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04:00 pm – HEADLINES - Florida Prepares for Yet Another Storm
PUNTA GORDA, FL (AP) -- Storm-weary Floridians kept an anxious eye on Hurricane Wilma as it grew into a monster Category 5 Storm Wednesday, with forecasters warning of a significant threat to the state by the weekend.
The storm was expected to strengthen on a path that could threaten coastal areas like Punta Gorda in southwestern Florida that were hit by Charley, a Category 4 storm that was the first of six Hurricanes to strike the State since August 2004.
.. after spending the better part of two days in Barron I headed to Eau Claire for the Eau Claire Chambers EXPO where I was able to spend four hours (( 05:00 to 09:00 pm )) ‘touching base’ with numerous friends and business associates ..
09:00 to 11:30 pm pm – I drove from Eau Claire to Rochester Minnesota .. it was a ong day but at least I will just have a short walk in the morning to get to my Doctors appointment ..
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October 19th 2005
Rochester, MN
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The Kahler Grand Hotel – 20 Second Avenue SW, Rochester, MN, 55902 – 800-533-1655 – Website www.kahler.com
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Cancun Mexico - Condos on Beach
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.. overnight WILMA has developed into the strongest Hurricane in the Atlantic waters EVER !! .. and growing in strength !! .. with early morning news right after my Eye Doctors Appointment was completed I contacted NWA and arranged to head back to Fort Myers later today instead of Friday as was my original plans .. once my revised plans were set I headed to Minneapolis and returned my Rental Car .. I had planed to bring back many loves of English Muffin Bread from Eau Claire Wisconsin, Apples from Lake City Minnesota, Cheese from Nelson Wisconsin, etc .. WILMA has already had a devastating impact on my fall diet .. UFFDA ..
04:30 pm – HEADLINES – Forecasters Fear Wilma's Effect on Florida
PUNTA GORDA, FL (AP) -- Visitors were ordered out of the Florida Keys on Wednesday as Hurricane Wilma briefly exploded into the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, with meteorologists warning that it could maintain devastating power as it crosses Florida from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic.
The storm, which was menacing Cuba and Central America, could be a weakened but still significant threat to the state by this weekend, forecasters said. Its sustained wind blew at 165 mph Wednesday afternoon, down from 175 mph earlier in the day.
Wilma was expected to come ashore in southwestern Florida, threatening coastal areas like Punta Gorda that were battered by Charley, the Category 4 storm that was the first of seven hurricanes to strike or pass close to the state since August 2004.
05:30 pm – HEADLINES - Wilma Mushrooms Into Monster Storm .. Keys Evacuation Ordered
KEY WEST FL - Hurricane Wilma exploded this morning into the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, a Category 5 monster with 175 mph winds. It adopted a curving path likely to carry it to South Florida this weekend -- as a major hurricane.
Wilma still was hundreds of miles away and much could change, but long-range forecasts consistently suggested landfall Saturday night on Florida's lower Gulf Coast -- as a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm -- with the hurricane slicing diagonally through South Florida en route to the Atlantic.
But Monroe County officials were taking no chances.
At 8:30 a.m., they announced the mandatory evacuation of all visitors and non-residents from the entire Florida Keys, beginning at noon. An evacuation order for residents is tentatively scheduled to begin at noon Thursday.
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October 20th 2005
Fort Myers Beach, Florida
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Betty Conley’s Condo - 17851 Bryan Court, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931 - (239) 898-2434
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Tallahassee FL - Gov Jeb Bush with WILMA
Centennial Harbour Marina - Fort Myers FL - 'The Lull'
Fort Myers FL - Getting Fuel
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.. we spent the night at Betty’s place as that is where she has been staying since I headed up North ..after being gone with the Red Cross she has had much to catch up on ..
05:30 am – after checking NOAA’s 05:00 am update on WILMA I headed to the Marina to ready Dee Light to head out .. WILMA is still on the same Track but overnight WILMA has slowed down considerably from yesterdays / last nights prediction .. WILMA had been as low as 882 millabars but now has come up some .. and that is good news .. when I drove by the Condo Construction site I saw about 14 Redi-Mix Concrete Trucks lined up as they were in the process of doing their last Deck Pour before WILMA .. with this Deck Pour the Building Contractor will have all of the exposed surfaces of the Condo Tower covered with concrete ..
06:00 am - once at Dee Light I readied our Lines etc to either head out or at least get Fuel today and plan to head out in the morning ( Friday ) .. I talked with Gene ( FRONT PAGE ), Bernie ( SITTING DUCK ), Kerry ( DIAMOND SUN ), etc .. each of the Boaters have their own agenda getting ready for WILMA and the entire Dock is ‘buzzing’ with theories, ideas, plans, etc .. a real easy error that can be made at this stage of any Stom is to make a decision too soon as the Storm is still a number of days and the conditions change so much at this stage of the Storm .. thus it looks like we will stay right here for today and tonight …
08:00 am – Autumn and I moved the Toyota to the Multi-Level Parking Ramp in Downtown Fort Myers .. we were able to get a good spot on the third level ..
09:00 am – Bernie and Barb ( SITTING DUCK ) decided to move their Boat to C-Dock for tonight anyway .. so we helped them with their Lines and then we took Dee Light to the City of Fort Myers Yacht Basin for Fuel .. we have not fueled up since our Bahamas Trip .. we were back to our Slip with full Fuel Tanks by 11:30 am .. I re-contacted Little Man at the Roland Martins Resort Marina at Clewiston Florida about Temporary Dockage to ‘weather out’ WILMA and we are now set to head there in the morning unless conditions change .. before going to the Yacht Basin for Fuel I called them on the Phone only to find that they were closed due to WILMA .. but the Fuel Dock was open and I was able to contact them on the Marine Radio .. our Marina’s ( Centennial ) Office is also closed as well as the Motel next to the Marina that is owned by the same family .. we were also advised that in addition to the Motel the Marina Office, Boaters Lounge, Restrooms, etc wil all be closed prior to landfall and will remain closed throughout the Storm .. UGH !!! .. this is quite a change from prior Storms ..
01:00 pm – after having lunch at the Morgan House in downtown Fort Myers Betty went shopping to restock the Galley ..
05:30 pm – Betty headed out to a Fort Myers Red Cross meeting of First Responders .. with her experience the Red Cross has many different needs that she can help out with ..
06:00 pm – HEADLINES – WAITING FOR A MONSTER
Bush urges preparation as Wilma slows but threatens Florida
KEY WEST, Fla. - Hurricane Wilma's march toward Florida slowed somewhat Thursday, giving residents an unexpected extra day to make preparations for a possibly major storm. Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency to ensure that necessary supplies and disaster response teams were in place.
"This is the time to prepare," Bush told reporters in Tallahassee.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Wilma was expected to hit Florida's western coast, possibly including the low-lying Keys island chain, about midday on Sunday - a day later than previously thought.
The storm was predicted to make a turn to the northeast toward Florida after striking Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in the western Caribbean Sea. In addition to the Keys, the southwest counties of Collier, Lee and Charlotte were in the center of the storm's predicted path, which could produce a storm surge of 12 to 17 feet, state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.
06:30 pm – every Thursday evening a number of the Boaters in the Marina gather at the Marina’s Tiki Hut for a weekly Potluck Dinner .. as you may expect tonight’s topic of discussion was WILMA ..
