Thursday July 07, 2005 – Fort Myers Florida

Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com

UFFFFDA !! - Here We Go Again

Beach - Gulf of Mexico

.. here we go again ???? .. UFFFFDA !! … Bernie and Barbara ( SITTING DUCK ) moved their Boat from their ‘side tie’ on B-Dock to a Slip on C-Dock .. the Crew from DIAMOND SUN ( Jane and Kerry ) arrived this afternoon from North Carolina .. they drove for the last two days to get here ahead of Hurricane Dennis ..

HEADLINES

Powerful Hurricane Dennis Heads for Cuba

By STEVENSON JACOBS - Associated Press Writer
MORANT BAY, Jamaica (AP) -- Ten-foot waves crashed on shore and hundreds of islanders fled flooded homes Thursday as Hurricane Dennis lashed Caribbean coastlines with winds whipped up to 110 mph.
The first hurricane of the season threatened to intensify as it headed straight for Cuba. Forecasters at the U.S. Hurricane Cener in Miami predicted the storm could hit the United States anywhere from Florida to Louisiana by Sunday or Monday, raising fears that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico would be disrupted by the fourth storm in as many weeks.
Thunderstorms covered the Dominican Republic and southern Haiti. The Cayman Islands and Cuba were under hurricane warnings, including the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay holding some 520 terror suspects.
The Florida Keys went on hurricane watch Thursday and ordered tourists to evacuate, and the southern Florida peninsula was on tropical storm watch, expecting severe conditions within 36 hours

Friday July 08, 2005 – Fort Myers Florida

Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com

Thursday Night at 11:00 pm

Friday Morning at 05:00 am

WINK TV - Fort Myers Florida

Getting Ready - Key West Florida

Stocking Up - Pensacola Florida

Getting Boats Ready - Key West Florida

.. great news for us here in Fort Myers .. over night the Storm Track has been moved to the West a little .. ( see Charts to the left ) but NOT good news for the Keys as well as Florida Panhandle .. right now the Track is projected to travel the same path as Hurricane Ivan last Fall ..

HEADLINES

Surprise! Here's Dennis
KEY WEST FL — The Lower Keys are bracing for a strong but glancing blow from Hurricane Dennis today, as the storm's projected path suddenly veered much closer to Key West, leading to evacuation orders and hurried preparations.
Forecasters said tropical storm force winds should be felt in the Lower Keys by late afternoon today with Dennis projected to pass just to the west of Key West tonight. Mandatory evacuation was ordered for the islands from Key West to the Seven Mile Bridge.
Much depends on the strength of a high pressure ridge that had been expected to steer Dennis to the west of the Keys, and how much the storm weakens as it crosses Cuba.
The severity of the storm and its projected proximity to the Lower Keys caught many people off guard Thursday. Emergency management officials were forced to make quick decisions about evacuations and transportation of the indigent, elderly and other people with special needs.
'None of us is prepared for this'
Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation for everyone south of the Seven Mile Bridge at 4 p.m. Thursday. All mobile home residents in the Keys were also ordered to leave. Lines began forming at gas stations and hardware and grocery stores, as people rushed for last-minute supplies. Some people felt they barely had time to get ready for the storm.
"I'm not prepared for this," said Jan Henry, who lives on a sailboat off Key West. "It's just too early for this. I'm used to preparing my boat in August. None of us is prepared for this."
Tropical storm force winds could reach the Lower Keys as early as this afternoon and continue for 24 hours, said Matt Strahan, chief meteorologist for the Key West office of the National Weather Service. Dennis, which reached Category 3 by Thursday evening with 115 mph sustained winds, had strengthened and the wind field expanded, especially to the northeast. A high-pressure ridge that was keeping the storm westward away from the Keys began to deteriorate on Thursday, Strahan said.

