Titusville - we get 46 mph winds!

Three boats dragged ashore here

We were awaken during the night to increasing winds and a severe rocking of the boat, around 4:00 am. When I peeked out at the wind gauge, it read 35 kts! We were tied securely since we had experienced an earlier high wind condition during the week but not this much! Let me tell you from personal experience that there's a world of difference between 30 kts of wind and 40 kts of wind! 30 may sound like a lot but it's nothing compared to 40! Humm, I seem to  be using the exclamation mark a lot, but it sounds right. One must remember that the force exerted by the wind is proportional to the square of the speed. So 46 mph (the top gust we saw, equal to 40 kts) exerts twice as much force on the boat as a 32 mph gust. Let me tell you, that's a BIG difference!

Another boat hit the rocks nearby

The problem we saw today was that it wasn't just a short lived thunderstorm or line storm, the 35 to 40 mph winds lasted all day long. The Titusville crew was kept busy adjusting lines and putting in fenders to cushion boats. Almost nobody was prepared for such winds. They were not predicted by the weather service (to top out at 30 mph, ha!). Needless to say, nobody left the marina today but there were four boats that dragged into the rocks by the marina. Their ground tackle couldn't handle the winds. None of the boats on the mooring were affected, they have massive ground tackle for the boats to secure to. Plus, they have anchors that screw into the bottom, they are not moving.

The palm tree wa sin hurricane mode - all fronds to the left

The boat was moving around so much that it was not possible to do much of anything in the boat. I mainly just read some and took photos and helped other boaters secure their boats. Invariably, the lines get stretched and need readjustment. We found the rubber mooring shock absorbers to be invaluable in such conditions. The shock absorbing characteristics quiet the boat motion at lot.

And some hardy souls spent the day on a mooring.

Today we were thankful for the massive pilings and over built construction of the docks, I guess they knew what they were about when the original marina was constructed. We'll hope for a better day Thursday.