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September 21st 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com
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Casino Boats from Fort Myers Florida heading East on the ICW
Casino Boat and FRONT PAGE heading East on the ICW
Boats heading East on the ICW
FRONT PAGE on ICW
Boats maneuvering around in the Marina
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05:00 am – WILMA is now moving very slow towards the shore lines of the vacation isle of Cozumel .. WILMA is expected to make landfall there today ( Friday ) then slam Cancun and sideswipe Cuba .. UGH !! ..
05:30 am – based on the NOAA’s 05:00 am update we know for sure that once WILMA gets into the Gulf of Mexico WILMA is suppose to take an abrupt turn towards the West Coast of Florida .. at this time based on the information from NOAA the only thing that we know for sure is that WILMA should make ‘landfall’ someplace between Key West Florida and Tallahassee Florida .. UFFFFDA !! .. I think that I will put in my application for a NOAA position .. yesterday when Betty was closing up her place at Fort Myers Beach Betty she saw a flock of Blue Herons chatting .. then after a very short chat they all took off like something ‘spooked’ them .. Betty said that seeing those Blue Herons move out that way was the first sign that something was brewing out there ..
06:00 am – we heard that the Gas Stations that were out of Fuel now have had Tanker Trucks deliver more Fuel .. many on the Stations had run out mostly due to the large number of Motor Homes that had filled up to head North as well as all the people filling their Fuel Tanks for Generators ..
07:40 am – we pulled out of Centennial Harbour Marina with Gene and Stephanie ( FRONT PAGE ) right behind us and headed up the River .. Stephanie is Gene’s daughter from Winona Minnesota .. Gene and Stephanie arrived at the Marina on Wednesday from Minneapolis .. we made our way up the Okeechobee Waterway / ICW and right thru four Locks like clockwork .. when I was up North I took my Navigation PC with me for the trip and I used the PC for monitoring the Tropics, E-mail, etc .. since returning to Dee Light I have not had the time to convert the PC back to the Navigation mode so we navigated the River the old fashion was .. with our Eyeballs and using the Markers .. as we passed thru La Bella and requested a Bridge opening a ‘local’ resident registered a verbal out lash at all the Boaters that were requesting Bridge openings .. we were tempted to set him straight but we were very cordial over the Marine Radio .. but the Gal that was operating the Bridge set him straight on just who has the right-o-way
11:00 am – Gene said that his main Generator went down .. he thinks that it may be a Fuel Filter problem .. Gene dose have a second Generator so he started that up for the duration of the trip .. once we made it to the Marina and had made our first trip to the Tiki Hut Gene spent part of the afternoon changing out Fuel Filters ..
01:30 pm – with FRONT PAGE docked along the Long Dock at Roland Martins Resort Marina we pulled Dee Light up to FRONT PAGE’s Starboard Side and tied off .. temporally ..
04:30 pm – Hurricane WILMA made ‘landfall’ on the Island of Cozumel Mexico .. WILMA was a Category 4 Hurricane with winds of 140 mph .. once it passed over the Island WILMA headed North towards Cancun Mexico ..
05:00 pm – eight Boats just made it to the Marina from Naples .. we moved Dee Light so a number of the Boats could get passed us and dock their Boats down the Dock behind us .. when they were all done we re-docked Dee Light back on FRONT PAGE’s Starboard Side .. by 06:15 pm we were set for the night .. Little Man docked three Boats on the US Corps Dock / Wall for the night .. he had to wait until after the US Corps Staff left for the day to do this as Little Man is not suppose to use their Docks at all .. he said later that he was contacted by them and was given a verbal warring of some type ..
07:15 pm – the Driver from the Clewiston Inn picked up the two of us along with Gene and Stephanie ( FRONT PAGE ) .. we all had a GREAT southern dinner at the Inn .. when we returned to the Marina the music at the Tiki Hut was going STRONG and our Boats are docked right next to the Tiki Hut sooooo we were entertained until the wee hours ..
Travel – Fort Myers to Roland Martins Resort Marina – Clewiston FL - Locks .. 4 ½ - Total of 72 miles
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Dee Light rafted off to FRONT PAGE
Clewiston FL - Getting Ready
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Clewiston Fl - Water Hyacinth along Dock
Miami FL - NOAA Director Max Mayfield
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Clewiston FL - Painted Street Names
Fort Myers FL - Steve Callari Red Cross Deputy Director
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Key West FL - Fantasy Fest Festival
Fort Myers Beach FL - Boaters Getting Ready
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September 22nd 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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Clewiston FL - Dee Light Location and WILMA's Track Line
Clewiston Fl - Bernie, Marv, Betty and Barbara - Lunch at Tiki Hut
Clewiston Fl - Betty Heading Back to Fort Myers Florida
Miami FL - NOAA Hurricane Status Board - UFFFDA !!!
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05:00 am – WILMA is now just South and West of Cancun Mexico .. WILMA has reduced to a Category Three Hurricane with winds of 125 mph ..
07:30 am – the Boats that Little Man had docked on the US Corps Dock for the night pulled out and headed East ..
11:00 am – the first thing this morning Gene has contacted a Mechanic to install a new Impellor in his Generator and he said that he would be right there .. wellll this is Florida and this is Old Florida so we are hoping that the Mechanic arrives sometime today ..
12:00 pm – Bernie and Barbara ( SITTING DUCK ) made it to the Marina by auto .. they drove Betty’s car over from Fort Myers to bring Betty back to Fort Myers .. before they headed back we had lunch at the Tiki Hut and took the nickel tour of Clewiston .. they headed back about 02:30 pm ….. Betty will be spending the next number of days working as a volunteer for the Fort Myers Red Cross ..
05:00 pm – Betty called .. she said that they made it to Fort Myers and when she was at the Marina she saw that the large Red Crane on the Condo construction project next to the Marina had been lowered to the ground and that there were hardly any cars on any of the Roads in Fort Myers .. she said that it truly felt like the ‘lull before the Storm’ .. she also said that the Red Cross contacted her again and that she will now want her at the Red Cross Shelter at the South Fort Myers High School by noon on Sunday ..
05:15 pm – NOAA came out with their 05:00 pm update .. WILMA is now just leaving Mexico and will be heading into the Gulf of Mexico waters .. WILMA is now a Category Two Hurricane with winds of 100 mph .. and at the same time NOAA announced a new named Storm .. Tropical Storm ALPHA .. UFFFFDA !! .. this marks an all time record number of Named Storms !!! ..
05:45 pm – three more Boats made it to the Marina from Naples Florida ..
06:00 pm – I joined the Crew of FRONT PAGE for dinner .. Stephanie put together a ‘deelightful’ diner .. Gene indicated that his Mechanic
11:00 pm – HEADLINES - Tropical Storm Alpha Forms in Caribbean
Sets Record Most Names Storms in Atlantic Hurricane Season
MIAMI (Oct. 22) - Tropical Storm Alpha formed Saturday in the Caribbean, setting the record for the most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season and marking the first time forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names.
The previous record of 21 named storms had stood since 1933. Alpha was the 22nd to reach tropical storm strength this year, and the season doesn't end until Nov. 30.