HEADLINES

Thousands flee Fla. Keys ahead of Dennis

KEY WEST, Fla. – (AP) - The first rain from Hurricane Dennis started falling Friday on the Florida Keys as the storm barreled toward the Gulf of Mexico, and forecasters warned that it might score a direct hit on the island chain.
Even if the eye passes to the west, they warned, hurricane-force winds extended up to 50 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds stretched up to 140 miles out.
Key West's streets were calmer than usual early Friday, the result of an evacuation order issued a day earlier, but the Category 4 storm could batter the islands by evening, forecasters said. Morning breezes were expected to grow into stronger winds, joined by heavier rain and storm surges.
Forecasters also warned Gulf Coast residents from Florida to Louisiana to be ready for Dennis to come ashore by Sunday. With top winds at 135 mph, the storm is already "extremely dangerous," the National Hurricane Center said. Dennis was blamed for at least five deaths in Haiti.

.. the Boaters in the Marina along with he Marina Staff spent all day moving Boats to safer locations within the Marina .. both SONG of the SOUTH and DIAMOND SUN moved from A-Dock to B-Dock and they plan to stay on B-Dock throughout the Hurricane Season .. I got out our Hurricane Lines yesterday but with the projected Track yesterday we were uncertain if we would stay at the Marina or move inland .. but with the revised forcast we decided to stay right here .. soooo today I tied off Dee Light with our Hurricane Lines and lowered our Fenders .. with the latest Weather Forecast .. our Hurricane Plan is as follows …..

Plan A .. ride out the Hurricane on Dee Light ..
Plan B .. relocate to the Boaters Lounge at the Marina .. it is a concrete building but has a framed roof .. the area will take a 22 foot Surge ..
Plan C .. relocate to the Restrooms behind in the Marina Office .. all concrete walls and it has both a structural concrete elevated floor and roof .. it is well built but it is lower but will take a 15 foot Surge ..
Plan D .. relocate to our Car at the third Floor Level of the Parking Structure .. this is only a back up plan to Plan C .. i.e. If there are too many people or if the Surge gets over 15 feet ..

Hurricane Dennis - Approaching Cuba

Kingston Jamaica

Heading North - Miami Florida

Child - Les Cayes Haiti

Airport - Key West Florida

Saturday July 09, 2005 – Fort Myers Florida

Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com

Buckets and Buckets of RAIN

High Water - Les Cayes Hait

Pier - Pensacola Florida

03:00 am - buckets and buckets of rain dumped on Dee Light throughout the night .. and our winds increased as Hurricane Dennis headed Northwest ..

05:00 am - GREAT NEWS – as Hurricane Dennis passed across Cuba it became downgraded to a Category One Hurricane with winds of 90 mph .. THANKS MUCH CUBA !! ..

HEADLINES

Storm slams Cuba, loses strength
Published by news-press.com on July 9, 2005

FORT MYERS FL - People from the Florida Keys to the Louisiana bayous will wake up this morning facing an all-too-familiar threat as Hurricane Dennis works its way through the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of them were faced with leaving homes that have yet to be rebuilt in the aftermath of storms that raked the region just less than a year ago.
The hurricane's top winds dropped to 110 mph Friday night, making it a strong Category 1. Dennis is expected to pick up strength as it moves into the Gulf on a projected path that could sideswipe the Keys and the state's southwest coast on its way to landfall Sunday or Monday anywhere from the Panhandle to southeast Louisiana.
About a half-million people in coastal Alabama and tens of thousands more in the Keys and low-lying areas of the Florida Gulf Coast were ordered to evacuate ..

07:00 am – Hurricane Dennis has been upgraded again to a Category Two Hurricane with winds of 105 mph .. this is due in part to the warm waters of the Gulf that Dennis is now traveling over ..

09:30 am – Bernie ( SITTING DUCK ) said that last night the owners of the Boat LONG GONE ( that has been on B-Dock ) told their Captain that they wanted him to get their Boat moved to the East Coast .. it was after 06:00 pm last night before he was able to get a Crew together it put together .. so they pulled out of their Slip on B-Dock at about 08:00 pm last night .. they must have had some ‘issues’ to take care of as they tied up on E-Dock until about 10:00 pm .. then in the mist of very heavy rains they were last seen heading up the River .. UFFDA ..

