SANDY, diary of a hurricane
Wednesday - perfect for a little trip toward the sea in the kayaks. Needless to say, we had no aspirations to make it to the sea. We got as far as the Beyel Brothers salvage yard and got some good pictures of tugboats and salvage tugs. At that point, we decided to head back and just before we reached the entrance to the marina, the heavens opened up. Sandy, step one.
Wednesday
A lovely afternoon for a paddle.......
...........looking for dolphins and manatees..
......then Sandy, jokester that she is, decides we need a shower - make that a deluge!
Elections aren't the only media event in coastal Florida - theyve had to move over for hurricane Sandy. Even as a tropical storm she was exciting the weatherpeople and talking heads who warned of double red flag alerts and treacherous riptides. We were wondering if we were finally going to have to deal with a 'real' hurricane. After our visit to the beach. we were still wondering, Out at sea it must have been a different matter, as two cruise ships from elsewhere had to duck into the canal for shelter.
Thursday
We headed over to the beach to see the massive waves reported on TV - Bill's reaction - "I've sailed on bigger waves than these!"
....there's one in every crowd: idiot kite surfer pissing off the lifeguards
the locals aren't impressed either - neat guy painting in acrylic and a friend - they advised us to come the day after the storm to see the big surf
more locals that are not impressed - warnings were out, however, to watch your step, as glass, sharp plastic, and jellyfish are being washed ashore
Friday
Friday blew in with winds from 30-40 mph and gusts to 50. These were accompanied by intermittent deluges and sunshine. After a visit to the Cocoa Beach library, we pulled into the Lori Wilson park and trekked to the beach to check on Sandy's progress.
Wind and rain in the neighborhood...
....comets of sea foam streak across the beach....
....the old man and the sea........
this doesn't show the height of the angry waves pounding in.... a lot of them were blown down by the high wind
Saturday
Well so much for the storm winding down - I think she's just getting the hang of it. Steady winds between30-35, gusts to 45. The gusts are quite exciting - just like somebody ran into the boat!