At 11 p.m. EDT, Alpha had sustained winds near 50 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest near 14 mph and centered about 55 miles south-southwest of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
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September 23rd 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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WILMA - NOAA's Three Day Track at 04:00 am
Gene and Stephanie aboard FRONT PAGE
Marco Island FL - Starbucks Coffee Shop
Cuba - House Flooded
Naples Pier FL - Surfing
Estero FL - Red Cross Hurricane Shelter - Germain Arena
Key West FL - Breaking Surf
Clewiston Fl - Little Man working Lines with Galati Crew at 07:30 pm ..
Hurricane WILMA at 08:30 pm
Fort Myers FL - Max Mayfield at NOAA Center over WINK TV
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04:00 am – WILMA is now a Category Two Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico moving Northeast at 3 mph towards Florida with wind speeds of 100 mph .. we have had very little rain or winds thus far but I am sure that will change ..
07:30 pm – I called Betty .. she said that when she got back to Fort Myers Beach last night she took a little tour around the area .. she said that the Fort Myers Beach Shops were all boarded up and they were all closed and that there were just a few people that spent the night in her Bayside Estates area .. almost everyone had headed out ..
08:00 am – Gene and I had breakfast at the Marina’s Restaurant .. the Okeechobee Omelet was GREAT !! .. after breakfast I started to work on our Lines and Fenders ..
Gene’s quotation of the day – ‘prepare for what can go wrong and if it goes right you can find the time to work it in’ ..
08:30 am – HEADLINES – Warning, Evacuations Issued For SW Florida
FORT MYERS FL - Hurricane Wilma broke its maddening stall over the Yucatan late Saturday and now is expected to accelerate to nearly 35 mph and spin across the Gulf of Mexico to a destination near you.
Forecasters say Wilma should make landfall as a Category 2 storm by 8 or 9 a.m. Monday. Problem is, forecasters still can't pinpoint where. Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples and Marco Island are among possibilities.
Cape Coral is calling for mandatory evacuations of its shoreline areas for the first time in history and other barrier islands such as Pine Island are joining those that started mandatory evacuations Saturday. Charlotte County is recommending that residents in barrier islands, mobile homes, travel trailers and storm-damaged residences evacuate. Other areas, such as Bonita Springs and Naples, have curfews starting today
09:00 an – WILMA is still headed in the same direction and is still a Category Two Hurricane .. but WILMA’s speed has picked up to 8 mph ..
09:30 am – the US Corps of Engineers dropped the water elevation in the Marina’s Pool one foot and they ‘plan’ to operate the Clewiston Lock until the winds get to 45 mph .. at that time the Lock will be shut down for the duration of the Storm ..
10:30 am .. the mechanic ( Tiger Marine Service ) that has been working on Gene’s Boat returned and got both of FRONT PAGE’s Generators running ..
11:00 am – NOAA just came out with their 11:00 am update .. WILMA is right on the same Track and speed that she has been on the past three hours .. winds of 100 mph and traveling Northeast at 8 mph right towards Southwest Florida ..
01:00 pm – Gene and Stephanie joined me on Dee Light for the ‘game’ .. just as the Green Bay Packer – Minnesota Viking game started everything came to a sudden halt .. including the Packers in the second half of the game .. after going ahead 17 to 0 the Packers ended up loosing to the Vikings when the Vikings made a team record field gold as the final seconds of the game clicked off the time clock .. the final score was 20 to 23 .. UGH !! ..
01:30 pm – Jon called .. he has his house in Cape Coral all boarded up for WILMA .. and just when he got his house done a couple of his clients called him to check out their Boats one more time before WILMA makes her way to Florida .. a large section of Cape Coral has a mandatory evacuation order for the first time in the City’s history ..
04:30 pm .. we finished up out Lines on the Boats and checked out a ‘safe hide hole’ just in case WILMA gets carried away .. if it gets too rough on the Boats we will retreat to a concrete block Wash House near the end of the Dock ..
05:00 pm .. after getting the last of our Lines set we headed up to the Marina’s Restaurant for our ‘Last Supper’ .. when we returned to Dee Light we checked the NOAA 05:00 pm update .. WILMA is still traveling the same direction but the winds are now up to 105 mph and she is now traveling at 14 mph ..
05:30 pm .. the ‘local’ ( Fort Myers ) NBC TV and ABC TV Stations started their joint broadcast .. their joint broadcast is both over the TV airwaves as well as over numerous Radio Airways ..
06:15 pm .. Betty called from the Red Cross Shelter that she is working at .. she said that people were showing up a few at a time and they expect to have a full house well before WILMA makes landfall ..
07:00 pm .. Little Man and a Crew from Galati Marine Yacht in Naples worked Lines to the Boats until well after it became dark .. the Captains from Galati Marine Yachts have been bringing their Boats here for the past three days .. all Viking Yachts ..
08:00 pm .. Hurricane WILMA winds are now at 110 and is traveling at 15 mph .. it is still a Category Two but if and when it gets to 111 mph it will be a Category Three .. UFFFFDA !! ….
08:45 pm .. NOAA has just announced that they expect the point of landfall to be right at Everglade City Florida ….
10:00 pm .. my Cell Phone and E-mail has been busy with many calls and messages from family and numerous friends .. thank you VERY MUCH for your thoughts and concerns ..
11:00 pm .. when NOAA’s 11:00 pm update came out they announced that WILMA is now a Category Three Hurricane with winds of 115 mph and is heading Northeast at 18 mph .. at Clewiston we are experiencing ‘the Lull’ as there is not any winds or rains .. yet ..
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September 24th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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Florida Keys - Route 1
Southern Florida .. WILMA’s proposed Track and our location
Hurricane WILMA - NOAA Colored Radar at 05:45 am
Hurricane WILMA has her Eye on Dee Light
'Click' on the above for many photos before WILMA made Landfall
Aboard Dee Light during WILMA .. the ‘grey’ in the photos is Water from Lake Okeechobee that WILMA was throwing at us
Dee Light's Back Deck Exterior Plastic / Canvas Wall
The above photo of the Tiki Hut was taken durning WILMA from FRONT PAGE .. not Palm Trees behind the Tiki Hut
The photo above shows the Dock next to FRONT PAGE after it was busted by WILMA .. note the Fenders
The two photos above shows the Boat that came loose during WILMA and then started to head right at Dee Light
The photo above shows FRONT PAGE and Dee Light on the ROCKS .. UFFFDA !!
The photo above shows FRONT PAGE with some of the ‘junk’ that hit us
The photo above shows some of the ‘junk’ that hit us during WILMA
'Click' on the above for many photos taked as WILMA made Landfall
The photo above shows the damage to the Transom of FRONT PAGE
The photo above shows Dee Light’s Dinghy upside down just before we hoisted it back to the Bow of Dee Light
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12:30 pm .. .. NOAA is still expecting the point of landfall to be right at Everglade City Florida and at this time they are setting landfall to take place about 05:00 to 06:00 am …... Jim Farwell ( WINK-TV .. Fort Myers FL ) added that the High Tide in the landfall area is at 04:00 am ..
01:00 am .. WINK TV ( Fort Myers ) has been going nonstop with WILMA updates since last night on both their TV airways as well as their Radio airways .. the other ‘local’ ( Fort Myers ) NBC TV and ABC TV Stations started their joint broadcast at 05:30 pm yesterday .. their joint broadcast has been continuous / nonstop since then over the TV airwaves as well as over numerous Radio Airways ..and they have all been doing a GREAT job of keeping all of us abreast of everything that has been going on ..