01:30 pm – the Tide in Fort Myers is going up and it is being pushed by a steady wind from the Hurricane .. the winds have been 20 to 40 mph thus far today ..

HEADLINES

Residents Take Shelter From Dennis .. Memories of Ivan

PENSACOLA FL – (AP) - As Santa Rosa residents streamed into storm shelters Saturday seeking refuge from Hurricane Dennis, talk inevitably centered on the last time they were there: Hurricane Ivan, last September.
When shelter worker Barb McMillion went home following Ivan, her house had been destroyed. She only moved back in two months ago.
"It's hard for me to think ahead. I am just trying to concentrate on the shelter right now," she said. "It's really scary."
She couldn't help but think the worst might happen again.

STORM SURGE

.. when ever there is a Hurricane that passes thru the Lee County area Storm Surge is a BIG concern .. Lee County has 47 miles of Gulf and Bay Coastline and more than 60 miles of River Shoreline .. Flooding / Surge is very much a concern for Lee County Boaters / Residents .. with in an average rainfall of almost 55 inches and a flat terrain that rises on average 2.5 feet per mile the potential for a Surge / Flood is clear .. the Chart attached shows the potential areas that a Surge / Flood could affect .. UFFDA !! …. ‘click’ on the Chart for a larger / clearer size

Condos / Waves - Fort Myers Beach Florida

02:40 pm – High Tide at Fort Myers .. the winds ( 15 to 40 mph ) and rains have been continuing all day

09:00 pm - Hurricane Dennis has been upgraded again to a Category Three Hurricane with winds of 125 mph .. UGH !! .. the Surge in the Gulf is starting to push its way up the River to Fort Myers .. at this time there is about a two foot Surge ..

HEADLINES - CUBA

Damage Extensive Across Island

CUBA – (AP) - Hurricane Dennis lashed Cuba and Haiti, leaving widespread damage and up to 18 deaths. Havana was left without electricity and thousands of acres of crops destroyed ..

Surge Chart

Big M Casino Boat - Caloosahatchee River - Fort Myers Florida

Hurricane Dennis
In The Gulf

Centennial Harbour Marina
Fort Myers Florida

Duval Street
Key West Florida

Centennial Harbour Marina
Fort Myers Florida

Haitain Man with Child

Moving Boats
Pensacola Florida

Below are a number of photos from the Pensacola Florida area that were taken on Saturday prior to Landfall of Hurricane Dennis

Sunday July 10, 2005 – Fort Myers Florida

Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com

Photos - Sunday Before Landfall

Pier - Pensacola Florida

Reporter from WEAR-TV - Pensacola Florida

01:00 am - HEADLINES
Storm-Weary Gulf Coast Residents Brace for Category 4 Hurricane

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — (AP) Hurricane Dennis closed in on the Gulf Coast early Sunday after strengthening into a dangerous Category 4 storm, plowing toward a region still recovering from a hurricane 10 months ago.
With nearly 1.4 million people under evacuation orders, some towns in the projected path were left almost deserted. Landfall was expected Sunday afternoon somewhere along the coast of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama or Mississippi.
After weakening to a Category 2 storm over Cuba, Dennis regrouped in the Gulf on Saturday and became a Category 4 storm again early Sunday, with sustained winds of 145 mph.

Hurricane Dennis a dangerous Cat. 4; winds near 145 mph

PENSACOLA FL – ( Updated at 03:00 am ) - Hurricane Dennis' winds are approaching 145 mph, making it a dangerous Category 4 storm, and forecasters expect it strengthen by landfall, according to the latest information from the National Hurricane Center.
The center of Dennis is located about 195 miles south of Panama City and about 275 miles southeast of Biloxi, Miss.
The storm is moving toward the northwest at near 14 mph. A gradual turn to the north-northwest is expected early today. This motion will bring the center of Dennis across the northern Gulf Coast later today, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A Category 4 storm has sustained winds between 131 mph and 155 mph ..

