MTFCA Forum

We are currently stationed in Bradenton (Manatee County) where we will be waiting out the storm. Jim Cantore is staying at a hotel here in Bradenton and there is a fair chance we will go thru the eye. The boat (65' Bluewater) I do work on, not mine is tied up at the marina down the street in Sarasota (Sarasota county) at the primary marina. I expect the marina to be "gone" and will be there as soon as possible to check on the boat. After checking on the boat I will travel south to Gasperilla Marina (Charolette county) where the small boat is on a "hurricane proof" rack. Once I can get there thru the flooding and damage the goal is to take the other boat (23' Parker with cabin) to their house on Useppa Island that is only accessible by boat. Useppa is one of the outer islands near Pine Island (lee county) and only accessible by boat. I will try to give updates and information about where I am and whats going on. All of this area is currently damaged and totally saturated. Boats are wrecked on the shore houses torn apart ect.

Good luck everyone and be safe!

I am in Jacksonville. looks like we will miss the heavy stuff, But my mom lives in N.Ft. Myers so I will be taking a trip there probably on Saturday. I am really stressing on this because I lost my brother during IAN in 2022.

5pm NOAA forecast shows the center of the track 2 miles from our location. Will update after 8pm forcast if possible.

We just went thru the eye, the wind is starting to pick back up now. I lost a window on the suburban and a friends trailer has shifted. Now the direction switches and things can get ugly. The weather Channel is reporting from where the yacht is tied up in Sarasota. They are also in the eye.

Sarasota has taken a respectable hit. The boat and marina came VERY close to coming apart but held. Several boats did not make it including a large 90-100 foot yacht that is on shore now. Other than the blown out window before the eye went over us we came thru without any damage. Internet is sketchy and will upload photos when more secure. Friends of ours inland took feet of water in their homes and others have yet to be checked on. The power is off where I was so I have relocated to the yacht where I have generator, fresh water, AC, ect.

Glad you made it. This storm appears to have generated an unusually large number of tornadoes, and atypically violent tornadoes.

Sarasota is starting to come together. Im trying to make it out to the house on the island now. Nobody has been out there although we have received some reports. Helene destroyed the barge dock where vehicles, trucks, and equipment could be brought onto the island. Many of the other docks were already damaged. Milton has taken out the marina and docks there where the ferry and private boats can come into. Water is pumped from a well and stored in a large water tank, status unknown. Power is supplied thru Pine Island the transformers there were damaged to the point they are unrepairable and new ones will need to be brought in. Estimation is weeks without power at a minimum. Meanwhile the homes that aren't damaged are sealed up and petri dishes growing mold. Our intention is to get there asap (waiting for the marina where the small boat is kept to become operational so that I can get out there to assess the damage. I intend to keep the mold at bay and save major work to the home if it survived in good condition. The downstairs was torn apart in Helene and will need to be rebuilt.

I made it out to the island today, for most it is completely unliveable. I have a basic harbor freight 3500 inverter generator and my wits and it is unlikely power/water will be off for many weeks. The goal is to keep the mold away as most of the homes are baking right now and will be a disaster when the power is back on. Docks are mostly gone and when they came apart they took whatever they could bash apart with them. I have managed to isolate and backfeed power into the house. The water pulled out by the ACs should be enough water to sustain our needs once I start collecting it. Today I hope to get some more basics taken care of and hopefully tonight I can relax and start resizing pictures to post them here.

A/C condensate may contain a lot of mold and pollen. I'd be careful about drinking it. I've had mold and lint/pollen block A/C evaporators here to the point air could not get through.

Not to worry, we have good drinking water. Best to be prepared as post storm even with water on quality may be questionable.