02:00 am .. the winds started to pick up a little and a very light rain came down for the first time .. Little Man stopped by to check up on us .. he said that he will be ridding out WILMA on one of the Boats in front of Dee Light .. he had his white Cowboy Hat on this morning ..
04:00 am .. the rains and the winds became MUCH stronger .. the overcast from WILMA became thick enough for us to loose our Satellite TV signal for a minute or two at a time .. WILMA is now traveling at a speed of 20 mph with winds of 120 mph .. ie still a Category Three Hurricane .. UFFFDA !! .. Autumn dose not like WILMA at all ..
04:15 am .. our ‘waiting for WILMA’ is now over ..
04:30 am .. I talked with Gene on the Marine Radio and a number of the other Boaters in the Marina .. (( the Marine Radio was our only form of communication throughout the Storm )) .. Gene said that the winds and the ‘pitter patter’ of the rains woke Gene up ..
04:45 am .. it was reported over WINK that all of Marco Island is now without power and that many portions of Cape Coral and some sections of Fort Myers have now lost their power also .. this will happen in the Clewiston area shortly ..
05:00 am .. NOAA just came out with their 05:00 am update .. WILMA is just off Shore from Southwest Florida and is still reported as a Category THREE Hurricane with winds of 125 mph traveling Northeast at a speed of 20 mph ..
05:25 am .. we just lost all Shore Power .. I can now hear Generators starting up on Boats all around Dee Light .. Betty called and said that she was standing outside of the Red Cross Service Center and the WILMA WINDS were ‘just a blowing up a Storm but she did not hear the roar that we heard when Hurricane CHARLIE came thru last year’ ..
05:45 am .. WINK TV reported that WILMA has officially made landfall ..
HEADLINES – Wilma's Strongest Winds Hit Southwest Florida
KEY WEST, Fla. — Hurricane Wilma's strongest winds began lashing southwest Florida early Monday, battering the coast with torrential rain and pounding waves that threatened flooding in low-lying areas.
The eyewall — the ring of 125 mph winds surrounding Wilma's calm eye — was buffeting land in the area where landfall was expected later, likely near Naples and Marco Island.
Wilma, a powerful Category 3 system, got stronger as it neared Florida. The storm's maximum sustained winds were measured at 125 mph — up 10 mph from late Sunday night. A 17-foot storm surge was possible along the southwest coast.
More than 22,600 people were in shelters across the state. But in the low-lying Florida Keys, not even 10 percent of the Keys' 78,000 residents evacuated, Sheriff Richard Roth said.
That could prove to be a mistake: While Wilma was not expected to make landfall over the Keys, the storm could bring a surge of 8 feet to sections of the low-lying island chain.
"They're going to be in deep trouble," warned Billy Wagner, the senior Monroe County emergency management director. Key West was already experiencing minor street flooding early Monday and a wind gust of 76 mph was measured there. Power outages were reported in both the Keys and along the southwest side of the state.
At 6 a.m. EDT, Wilma was centered about 25 miles south of Naples and about 10 miles south-southwest of Marco Island. It was moving northeast at about 20 mph.
Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended 90 miles from the center and wind blowing at tropical storm-force reached outward 230 miles, the hurricane center said.
In Miami Lakes, as Wilma spun more than 150 miles away, the blue glow of transformers exploding illuminated the pre-dawn sky. Large signs marking exits on the Palmetto Expressway were already toppled by Wilma's gusts — which were only a tropical storm force at that time.
Wilma's imminent arrival also was announced by at least four tornadoes — including one near Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral — that caused some structural damage, but no injuries.
Once ashore, the fast-moving hurricane was expected to slice northeast across the state at up to 25 mph, with the Atlantic Coast likely to get winds nearly as strong as those hitting the Gulf Coast.
06:00 am .. Ed Rapaport ( sp ?? ) of NOAA out of Miami Florida had a ‘live’ report over TV .. he expressed a concern about the Storm Surge on the Shore Lines of Southwest Florida .. and also cautioned people to not go outside when the large Eye of WILMA is directly overhead .. the Skies will be clear and the winds will drop to zero but the conditions will change very rapid ..
06:20 am .. Dee Light started to ‘rock and roll’ but Autumn and I are able to hold down the ‘fort’ on Dee Light’s Back Deck ..
06:50 .. NOAA has just reported that WILMS is now traveling Northeast at a speed of 23 mph and has winds of 120 mph .. in most all cases when a Hurricane makes landfall the Hurricane will loose its strength very rapidly but WILMA’s strength is NOT going down at all .. ?????? ..
07:00 am .. Betty called .. she said that her Red Cross Center had just lost its power .. alarms going off etc ..
07:40 am .. Jon called .. they are inside their ‘boarded up’ Cape Coral home ridding out WILMA .. they have power but it dose cut out some for a few minutes .. he said the WINDS are really strong and that it is very ‘eerie’ inside their house .. with everything boarded up they are unable to see out and there are many strange noises etc ..
08:00 am .. WILMA is really hitting us HARD .. the winds are now on our Starboard Side pushing us into FRONT PAGE .. Gene said on the Marine Radio that part of the Dock has given away and looks like it is in direct contact with the Hull of his Boat .. some of the Guys on the Dock checked out the Dock and said that sections of the Dock are all holding together but the joint in the long Face Dock that we are tied off to has busted near the Bow of FRONT PAGE ..
08:30 am .. WILMA’s winds are now coming from our Starboard Bow .. and there are huge whitecaps in the waters going by our Starboard Side .. and for the first time water is coming in thru our locked Wing Doors .. visibility is zero .. we have lost all contact with the outside World .. ie no TV and no Internet .. the last image that I saw on WINK TV showed the top of WILMA’s Eye on us, the East edge of the Eye near Fort Lauderdale, the Southwest edge of WILMA’s Eye at Naples and the bottom of the Eye near the Shore Line .. WILMA Eye is the largest Hurricane Eye that I have ever seen ..
08:45 am .. I think that the reason that our visibility is zero is due WILMA picking up ‘lake waters’ off the surface of Lake Okeechobee with her tremendous winds .. thus we are experiencing ‘lake rains’ .. anyway the bottom line is that we are unable to see due to all the waters in the air ..
09:00 am .. all of the boaters that are on their Boats now have their Engines running and are waiting to see what happens when the winds start to shift .. we do not have any idea at all what is going to happen when the winds start to hit us on our Bows .. Lake Okeechobee has to be really churned up now .. the full North – South length of the Lake is coming right at us .. we fear that WILMA could push all of us right down the narrow Cut that we are on into a Bridge that is behind us ..
09:15 am .. WILMA is headed right at our Bow .. unlike Hurricane CHARLIE last year this WILMA is not slowing down at all ..with CHARLIE we had short breaks during the duration of the Storm .. but today we are not having any breaks at all instead it seems like WILMA is getting stronger at times .. like Tornados winds are mixed in with WILMA’s Hurricane winds .. ?? .. very strange ..
09:30 am .. both Dee Light and FRONT PAGE have twisted 30 degrees to our Port .. we must be crushing the Docks into the Bank and the Tiki Hut .. and into Gene’s Boat .. at least one of the Fenders between us has flipped up onto the Front Deck .. and I can hear the our hitting each other along the Side of the Hull ..
09:45 am .. Gene said that he saw one family on a Boat in front of him ( FRONT PAGE ) got off their Boat and headed down the Dock .. Little Man met them up near the Marina Office and found a safe spot for them someplace .... we have a lot of ‘stuff’ hitting Dee Light from all directions ..