06:30 am – yesterday Betty’s son Danny from Pensacola Florida called and said that he was going to be heading our direction .. Danny and his family relocated to Pensacola after Hurricane Ivan .. they live on a ‘Barrier Island’ with the Beach at their Front Door .. with the Storm headed their way his family headed North to Indianapolis on Thursday and Danny stayed back to prepair for the Hurricane .. he called when he was in route and made it to Dee Light at 07:00 am ..

Below are a number of photos from the Pensacola Florida area that were taken on Sunday prior to Landfall of Hurricane Dennis

Storme Surge - July 10th 2005

10:00 am - HEADLINES

Dennis begins to slow but still powerful
PENSACOLA FL - Hurricane Dennis is slowing down as it approaches the coast, pushing back its landfall between Gulf Shores, Ala., and Pensacola
The storm, still carrying winds about 140 mph, mostly near the storm’s compact eye, is expected to make landfall about 4 p.m., the National Hurricane Center reported.
“We’re seeing a lot of fluctuations in speed and intensity. We’re still working it,” said Chris Sisko, meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Dennis was located about 75 miles south-southeast of Pensacola, moving northwest about 18 mph, the National Weather Service reported ..

Weather Trackers
Setting Up Equip

HEADLINES from Pensacola Florida

Damaged Pier
Pensacola Florida

03:30 pm – HEADLINES – LANDFALL

Dangerous Weather Lingers as Dennis Passes Through Pensacola Bay Area
PENSACOLA FL – ( UPDATED 03:30 pm ) - Hurricane Dennis has come ashore at Santa Rosa Island and making its way through Gulf Breeze and Pensacola. Forecasters warn that extreme wind damage, flooding and potential tornadoes are likely. Gulf Power reports at least 40,000 customers are without power
Peak winds were measured at 120 mph at Navarre. The storm center passed over Santa Rosa Island near the Portofino condos.
Forecasters said that extreme wind damage, flooding and potential tornadoes are likely. The storm center continued on into Escambia Bay, with the ‘eyewall’ pushing over the Escambia Bay Bridge on Interstate 10.
Damage and injury reports have not been finalized, but Gulf Power Co., reports at least 40,000 were without power by 2 p.m.

Monday July 11, 2005 – Fort Myers Florida

Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers Florida - 239-461-0775 – Website - www.marina33901.com

Construction Project – Pensacola Florida

05:00 am - Florida dodged what could have been a very destructive Hurricane .. Dennis tracked well West of Key West .. stayed in the Gulf as it headed North .. and then lost much of its ‘punch’ before it made Landfall in the Panhandle area .. Hurricane Dennis is now inland and is heading North in the general direction of SYNERGY .. and has been downgraded to a ‘Tropical Depression’ .. as Dennis heads North we can look to the East and see the next Storm starting to form well East of the Caribbean .. (Tropical Depression Number Five - Emily ) UFDA !! .. we are going to keep our Hurricane Lines on Dee Light ..

HEADLINES

Dennis Pulls Punch
Damage severe, but not as widespread as Ivan

PENSACOLA FL (AP) - You've all said it.
Now it's our turn:
Hurricane Dennis packed a pretty tough punch. But it was no Ivan.
Dennis blew ashore between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach at 2:28 p.m. Saturday as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of about 115 to 120 mph.
Across the Pensacola Bay Area, there were downed trees, power outages and some damaged homes. But the general picture reflected nothing close to the widespread devastation caused in September by Hurricane Ivan, which destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes and was blamed for the deaths of 13 people in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
"We dodged a major, major bullet," said Escambia County Administrator George Touart late Sunday afternoon. "It could have been much worse."
While Dennis won't cause the widespread misery of Ivan, Sunday's storm was bad enough for many ….

.. the Chart above shows the Track that Dennis took as it made Landfall .. see Pensacola Newspaper article to right ..

