Surviving Hurricane Sally
“This is U.S. Coast Guard, sector Mobile, Alabama. We just received notification that your EPIRB went off. Is everything okay?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Sir, where is your boat?”
“At Palafox Marina.”
That was 0900 Wednesday, September 16th, by which time Hurricane Sally had already unleashed the bulk of her savagery—many boat owners in Pensacola, Florida, just didn’t know it yet, my partner, Phillip, and me included. Before that USCG call, all we knew was that when we had left the day before, Plaintiff’s Rest, our 1985 Niagara 35, was tied securely in her slip at Palafox Marina.
Rewind to five days earlier, Friday, September 11. Another pivotal call comes that day. The shipyard informs Phillip and me that if we are going to haul out for Tropical Storm Sally, today is the day to confirm. As our most extreme storm-prep measure, hauling-out is something we only do if it is likely a hurricane will make landfall. At this time, though, NOAA has Sally only developing into a tropical storm and shooting straight across the Gulf of Mexico to make landfall Tuesday at the Louisiana-Mississippi border, over 150 miles to our west. The decision of whether or not to haul, as with many when