10:00 am .. the WINDS are still right on our Bow but our Bow has now shifted to our Port .. the unanswered question remains .. will the Docks handle the WINDS as the winds shift to our Port Side .. we heard later that there were reports of a Tornado that also came thru the Marina .. later we also heard that the winds were up to 120 to 140 mph .. UFFFFFDA !!! .. Autumn and I road out most all of WHILMA on our Bridge .. it was the roughest ride that I have ever experienced on a Boat ..
10:10 .. the Back Wall of Dee Light’s Back Deck is made of a very heavy plastic material .. well we now have an open Back Deck as WILMA removed our ‘plastic and canvas’ Wall .. Autumn sure did not like that at all as that is right where she lives ..
10:15 am .. a Boat in front of FRONT PAGE broke loose and started to head right for the Bow of Dee Light .. I was on the Bridge of Dee Light was totally helpless watching the Boat come right at our Bow .. at this time visibility went down to zero .. and I could not even see the Boat as it turned towards Dee Light, fortunately the Stern Line held and the Boat did not come total loose .. then as the winds started to change direction again the Dock that FRONT PAGE is tied off to gave way .. we drifted ‘helpless’ to our Starboard .. as we headed towards the ROCKS I used both our Port and Starboard Engines to slow down out impact with the rocks .. Dee Light’s ended up on the ROCK on our Bow Starboard Side of the Keel with FRONT PAGE still rafted off on our Port Side ..
10:30 am .. I checked the Bilge right away and found that Dee Light is not taking water but in very rough shape .. the impact from something hitting Dee Light’s Forward Deck and the WINDS – Tornados have pulled our Dinghy off the Bow of Dee Light and it is now hanging on Dee Light’s Rails and the rocks on our Starboard side .. Autumn and I will survive WILMA but poor Dee Light is in tough shape ….. (( note – at this time I wrote a number of E-mails that I was able to send out later )) ..
10:45 am .. the last time that I was able to see WILMA on TV I saw that the Eye of WILMA extended from Naples to the West .. Clewiston to the North .. almost all the way to Fort Lauderdale to the East and the Gulf of Mexico to the South ..
11:00 am .. the winds have either gone down a little or changed directions enough to make it seem that they are down .. Dee Light is ‘wedged’ between the rocks along the Edge of the Channel on our Starboard Side and FRONT PAGE on our Port Side .. the weight of FRONT PAGE along with the Dock and other Boats is so great that Dee Light is now listing to our Starboard Side about 15 degrees ..
11:15 am .. I can see people starting to appear on the Docks ..
11:30 am .. a TV Crew from CNN came to the Marina for some footage of the damage and a Reporter with his Photographer from the newspaper out of Palm Beach Florida interviewed Gene when they came down the Dock .. a number of other people were also walking around taking photos and interviewing people ..
11:45 pm .. it was still very windy but I got off Dee Light for the first time since sometime yesterday to look over the damages .. everyone that I saw was in a total state of shock .. I saw that the couple that got off their Boat at 09:45 am had made their way to the front Marina Office where they hutted between some large Flower Pots until someone broke a window of the Marina Store so they could take shelter inside the Building .. the Building that they were in has lost part of its Roof etc .. on my way back to Dee Light I crossed paths with my son Jon his wife Sarah and Sarah’s brother Jeremy .. after getting part of a message that I had left on Jon’s Cell Phone they headed to Dee Light from their place in Cape Coral ..
12:00 pm .. with much help from the Guys from Galati Marine Yacht and our expanded Dee Light Crew in short order we had FRONT PAGE and the section of Dock that FRONT PAGE is tied off to pulled back into their original location before WILMA came thru .. Dee Light was a little harder to move as we were wedged on the rocks .. but with a little nudge from our Port Engine and pushing with our Bow Thruster along with the Galati Crew pulling our Bow with their 250 Horsepower Center Council Boat we were able to free Dee Light from the rocks .. and then we retrieved our Dinghy .. I am sure that our poor Dinghy took the big one ..
12:30 pm .. after WILMA left our area she continued going right across the State and hit the East Side of Florida very hard also ..
01:00 pm .. Betty arrived at Dee Light from the Red Cross Shelter in Fort Myers just in time to help us with the Dinghy .. it took all of us but in time we were able to get it turned over and hoisted back up onto the Bow of Dee Light .. once Dee Light was back to where we were before WILMA Jon, Sarah and Jeremy headed back to Cape Coral as Jon has many other Boats to take care of there .. they sure were a big help !! ..
02:00 pm .. we spent much of the afternoon cleaning up and getting Dee Light cleaned up and somewhat back to order ..
06:00 pm .. Betty put together a most deelightful dinner .. it is great to have her back on the Boat !!! ..
07:00 pm .. as it became dark the only lights in the area were coming from the Boats in the Marina that have their Generators going .. the US Army Corps has a Headquarters building next to the Marina .. they have a large Generator that was started up before WILMA came thru so they have power and their lawn sprinkling system is even working right on time .. the rest of the area in Clewiston is black ..
08:30 pm .. Betty is really beat from working at the Red Cross Service Center so after a ‘Boat Shower’ ( there is no water or power on the Docks ) she died when she hit the sack ..
09:00 pm .. WILMA is now heading up the East Coast .. but well off the Shore .. we did not know how big of an impact that WILMA had on Florida until after we started to listen to the reports about WILMA over TV .. UFFFFDA !! … it was reported that the Miami International Airport is closed indefinitely at this time and that the new Fort Myers Airport has very limited service .. so it is very clear that WILMA has had a huge impact on both sides of our Stat of Florida .. we also heard reports that there were over 50 Tornados in the Clewiston area with winds over 120 mph .. UFFFDA !! .. that helps to explain the damages that took place around us ..
10 :00 .. I just saw our Weather Forecast over TV .. the Cold Front that pushed WILMA’s path to the South has made it to Southern Florida .. we will have a BITTER Cold low temperature in the mid 50s and our high on Tuesday will be in the upper 70s ..
10:45 pm .. the pillow in the Aft Cabin is sure going to feel goooood tonight !!! ….
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The photo above shows Little Man’s Bird assessing the damage after WILMA
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The photos below display our ‘ride’ when the Eyewall of WILMA passed by the Clewiston Florida area .. remember if you ‘click’ on the photos you will get a larger image
The photo above shows the layout of the Marina and the Boats tied off before landfall .. all ready for WILMA
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The photo above shows the layout of the Marina and the Boats tied off after the winds hit us from the Northeast .. pushing us into the Docks .. OUCH !!
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The photo above shows the layout of the Marina and the Boats tied off after the winds hit us from the Northwest .. pushing us into the ROCK .. UFFFDA !!
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September 25th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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The photo above shows the layout of the Marina, the Lock and the Boats tied off after pulling FRONT PAGE and Dee Light back to the busted Dock
Three photos of the Docks that were flipped upside down at the Roland Martins Resort Marina in Clewiston Florida
'Click' on the above photo for a Slideshow of many Post Landfall photos .. many photos from the Marina
Rescue Unit from Jacksonville Florida at their ‘Staging Area’ in the Wal-Mart Parking Lot - Clewiston Florida
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08:00 am .. I talked to Jon .. he said that when they returned to Cape Coral he ended up in the ER ..
