August 26, 2005 - Miami, Florida

Sailing the trees

Katrina got this city while it wasn't looking. With only a day's notice to prepare for what was initially predicted to be a tropical storm that would make landfall north of us, many did not take her seriously. Even the weather people said there would only be some "rain damage". But Jim moved the boat into the mangroves the minute he heard she was coming. I'm so glad he did. Katrina had strengthened to a category 1 hurricane by the time she took a turn south after making landfall in Fort Lauderdale. We spent her visit gently rocking with the waves in a narrow channel and it felt like a nice summer sail out on a calm bay. Of course the occasional howling of the overhead wind along with one look through the portlights revealed that we were surrounded by mangroves. It was, if anything, a strange sensation, and for a good couple of hours I felt like I was sailing through the trees. But we got off easy on this one. Many people were not as lucky, and the damage in the anchorage as well as in the marina was bad. Lots of shredded canvas, lots of boats sunk or crashed or aground or a combination of those. Several lives were lost, and Katrina really hit home in Miami. Hopefully from now on, when the word "hurricane" is mentioned, it will be taken much more seriously - even if it's "only" a category 1.

posted by Mahi at 1:00 PM  

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