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The plan was, check again early on Thursday morning and then make a decision. Well, that was easy. Within a few hours we had all the sails,
shades and Bimini down, everything producing wind resistance removed from the deck. Groceries for a week, fill up gas, charge the phone cards,
get cash. Who knows about the morning after...
Early afternoon we moved the boat into the most protected corner of the bay. Bow on shore, keel in the mud, our three heaviest lines to trees,
two anchors from the stern. The rest is waiting. We didn't sleep very well that night, not only because the AC was missing...
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Friday morning: Charley passed Cuba during the night and now there is a lot of rain in Key West. Still not very organized he now is approaching
the shallow and very warm waters of the Florida Bay to gather strength. Category 2 still, windspeeds about 85 mph, but deepening.
Mandatory evacuation for almost all of coastal Southwest Florida. We are waiting...
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One hour later it's a different picture: organized, 110 mph, preesure in the eye falling steadily. Everybody says he's going to
make landfall in Tampa. but Charley has something else on his mind. Shortly before landfall he will make a slight turn to the right
and hurt a lot of people by surprise.
The area of influence is huge and you can see what a rain and wind machine this is, drawing all the moisture out of the Gulf and the Atlantic.
The amount of energy set free is unbelievable, as well as the consequences.
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3:45 pm EDT: Charley makes landfall over Sanibel/Captiva Island, 15 miles west of Fort Myers, 50 miles west of us.
Category 4 (there are only 5), 145 mph close to the eye, flooding rain. Within a few hours tens of thousands of people are homeless,
Hundreds of thousands of houses heavily damaged, shops, warehouses, businesses, industrial plants, hotels worthless.
Tens of thousands of jobs simply gone. 1.1 million people have no electricity, tens of thousands no water or telephone.
A few days later the estimated damage will be 15 billion $US. We are lucky, torrential rain and wind gusts up to 70 mph for 3 hours, that's all.
No damage done to ship or crew, only the anchors dig in so deep, I can hardly get them out the next morning. At sunset it's over
for us and Charley devastates Orlando.
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