09:15 am .. the Operator of the Clewiston Lock said that the ICW including all the Locks on the ICW are closed indefinitely .. ie until after they can be inspected and determined safe for ‘normal’ operation .. he would not speculate as to how long of a time period would be ..
09:30 am .. Gene and Stephanie joined us on Dee Light and we looked at the many photos that we both took before, during and after WILMA ..
10:00 am .. I do not know if I will ever get use to the sound of Helicopters going overhead but being here after WILMA is sure working on it .. the sounds of Helicopters and Rescue Units became normal ..
10:30 am .. it was announced that President Bush will be here in Southern Florida on Thursday to look over the damage .. his brother Jeb Bush lives in Dane County ( Miami area ) that was also hit by WILMA ..
11:30 am .. Gene and Stephanie joined us for a ‘road’ tour in Betty’s car of the area around the Marina and around the City .. after we checked out the Marina area we drove thru an older section of Clewiston wher there are many older Southern Florida that have been there for generations .. we came across an elderly woman that came out of one of the larger homes .. as she approached us we could see that she was in a total state of WILMA Shock .. after sharing some of her experience she said that without water and power she really missed her morning Coffee .. we could see how she was so focused on her coffee that we told her that we would make up a Pot of coffee for her when we got back to Dee Light .. from there we drove thru a number of Manufactured Home areas that are really devastated .. in many cases homes are totally gone .. there were many with spray panted notes on the outside indicating that they had been searched .. we also saw a long line of cars at the one Fuel Station that was open .. it was secured by the local Police Department .. many TV Crews and Helicopters were out surveying the massive damage .. we took many photos that we hope to get posted on our Website ..
01:00 pm .. after we returned to Dee Light Betty made up a pot of coffee and brought it to the elderly lady that we spoke to when we were out taking photos .. she said that she rode out WILIMA in her large home all by her self .. she was scared to death and it is easy to understand her feelings .. she dose have family members that are on their way here to take care of her but they will not make it here until Friday .. and she so much wanted her coffee .. Betty was her hero ..
03:00 pm .. after we returned from our road trip we started up our Generator only to have it die after running for about 10 minutes .. I spent the rest of the day working on the Generator .. I did contact Rick from Tiger Marine Service that had worked on FRONT Page and Joe from CCM our of Fort Myers that has worked on Dee Light in the past but in both cases they are busy today with other WILMA related problems .. we moved our Ice Cream to the Freezer on FRONT PAGE ..
07:00 pm .. the Crew from FRONT PAGE invited us for dinner on their Boat .. and did we enjoy a great dinner ..
09:30 pm .. after a number of calls to Joe at CCM we finally got the Generator to run .. unless something more comes along what resolved the problem was for me to bleed the Fuel Injectors ..
09:45 pm .. with the lack of stable power our Refrigerator has had a tough time keeping my Ice Cream stable .. I have transferred the Ice Cream to FRONT PAGE’s Refrigerator a number of times but after many refrigeration attempts I had to make the ultimate sacrifice .. YUP .. total consumption’ .. it was the only humane thing that I could do .. (( I only made it thru one of our containers ))
10:00 pm .. the phone service seems to have gotten much worse since WILMA passed thru and tonight when we tried to make a number of calls it would not work at all .. we cannot make calls out at all tonight .. our Broadband that we were using on our Laptop is now dead .. ?? .. if there is no improvement tomorrow we will start to use our Satellite Phone ..
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September 26th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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No Electrical Power or Phone Service in the Clewiston area .. and no DSL Internet Service .. UFFDA
Photos of some of the damage to Manufactured Homes in Clewiston Florida
'Click' on the above photo for a Slideshow of many Post Landfall photos .. many photos from Manufactured Home areas ..
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.. as of this morning there is no Water, Electrical Power or Phone Service in the Clewiston area .. and no DSL Internet Service ..
03:00 am .. FEAM made it to Clewiston with four Semi-Tractor Trailers full of badly needed supplies .. they used Wal-Mart’s Parking Lot for their Staging Area ..
04:30 am .. at this time WILMA is still tracing North Northeast in the Atlantic Ocean and is still a Category One ..
09:00 am .. we enjoyed some ‘Iowa humor’ and fresh Cinnamon Rolls with coffee aboard FRONT PAGE ..
10:30 am .. just before Betty left I used her phone to talk with Joe at CCM one more time .. he has found our Generator parts and is on his way to Dee Light from Fort Myers .. at 10:30 am Betty, Autumn and Stephanie headed back to Fort Myers in Betty’s car .. Stephanie will be flying back to Winona later this afternoon and Betty will be trying to get Fuel for her car and will be picking up a few supplies before returning later tonight ..
10:45 am .. I tried to hook up my Laptop to the DSL Line at the Marina but since they do not have any power it did not work at all ..
11:00 am .. the Marina Office had an update on the ICW System .. at this time the ICW is still closed and will remain closed until travel is safe .. they have an Electrical Line down to our East and much ‘junk’ in the ICW and Locks to our West ..the Franklin Lock has something stuck in their Gates .. the Moore Haven Lock has a Mobile Camper in the Lock .. the ‘Rim Route’ between Clewiston and Moore Haven is full of Logs .. sooooo the ICW will be closed for quite some time ..
12:15 pm .. Gene and I had a great pasta lunch at the Marina’s Restaurant .. since WILMA they have been preparing a hot lunch for anyone that is at the Marina .. later she had hot Apple Pie fresh out of the Oven ..
12:30 pm .. Little Man had part of the fresh water system working on the Docks .. so after our lunch I got Dee Light all hooked up .. once the Generator is going again I plan to take a good long shower .. needless to say I need one ..
02:00 pm .. Joe from CCM made it to Dee Light .. I worked with Joe and we replaced the Low Pressure Fuel Pump and we did some additional preventive work also .. we were back in full operation by 04:00 pm ..
04:45 pm .. now that Dee Light’s Generator is working again we moved my Ice Cream back into Dee Light’s Freezer .. the Blue Bell Ice Cream has weathered WILMA ..
05:00 pm .. over the News it was reported that the current power outage is the largest that Florida Power and Light has ever experienced in their history .. and it was reported that Tropical Depression Number 25 could be forming at this time ..
06:45 pm .. when Betty and Autumn returned from Fort Myers Betty brought dinner with her .. so tonight Gene joined us on the breeze Back Deck of Dee Light .. I have started to do some temporary repairs to the Plastic / Canvas Back Wall of our Back Deck but tonight we are very much still quite open ..
11:00 pm the Chicago White Sox won the World Series for the first time in 88 years ..
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September 27th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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The Police Department in Clewiston Florida did an excellent job
Cell Phones were the only form of phone communications and much of the Cell System was down due to WILMA
Dee Light's Back Deck after WILMA
Gene and Little Man - Roland Martins Marina in Clewiston Florida .. we had ‘lunch with Little Man’ almost every day
No electrical power yet in Clewiston .. but some of the Stores are starting to open up for a few hours each day
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.. as of this morning we do not have Electrical Power or Phone Service in the Clewiston area .. at the Marina we do have Shore Water but other areas are without water ..
05:00 am .. NOAA has just announced that Tropical Storm BETA has just been names .. the Storm is well to the South of us ..
06:00 am .. the cold temperatures that WILMA brought are still with us .. since the Storm we have been 13 to 15 degrees below normal .. this has been great for all of the recovery workers that have been moved in from all around the Country .. when I talked with my Mother that lives in Northern Wisconsin she said that she woke up to 20 degrees and her yard was white so it could be MUCH worse ..