HEADLINES - Category 3 Storm 'Could Have Been Worse'

PENSACOLA FL (AP) - At 10 p.m. on Sunday, Tropical Storm Dennis continued to weaken over southwestern Alabama.
Randy McKee liked the sound of that.
McKee, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Mobile, rode a roller-coaster Sunday. It started when Hurricane Dennis, the most potent July hurricane on record, was two hours away from steam-rolling downtown Pensacola with 145 mph winds.
Instead, at 2:28 p.m., the eye of Hurricane Dennis sawed across Santa Rosa Island between Pensacola Beach and Navarre, packing sustained winds of 115 to 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported.
"It was still a strong ( Category 3 ). I don't think people who were in those areas where Dennis struck will feel like they dodged a bullet," McKee said Sunday night as Dennis pounded central Alabama. "We still have a lot of damage to assess. But it could have been much, much worse."
Here's what happened:
· Dennis weakened as it churned over cooler waters that had been stirred up by Tropical Storm Cindy when it pushed ashore last week.
· The compact, still-powerful hurricane, veered north and cut through less dense residential areas in Santa Rosa County.
· The powerful northeast quadrant missed Pensacola. A 121-mph gust was measured in Navarre. At Pensacola Regional Airport, the wind reached 93 mph.
McKee is waiting on damage assessments -- mainly from Santa Rosa County where a large field of violent, 120-mph winds was measured on Doppler radar. Some residents reported tornadoes, but powerful straight-line winds likely caused devastation, McKee said.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center marveled at the speed that Hurricane Dennis achieved after it spent 10 hours over Cuba and weakened to a Category 1 hurricane Saturday.
Dennis feasted on warm Gulf waters, wrapped itself into a tight coil and aimed at the Gulf Coast. At 4 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center called the storm's overnight intensification "insane."
"Conditions were perfect for intensification," said Michelle Mainelli, meteorologist with the Hurricane Center. "It intensified very rapidly."
By 8 a.m., forecasters at the Hurricane Center were pondering if Dennis could expand into the first-ever Category 5 storm in July, packing winds of at least 155 mph.
Meteorologists and emergency managers warned that Dennis could be more intense than Ivan. But on Sunday night, forecasters talked about the major differences in the storms.
McKee believes the angle of attack and landfall could have spared the Pensacola Bay Area. Ivan approached from the southwest after making an end run around Cuba, before making landfall in Gulf Shores, Ala., on Sept. 16, 2004.
"When storms come from the southwest, the water piles up for much longer periods," McKee said.
Dennis, approaching from the southeast, caused an easterly flow for much of the day before veering north, he said.
But Tom Lazio, 39, of Pace saw gutters and metal roofs fly off his neighbors' barns near his Hamilton Bridge Road home. One neighbor lost all of his belongings in the barn. Lazio saw pine needles get blasted through the tiny gaps in his door frame. He saw blue skies as the eye passed directly over his home.
"I was here through Ivan. In my mind, this was worse," Lazio said. "It got real nasty. I don't think I'll do that again. Next time, I'll leave. We're fine. No one was hurt, but people lost a lot to this storm."

'CLICK' on above Chart to see a larger Dennis Damage Summary

.HEADLINES – Gov. Bush Visits Pensacola

Governor Promises Rapid Relief .. Less FEMA Frustration
PENSACOLS FL – (AP) - Gov. Jeb Bush today promised rapid state relief efforts in the
wake of Hurricane Dennis, and pledged that local governments will
avoid the frustrations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency experienced following Hurricane Ivan.
The comments came in an early-afternoon press briefing after Bush
entered the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center to a standing ovation.
"We're here for the long haul again," Bush said after praising
emergency responders and Florida National Guard troops, many of whom, he said, had just returned from Afghanistan or Iraq.
National Guard convoys began arriving in Escambia County about
midnight and were opening eight county distribution sites for water,
ice, tarps and meals ready-to-eat, Bush said.