" before we left... it was reported as "Moderate" during early morning and early evening. They were right. However, what about the Noseeum Index?

They need one. Those teeny tiny little bastids came out like they were starved for their lives... and they made up for lost time, let me tell ya! I got out a whole roll of duct tape and taped every nook and cranny of the cockpit that looked like a doorway for those critters. Tape, tape, tape. More tape. Honey help me! Tape. LOL

It worked. But only when I got all the sheets wet and stuffed them in between the cockpit enclosure and the coaming. The noseeums would get in from beneath the outside of the enclosure where it meets the boat's coaming... and then they'd step into "Charmaine's Moat." I got a kick out of watching them drown. I know, I know... how morbid. Well, not really... I don't have a thing on Clive Barker, let me tell ya. Knowing I did a service for mankind by ridding the world of ten thousand noseeums. I'm not kidding... the sheets looked like they were black by the time all those silly things drowned. I am itchin just thinking about it.

Ernesto was no big deal at all. Lots of rain, for sure. We both are smart enough to know what follows rain up in the Little Shark. Skeeters. Uh huh. Get your butts out of that closed in hurricane hole and back out to the open areas of the River. Bill says, "Soon as this is over, we're heading back to Marathon and gettin' the hell out of here. The mosquitoes will be horrible after this rain."

He was right. You could hear them thinking as they laid eggs... "Yeah, those two humans over there must be dumber than dirt... my babies will have a great meal on them." Oh please! Yes, let's get out of here.

So we did. We left the Little Shark on Thursday, August 31st, with a tide of +5 and it was smooth sailing all the way home. I know, I know... I'm sure you thought something exciting happened... the only thing that would fit that category is when the skeeters that hatched the next day were at our screens trying to get in... they couldn't. But the thought of them just made me nervous. I got nauseated at the thought of them somehow breaking in... and sucking on me! To my rescue... a myriad of dragonflies. I sat there and watched the dragonflies eat all my troubles away. I felt like a Hobbit... and here comes Gandalf riding bareback on a dragonfly... to help we mere mortals who can put a man on the moon... but we can't stop mosquitoes from tormenting us.

There IS something wrong with that. What are we thinking? First things, first!! How about Bill #LETS GET ON THIS MOSQUITO PROBLEM. Take that to the White House, why doncha? I seen "W" swat at skeeters. Skeeters don't care if you're the President of the United States or a short black woman with headphones on. They want your blood!! Geeze. We gotta figure this one out, my peoples.

We were gone from Marathon a total of two weeks as we took our time and did some sailing on the way back. Just a delightful time. So I sit here in Boot Key Harbor, on our mooring ball, which we just LOVE, reporting to those I love who think we are the Adventuring Smith Ladds. I can dig it!

So no skeeters, really. And even more importantly, no earwigs!! Please, God, don't ever let me see an earwig again... wait... I might be wishing for more than that... skip that, God. Sorry. My bad.

We got back to Marathon and under Mosher Channel. I had noticed the engine didn't sound quite right... Sput, Sput. Shake. Tremble. "What's going on?"

Ha! In all these years that has never happened. Good grief!! We were 1/4 mile from our spot where we anchor... and we gotta call Tow Boat U.S. to bring us some fuel. Oh, how ridiculous is that?!

Oh well, life goes on... and so it goes with people who run out of petrol. I can't believe I'm one of those now. Never have run out of fuel in my life!!

And Bill calls Tow Boat U.S. on the RADIO... is he nuts! Use the cell phone, you want everyone in the Harbor to know how dumb we are??!! LOL Oops!!

Let's hope this year doesn't bring us much in the way of hurricanes. Hurricane Ernesto came right through the Keys, albeit downgraded to a Tropical Storm. People got prepared early, canvas was removed and people were tying any and everything down. Last year taught us to not take chances or have the "Ah, it won't be a big deal" attitude. Each and every hurricane or storm could be something much, much worse by the time it reaches land.

And we'll do what we have to do to get through it all. It's worth it! Living down here is just a fabulous lifestyle. Couldn't ask for better.

The Pacific took a pounding this year, but the Atlantic was quiet. Seems to work out that way... no one really knows why. This girl is not complaining... no way! Hopefully this is a start to a quiet period for the Atlantic after such incredible activity. We can use the rest.

On our way to the Dry Tortugas tomorrow. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you.

which was an email originally sent to our dear, dear friends Peggy & Edwin (formerly of mv Tiempo and now, as of August 2006, are on their way to Central America via 4-wheel drive.) What a couple of adventurers!! You go, my Sweethearts!! We'll see you there soon!!