08:00 am .. we made up a fresh Pot of coffee and brought it in our Kraft to the elderly lady ( Doris Johinson and her dog Quie ) that we met a couple of days ago that lives in her Nephews House near the ICW .. when we delivered the coffee to her she invited us in for a few minutes and she said that she is expecting that her Nephew will be here later this afternoon .. Doris and Quie road out WILMA all by themselves in her large home .. on our return trip to Dee Light we stopped at the former K-Mart ( closed a few years ago ) Parking Lot where the Red Cross was just getting a Center set up .. Betty talked with a Guy that seamed to be in charge and once Betty identified herself he said that they could use her ..
09:30 am .. soooo after returning to the Boat Betty got ready and headed out to the Red Cross and Southern Baptist Convention Center in the K-Mart Parking Lot to work as a Red Cross Volunteer ..
10:30 am .. President Bush headed out for Florida aboard Air Force One ..
12:00 pm .. Gene and I had lunch with Little Man .. the Marina has been setting up lunch for their Staff, the Boaters and anyone else round .. they have really done a great job .. during lunch we heard that an outside Power Contractor may be setting up one their Semi type Generators for the Marina and the buildings around the Marina ..
02:00 pm .. today is the day that we were going to be heading to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show .. well we are not heading there and we have just cancelled our Hotel Room .. and now we have heard that the Boat Show has been postponed to next week .. we have also heard that Fantasy Fest in Key West Florida has been cancelled all together ..
03:00 pm .. Kerry ( DIAMOND SUN ) called .. he said that he called the Moore Haven Lock and talked to Jack Posh of the US Army Corps .. Jack indicated that they may open the ICW to the West ( ie Fort Myers to Clewiston ) on Friday .. he also said that the City Dock below the Moore Haven Lock had broken loose and is lodged in front of the Moore Haven Lock ..
06:00 pm .. when Betty returned from the Red Cross and Southern Baptist Convention Center she said that she spent the day assisting local people .. she helped serve over 400 meals out of the ERV ( Emergency Response Vehicle ) in Harlem Florida just outside of Clewiston and then she returned to the Center and helped serve meals in the food line .. then she was sent to Moore Haven Baptist in Moore Haven Florida where they served 200 meals .. she was really tired when she got back to Dee Light ….
07:00 pm .. the Electrician has been working all day at the Marina and he has power to some of the higher priority areas of the Marina .. ie the Tiki Hut and parts of the Offices and Condos but not to the Docks ..
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September 28th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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Red Cross and Southern Baptist Convention Center .. this is where Betty worked as a volunteer when we were in Clewiston
Drinking Water provided by Anheuser Busch and distributed by the Red Crosse
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.. last night when we were watching ‘The Apprentice’ ( NBC TV ) I noticed that I had a very faint Broadband signal on my PC .. so I checked it out and was able to get on-line for the first time since WILMA ..
04:00 am .. as of this morning the conditions are much the same as the past few days .. we do not have Electrical Power and have minimal Phone Service in the Clewiston area .. at the Marina we do have Shore Water but other areas are without water or in some areas where there is water they are boiling the water ..
08:00 am .. after I dropped Betty off at the Red Cross and Southern Baptist Convention Center I stopped by Doris Johinson’s place and checked up on her .. her Nephuine and his wife have arrived from Virginia so she is in good hands .. they had bacon, eggs, coffee etc all going on a Camp Stove right in the Kitchen ..
09:00 am .. I drove over to the US Army Corps Office and met with Jack Pash who is the head of the Corps for Southern Florida .. he said that they have a Motor Home yet to get out of the ICW and a number of other issues to deal with ..
10:30 am .. Kathy ( FRONT PAGE ) left Minnesota by car and is heading South ..
02:00 pm .. Gene and I went to the Corps Office .. Jack was not there but the Secretary gave me his Cell Phone Number .. the Secretary said that from what she understood they now have the Waterway clear and are just waiting on the US Coast Guard to give them the ok to open up the ICW .. she also said that there were Channel Markers that had to be relocated before anything could happen .. when I got in contact with Jack on his Cell Phone he said that there would not be any decisions made over the weekend .. UFFFAD !! ..
04:00 pm .. power is slowly getting put together .. but much of the City is ‘DARK’ at night .. the Tiki Bar opened up today for the firt time since WILMA .. it was a great moral booster for all ..
06:00 pm .. Gene and I put together a great dinner that we enjoyed aboard FRONT PAGE .. just before dinner Gene had talked to Mary from Roland Martins and she said that she had just heard from someone that works at the Corps that the ICW and the Locks from here to Fort Myers are going to be in operation on Saturday ..
07:00 pm .. after volunteering all day when I went back to the Center to pick Betty up she was really beat .. Red Cross had five new Volunteers today .. they are coming from all over the Country .. the Red Cross here now has Volunteers from as far away as Maine and California .. Betty is the only ‘walk on’ and her efforts are greatly appreciated by everyone ..
09:30 pm .. I had the last of our Blue Bell Ice Cream ..
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September 29th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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'Click' on the above photo for a Slideshow of many Photos taken in the days following WILMA
FEMA at Wal-Mart at Clewiston Florida
Red Cross Volunteers handing out meals in Clewiston Florida .. its no wonder why the lines are soooo long !!
Betty with her Crew ready to head out to Harlem to distribute food from their REV Unit ( Emergency Response Vehicle )
Clewiston FL - Marina Electricians doing Electrical Work at the Marina
The photo above shows the ROCK damage to Dee Light’s Bow above he water line
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05:00 am .. the Cold Front that WILMA brought thru has now brought some winds .. last night the winds came up from the Northeast and are they COLD .. out lows are down to 50 and our high for today is only to get up to 78 degrees .. conditions here are much the same except that as of late yesterday the Marina’s Electrician got power to some areas of the Marina .. most all of the Traffic Lights have temporary power .. there is water but the boiling rule is on .. a few Restaurants were open but the Health Department closed them down .. the Health Department gave our Restaurant at the Marina a clean bill of health ..
07:00 am .. we had Breakfast at the Marina’s Restaurant with Gene .. Don ( Don Gussler ) said that the Clewiston Lock was open as well as the ICW System .. we have a few boaters that are getting ‘stare craze’ and once they heard that the Locks were in operation they wanted to head out right NOW !! .. but Dee Light is in their way blocking the waterway .. I said that we did not want to head out today for a number of reasons but that I could move Dee Light once I got my Anchor pulled .. when we had moved Dee Light off the ROCKS we used the Anchor to pull us ahead ..
08:15 am .. once I brought Betty back over to the Red Cross Center to volunteer for the day I started the steps to get us moved .. all that I knew for sure is that it would be done very slowly .. once I had all our Fenders and Lines reset I asked for two Guys to Crew the Dee Light with me .. I set all the Fenders in position to help if the winds pushed us into the other Boats as we passed them .. we had to pass the Boats as we pulled out and then again as we pulled our Anchor up and then again as we backed down the Waterway to re-dock Dee Light after the other Boats left ..
08:30 am .. we had a very STRONG WIND at our Bow and a current pushing us the other way so it was real tricky to pull off FRONT PAGE and maneuver to the Anchor .. but with the help of two Guys we got the Anchor pulled ..
