Sally Consequenses

A conversation among Whalers
Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Wed Sep 23, 2020 2:39 pm

Our internet service was just restored. It was restored for a few hours once previously, but we have been without a connection for virtually a week. It's good to be back on The Wave. It's sometimes difficult to imagine how much something is enjoyed unless you are suddenly deprived of it for a few days.
Butch

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby jimh » Wed Sep 23, 2020 6:12 pm

Hearing from you is great. I was concerned the big storm had caused damage at your home. I hope you are relatively safe and secure. Welcome back.

ConB
Posts: 248
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:52 pm
Location: Suttons Bay, MI

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby ConB » Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:23 pm

Looks like they have a good start on clean up in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Very interesting looking at what got busted up and what was spared.

Con
!987 Outrage 18 / 2011 Yamaha F150
1969 13 / 30hp Johnson tiller

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Thu Sep 24, 2020 9:59 am

The clean up proceeds as well as possible but the enormity of the effort required is a little mind boggling. Some areas remain flooded and several streets have standing water a few inches deep. Folks hesitate to drive through standing water because it is mostly salt and does vehicles no good.

Chain saws continue to whine throughout the day. The number of fallen trees is incredible. Many tall pine trees snapped in two several feet above the ground which I've never before seen. The deciduous trees fell with root balls intact. They are the most difficult to remove as the limbs must be removed in order to load them on trucks. Yesterday I saw a palm tree a block West of us which snapped in two which was very surprising. Debris is piled along street shoulders or curbs up to eight feet high. We see this in all residential areas. Marina docks were almost universally destroyed but high and dry boat storage fared very well. Zekes Marina where we used to store our 190 Montauk had no inside storage boats damaged.

There was little structural damage to most homes though several older homes were damaged. Our next door neighbor to the West had a window blown out with consequential water damage inside but but no other damage. She evacuated for the storm so she could do nothing to stop the rain coming in. The window was on the third floor on the East side of the house so a lot of rain was blown in. She lost four trees all of which were across her driveway.

Our home and grounds were undamaged. We lost no trees and our home was constructed to the latest storm resistant standard. We removed any trees that could threaten our home before construction. We have a portable 8000 watt generator which handles the whole house with a little load management. We only run one of our two A/C units and don't use the stoves oven and limit the stove top elements to only one. Otherwise it handles the loads very well. It has a 10,000 watt surge capacity which is very helpful. We shut it down every evening by 10:00 and brought it into the garage. Orange Beach has suffered several generator thefts.

We have been surprised by the number of volunteer organizations, mostly church groups from out of town, which have jumped right in to help. On our street we saw them drive in and set to work helping clear fallen trees. They worked hard all day and were hugely helpful. Local eateries distributed free meals to volunteers and first responders all day. They deserve a lot of recognition. We are very grateful.
Butch

Xray51
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 1:58 pm

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Xray51 » Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:55 am

Terrific report on the storm. Glad to see things are improving. Especially how people are helping each other. We live in South Florida and have had our share of them. We always say that the worst part of the storm is the aftermath. When we went through Andrew, years ago,we survived ok with little damage at the house, but almost all of the streets were blocked with massive amounts of debris, and no power or water and no phones, including cellphones. We had gone to a wedding reception at a large private hall the previous evening, and the next day that building was simply gone, just wasn't there any more. We had to find a way to rescue my wife's cousins who lost their brand new house and cars totally destroyed, but were alive and uninjured. He had taken down the backboard of his basketball hoop,to protect the pole, but the pole was still blown down bent flat on the ground. Even the faucets on the side of the house were bent sideways. They estimated the winds over 150MPH at their house. One of their dogs was blown out of the house during the storm when the garage was blown out and somehow wound up inside a neighbors house some 4 houses down when their door opened. The dog was never the same. Any rain storm, any bit of thunder, and he would run like hell and hide under the bed. So for awhile we had 9 people, 3 dogs, and 1 cat in our house, with no power or water. But I have a little 3500W Honda generator. It was a big help. We would all squeeze into a small room where we had a little a/c unit, and we could cook and have lights, etc. We have a tremendous respect for these storms. Hundreds of boats were destroyed but my Whaler at the time, a 13 foot sport, was safe in my garage. Thats why I like the 17 footers or under. They fit in the garage. But I never want to see a storm like that again.

Masbama
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:33 pm
Location: Mobile, Al

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Masbama » Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:18 am

It will be interesting to see what happens to the local boating industry going forward. The boating business was very strong before the storm (thanks to Covid) with numerous new boats being sold; many of these to first time buyers. The marinas and dry storage units were full and most boat repair businesses were backlogged with work.
With so many damaged boats I wonder if the insurance companies will total them out then sell them to salvage companies. There are only a handful of local fiberglass repair shops and they couldn’t keep up before the storm now they’re going to get an influx of new business. My guess is their will be a lot of new DIY folks learning what gel coat is.

