Most of the day so far, we’ve been walking around town assessing the damage. Within minutes we realized that there was little if any real damage, so we walked over to Pepe’s for breakfast, who were open for business promptly at 7:30AM (they had a generator).
The weather was relatively benign considering a hurricane was about 80 miles offshore. I got a bunch of calls on my cel today and yesterday from worried friends and relatives who thought we were getting slammed. This was due to what was obviously blatant misinformation by the news agencies and National Weather Service.
What was even more outrageous to me was the fact that the weather service was giving next to NO useful information the whole time leading up to the storm getting here to mariners and locals who needed it the most. The amount of speculation, rumor and misinformation being milled around here left me flabbergasted. When I tried to explain to some worried folks what was REALLY happening with the storm (since I was watching the satellite photos online in quasi-real-time), some looked at me as if I was delusional. Most of the people here actually thought that the storm was coming “right at us” even though it simply wasn’t true. The misinformation took on such a mob-mentality that even the local authorities were acting on it. Seasoned mariners and boat-owners were simply hysterical.
I gotta say, I learned a lesson. You have to get your OWN information from several sources, and DO NOT depend on your government’s own weather service for these kinds of reports. NOAA’s and NWS’ reports have been nothing short of dismal and inaccurate. I’m glad that I was able to watch the satellite photos online and ascertain my own idea of where the storm was and where it was heading.
So since that there was so much perceived devastation, I thought we’d contribute to the hysteria and post some pics of the carnage and horror that we have seen firsthand. It’s pretty horrifying, so be ready, ok? Starting with the one that I feel epitomizes the degree of the devastation, and wanton destruction that nature has wielded upon us… (Mouse over the pics for captions, btw)….
Some more storm pics for your viewing pleasure…
And finally, Andiamo safely tied at her slip at Key West Bight. She’s held on beautifully throughout the ordeal thus far. We’re very pleased.
Another note of thanks for all the emails, comments, phone calls and best wishes. We’re sorry that some people got so worried about us due to all the misinformation given out. We’re hoping that our friends/family in Tampa, Orlando and Daytona fare out as well as we did. That’s where our concern lies now.