Super powerful Hurricane Ian (photo credit unknown) swept across Florida recently, as you probably know. The devastation this storm caused is awful. We've had a few questions about our boat and if she was effected by the storm. Mainly because of images of a sunken catamaran named Calypso that keeps appearing on the news. That Calypso was a Lagoon.
Ian made landfall on the west coast of Florida, then shot across the state and up the east coast. Our Calypso was located on the east side of Florida, thankfully. With that being said, she was still in the storms path, we still had to ensure she was safe from predicted high winds and storm surge. How can we do that while we are in California? We considered Jeremiah flying back but, of course, the storm was coming exactly when I was due to have our baby. That's just how it goes. Was there another way? Yes, there was! Captain John was in the area! Actually, right in the path.
Captain John is the previous owner of Calypso. He was our friend before we bought her and he has remained a great friend since. He had previously offered to check on our boat while we were away and then, when the storm popped up, he offered to take care of anything she needed in order to ride it out safely. As you can see from the screen shot of the predicted path, the storms eye was headed right for them. Even though the storm should have lost strength by the time it hit here, this was still a big concern. So, John went into action!
Before we left, Jeremiah did a lot of prep just in case a storm were to come along. He removed the solar panels, head sails, he wrapped the main sail and stack pack and more. He knew there would be a couple of last minute things to do but these should be pretty easy to get done. Items like removing the paddle board and kayak from the deck, adding lines, fenders, removing cockpit cushions and covers, etc would need to be completed.
John communicated with Jeremiah about line placement and a number of other things that he would do. He got her all buttoned up. Then it was time for the storm to hit.
At this point, we knew that the west coast had been badly damaged from Ian, so we were pretty nervous as it made its way towards Calypso. Thankfully, John decided to stay with Calypso to check on her throughout the storm.
When he arrived to the marina on the day of Ian, he found a boat that had already sunk right in it's slip!
We joke saying it was out of fear but really, it's a bummer that someone lost their boat. It wasn't due to the storm. Something else caused it to sink. Fair well, power boat.
In the end, Calypso was fine. She safely bounced around in the strong winds, held in place by Johns spider web line design. She also safely rode out a 6 foot storm surge on her floating docks which we swear by (by the way...Strong floating docks are HUGE when it comes to these storms). They just ride up and down with the surge, the lines don't have to go through the strain that solid docks cause when a surge comes in.
In the end, the marina had some minor damage but all the boats were safe and sound. We're so thankful for John! He is a great friend. He and Calypso have had a rocky past together, we know that they are getting along much better now.They love each other, deep down.