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Fri Sep 25, 2020 10:16 am

During a visit to Destin, FL a few weeks after Hurricane Ivan we saw an incredible sight. Driving down Highway 98 we saw a large open area where hundreds of totaled salvage boats were for sale. We stopped there and had a good look around with close looks at the few boats that appeared to be less badly damaged and were of interest to us. Some of them looked to be only moderately damaged except for having been sunk. There was a sign with a telephone number so interested buyers could bid on boats. I expect that method will be repeated at a few locations in our Mobile and Baldwin Counties and perhaps in the Pensacola area.

Access to Beach Blvd in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores remains restricted to residents and owners. Alabama Governor Kay Ivy has restricted beach openings until October 2nd. Our small city needs tourist spending to survive. Thankfully this is the season between summer visitors and Snowbirds. The Snowbirds will start trickling into town next month unless Covid says otherwise.
Butch

Don SSDD
Posts: 313
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Don SSDD » Sat Sep 26, 2020 5:40 am

Glad you all survived in this hurricane season. Wind and storms are just news on tv until one hits you. 150 mph wind is just a number you read about until you experience it.
We just missed hurricane Teddy, it was a cat 3 for a bit, then swung further out to sea where colder water slowed it down. It did bring 125 mm of rain not far from us, we got 44 mm.
Thanks for the details, it is good to hear from real people who have lived through these things.
1986 Outrage 18 with 2001 Honda 130 HP
Former Owner 1991 Guardian 19 with 1994 Evinrude V4 140HP
Former owner 1987 Montauk with 1998 Mercury 90HP
Nova Scotia

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Sat Sep 26, 2020 10:36 am

Don - I'm sure you get some crazy weather up there. Our rain total at the house was 2.5 feet. Although our island soil has a very high sand content ditches and low spots have not yet perked fully.

Our rip rap settled a few inches and we have a small area next to the rip rap which is undermined. A truck load or two of stone will cure the rip rap and two or three cubic yards of sand will, we hope, cure the undermined area.

Hard to believe but at the height of the storm the waterway had breaking surf on the North bank. The bank was so badly undermined that dozens of shore side pine trees went into the water.

We drove along Beach Blvd yesterday and the clean up is moving right along. The big condos are "tourist ready".
Butch

Hoosier
Posts: 149
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:04 pm
Location: Indiana and Eastern UP

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Hoosier » Sat Sep 26, 2020 1:07 pm

We snowbird at a cottage on a canal off of Weeks Bay. It’s an old cottage at ground level, not on stilts. I saw that the Fish River hit about 23’, which is 10’ over flood stage. I don’t want to call our landlady she has enough on her mind. In any case I doubt we’ll be going back there anytime soon.
1978 Outrage V20 with 2004 Suzuki DF-115. 1992 23 Walkaround with two 2010 Yamaha F-150s.

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Sat Sep 26, 2020 2:58 pm

Dave - Fish River was high. It's almost certain the cottage flooded. Water reseeded slowly given the single outlet for the Fish and Magnolia Rivers flowing into Weeks Bay.
Butch

Hoosier
Posts: 149
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:04 pm
Location: Indiana and Eastern UP

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Hoosier » Sat Sep 26, 2020 5:07 pm

Thanks Butch. We have stayed there for about six years over the past decade and it’ll be hard to let it go.
1978 Outrage V20 with 2004 Suzuki DF-115. 1992 23 Walkaround with two 2010 Yamaha F-150s.

Don SSDD
Posts: 313
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Don SSDD » Sun Sep 27, 2020 7:17 am

Butch, we never get 2.5 ft of water in a single event. We get the tail end of things like Sandy or Sally. We got Juan in Halifax, but it was very fast moving and had a very narrow path. We get some nor’easter storms in winter sometimes, winds of cat 1 level and 4 ft of snow was the last big one in 2004. Dry snow is not as damaging to property as flooding, the wind does the same kind of damage.

Our weather today and tomorrow will be in the high 80’s with humidex to over 90. Every weather event seems more extreme.
1986 Outrage 18 with 2001 Honda 130 HP
Former Owner 1991 Guardian 19 with 1994 Evinrude V4 140HP
Former owner 1987 Montauk with 1998 Mercury 90HP
Nova Scotia

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:09 am

Dave - Suggest you ask her to call you when the cottage is ready. That may provide some extra incentive.
Butch

Hoosier
Posts: 149
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:04 pm
Location: Indiana and Eastern UP

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Hoosier » Thu Oct 01, 2020 5:39 pm

I did and the house is ok but there are a lot of trees down. We’re booked for 2022, next year we’re going to Port St. Joe, Fl.
1978 Outrage V20 with 2004 Suzuki DF-115. 1992 23 Walkaround with two 2010 Yamaha F-150s.

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Sally Consequenses

Postby Jefecinco » Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:54 am

Good news. She was lucky, lots of flooding on the Fish River.
Butch