Tropical Storm Ian is going to thankfully move off the coast but the wind field is humongous. We’re not counting our chickens before they’re hatched but the storm track looks a lot better now than it did a few days ago.
We expect storm surge (4-6 feet source NHC, 1-3 feet Glynn County EMC) and it will likely take out my terrestrial internet and power (junction boxes are about a foot above sea level). Satellite won’t work well when squalls blow through. The local cell phones will switch over to emergency traffic only when flooding begins. Solar isn’t available (it’s dark out!). We expect 7-8 inches an hour of rain at the peak.
The Brunswick Landing Marina has done a lot to prepare for the worst case. Eoti is spider webbed to the dock with many lines, and we have 17 large fenders hanging to cushion the boat like bubble wrap. We have water, food, and fuel for two months. We live on our own personal ark so mainly just uncomfortable as long as we don’t float off the pilings.
We expect some sad news in the next few days. The Fort Myers, Naples and Tampa cruising (Live Aboard) communities appear to have been decimated.
Every chart for Florida will be inaccurate for a long time. The storm is going to move a lot of sand around and channels, canals, and the AICW itself is going to be dramatically impacted. Making water with the water maker is going to be difficult as the petroleum fuels spilled in to the water will be significant. The debris fields in the Atlantic with everything from lumber to houses floating around will be epic.