09:30 am .. when the first Boat went by us one of my Crew jumped onto the Boat as it went by and then they headed into the open Lock .. the second Boat joined the first Boat in the Lock
10:15 am .. we held our position in the winds and current and waited .. and waited .. for the first two Boats to be locked thru so the third Boat could pull out and head thru the Lock .. I talked with Little Man and he finaly had the third Boat pull off the Face Dock and pass by us ..
10:30 am .. as we started to back Dee Light down towards the other Boats Little Man called us and said that it was too windy and that we should turn around and drive down the Cut forward as that would be much easier .. I said that I thought that I could do it and wanted to take one try .. so I did ..
11:00 am .. at 11:00 am we had Dee Light docked up to a REAL Dock !! .. the first time since leaving Fort Myers Florida .. just as we tied off our Lines we heard that the Lock lost its power and was temporary shut down .. so the third Boat ( UNEXPECTED ) sitting out in the wind where we were .. waiting ..
11:30 am .. Little Man and UNEXPECTED made numerous attempts to contact the Lock but they would not answer at all .. once the Corps got the Lock’s Generator going they were able to get locked thru ( 12:15 pm ) ..
11:45 am .. after getting Dee Light secured I checked out the Port Side for the first time .. Dee Light has some surface damage from FRONT PAGE but only an area of about 6 inches by 40 inches total plus a few scratches on our Rub Rail .. once we were separated and as we went by FRONT PAGE I looked for damage on Gene’s Starboard Side and I was unable to see anything ..
12:00 pm .. when Gene and I were having lunch at the Marina’s Restaurant there was a small boy there that had just come from looking at the Marina’s Docks .. he asked his Mommy if he could have a ride on the Rollercoaster .. after Gene and I had lunch I hooked up the Shore Water and Shore Power to Dee Light for the first time since WILMA .. it sure felt good to turn off the Generator and give it a rest
02:00 pm .. we are planning to return to Fort Myers on Sunday .. so Gene and I made a few calls to arrange for a Crew person on FRONT PAGE and for someone to drive Betty’s car back to Fort Myers ..
03:00 pm .. I talked to Jon on the Cell Phone .. the day of WILMA when he came over here after the Storm he had ended up in ER .. Jon got some metal 'filings' from 'who knows where' in his Eye .. I did also but I was able to get them out .. in Jon’s case he had to go thru some type of procedure to have them removed and now he is ok ..
04:00 pm .. I talked with Kerry from Centennial Harbour Marina .. he said that they had a Crew put together that will be here at the Marina at 07:30 am tomorrow morning to help us move our two Boats back to Fort Myers ..
04:30 pm .. Betty called me on the Cell Phone and said that her unit was going to head out to Harlem to distribute food from their REV Unit ( Emergency Response Vehicle ) .. so I grabbed my camera and headed out to meet up with them .. they have had a Police Escort every night but tonight the Police Unit was busy with other priorities so we headed to Harlem without them .. it is a rough area but when they see the Red Crosse Van full of food they greet you with open arms .. this is an area that you would like to help out 365 days out of the year …
06:00 pm .. Gene and I had dinner at the Clewiston Inn and from there we picked up Betty at the Red Crosse Center ( K-Mart Parking Lot ) .. she said that WINK TV and the joint newscast of ABC and NBC TV were all there this afternoon doing news articles .. Gene and I talked to the Crew from the joint newscast to get their perspective on the Storm ..
08:00 pm .. when we made it to the Boat Betty had one good strong drink and tried to stay up for the evening news but did not make it ..
11:00 pm .. we watched the evening news and sure enough there was Betty .. she is now not only a Red Cross Volunteer but now she is a TV star !! ..
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September 30th 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Roland Martins Resort Marina - Clewiston, FL - 800-473-6766 / 863-983-3151 – Dockage $1.00 per foot - Website – none - Harbour Master - Little Man
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Dee Light heading out of the Roland Martins Resort Marina in Clewiston
The photo above shows Water Hyacinth in the Clewiston Lock
'Click' on the above photo for a Slideshow of many photos from our return trip to Fort Myers Florida
The photo above shows the Houseboat that was sunk in the Moore Haven Lock
Wilma was rough on Dee Light’s Fenders
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04:00 am .. it is great to be back on a Dock all tied off with Shore Power etc .. at this time the Clewiston area is still under a curfew, most all areas have power, the water still has to be boiled, the Red Cross is expecting that they will be here for another three weeks, FEMA arrived a few days ago and will also be here for a number of weeks, the Sugar Mill dose not know when they will be able to open up and that is the major employer in the entire area ..
07:30 am .. our Crew from Fort Myers ( Centennial Harbour Marina ) arrived .. Kim and Jane will return with Betty’s car and the car that they came in .. Jim, Kerry and Rich will help us Crew our two Boats .. this will give us three Crew people on each Boat .. ie one person will be on the Bow as a Lookout for ‘junk’ in the water and it will make it oh so nice going thru the Locks ..
08:00 am .. Rich and Jim joined Gene on FRONT PAGE and after they got their Anchor back in place they headed thru the Lock .. once thru the Lock they found themselves heading right into ‘wall-to-wall’ Water Hyacinth .. they kept their speed down and ‘pushed’ their way thru the plants ..
08:30 am .. Kerry joined us aboard Dee Light .. we headed to the Lock and when we got there they were trying to clear the Lock Chamber but were unsuccessful .. when they opened the Gate we pushed Dee Light into the Lock and we could not maneuver Dee Light at all due to all the Water Hyacinth that were now wedged around us in every direction .. once thru the Lock we had a few ‘Floating Mud Flats’ to deal with otherwise the ICW was in great shape .. by 09:00 we were on our way ..
09:30 am .. we managed to ‘bump’ junk a couple of times .. we could hear on the Marine Radio that two other Boats had left the Roland Martins Resort Marina and were on their way behind us ..
10:20 am .. Betty took a number of photos above the Moore Haven Lock .. UFFFDA !!! .. we went by the Houseboat and some of the other debris that were removed from the Lock Chamber after WILMA .. they took a good WILMA hit here also .. we were thru the Moore Haven Lock and on our way down the ICW ..
11:15 am .. when we called the Ortona Lock they said that it would be an hour wait as they were not locking Pleasure Craft West until 12:20 pm .. soooo we had lunch .. and Betty put together a deelightful lunch .. at 12:50 pm the Towboat ALIA pulled out of the Lock and we pulled in the Lock behind FRONT PAGE .. SWEET MARY and Viking 58 joined us in the Lock .. they were both at Clewiston during WILMA ..
02:30 pm .. since it was Sunday we had slow going with a number of other Pleasure Craft out for the day .. so it was about 03:30 pm before we made it thru our last Lock the Franklin Lock ..
04:45 pm .. we had both WILMA ONE and WILMA TWO safely docked back at our Home Port .. Betty’s Son Randy and his daughter Sierra .. Gene’s wife Kathy who drive to Fort Myers from Minnesota also made it to the Dock right after we got docked ..
05:00 pm .. Betty took off with Randy and Sierra for the Airport where they put Sierra on an Airplane headed back to Indianapolis ( Sierra’s home ) ..
07:00 pm .. the Crews from both WILMA ONE and WILMA TWO and Spouses had dinner at Brixz Grill & Bistro .. and yes the conversation centered around WILMA ..
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September 31st 2005
Fort Myers Florida
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Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com
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