For some strange reason I always wanted to ride out a hurricane. Not a Cat 3+ but a nice small one would do. I had my chance on July 15, 2003. Hurricane Claudette was poised right off the coast at Port O'Connor. I had a dentist appointment that morning in Victoria but it was canceled. So it was decision time. Head home or head to my place on the coast.
I decided to go for it. After all it was only supposed to be a Cat 1. My barndo was on the Victoria Barge Canal approximately five miles north of Seadrift and pretty well due west of POC.
I had my boat in one bay and decided to put my tractor in the other bay of the shop. I had storm shutters on all the doors and windows.
Later in the morning the wind started picking up from the north. I wasn't expecting that figuring it would come from a southernly direction. Everything was still going smoothly. Then the wind started getting really intense and whenever there was a gust the building would shake.
Then it really picked up. Next thing I know a banging noise starts. I opened the door to the shop part and both of the overhead garage doors were sucked out of their channels. Oh crap! I hoped in the tractor and was able to get it turned around. During a slight lull I was able to pin the one nearest the living quarters to the slab with the front end loader. The other one was whipping back and forth and beating the heck out of the t-top on my boat. Finally it sucked outside and flipped up on the roof knocking a hole in it.
By that time the lights would go out and then come back on. Then they went out for good. Water was pouring in the shop and I was trying to keep it out of the downstairs living quarters. I secured everything as well as possible and went back in the living quarters to ride it out. When I opened one of the storm shutters I saw one of the garage doors sail by for parts unknown. Never found it.
The storm lasted three hours or so and then the eye passed right over the top of me. Everything got calm. Birds started singing and hogs came out in the pasture and started rooting. This lasted for about 45 minutes or so and then the wind picked up again. This time from the Southeast. Not near as strong and it didn't last more than an hour or so.
So I got to scratch that one off the bucket list. It was exciting and I'm glad I did it. I'd have to have a compelling reason to do another one. But sometimes you gotta live a little on the edge to really enjoy life.
I decided to go for it. After all it was only supposed to be a Cat 1. My barndo was on the Victoria Barge Canal approximately five miles north of Seadrift and pretty well due west of POC.
I had my boat in one bay and decided to put my tractor in the other bay of the shop. I had storm shutters on all the doors and windows.
Later in the morning the wind started picking up from the north. I wasn't expecting that figuring it would come from a southernly direction. Everything was still going smoothly. Then the wind started getting really intense and whenever there was a gust the building would shake.
Then it really picked up. Next thing I know a banging noise starts. I opened the door to the shop part and both of the overhead garage doors were sucked out of their channels. Oh crap! I hoped in the tractor and was able to get it turned around. During a slight lull I was able to pin the one nearest the living quarters to the slab with the front end loader. The other one was whipping back and forth and beating the heck out of the t-top on my boat. Finally it sucked outside and flipped up on the roof knocking a hole in it.
By that time the lights would go out and then come back on. Then they went out for good. Water was pouring in the shop and I was trying to keep it out of the downstairs living quarters. I secured everything as well as possible and went back in the living quarters to ride it out. When I opened one of the storm shutters I saw one of the garage doors sail by for parts unknown. Never found it.
The storm lasted three hours or so and then the eye passed right over the top of me. Everything got calm. Birds started singing and hogs came out in the pasture and started rooting. This lasted for about 45 minutes or so and then the wind picked up again. This time from the Southeast. Not near as strong and it didn't last more than an hour or so.
So I got to scratch that one off the bucket list. It was exciting and I'm glad I did it. I'd have to have a compelling reason to do another one. But sometimes you gotta live a little on the edge to really enjoy life.
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