I have not been sailing for a couple of years, but this time of year I check the weather every couple of hours.

In August of 2017 Frank had a near miss when  Harvey hit Port Aransas/Rockport, just across the bay from Corpus Christi. I had considered using a marina in pretty Rockport, with wooden slips, but decided on the Corpus Christi Municipal Marina because it has floating, concrete slips which might offer better protection against hurricanes.

We were driving back from Atlanta when Steve, who has the lovely Halberg-Rassy 35 (Jupiter) parked next to Frank, texted me and asked if I needed him to prep Frank for “the storm”. What storm?? We were just across Texas border, headed to Austin, so I hung a left and headed to Corpus via Houston.

We took off Frank’s sails and dodgers, doubled the lines, and headed home. Frank survived. A week before, she had been out of the water across the bay at North Shore Boatworks where she would have taken a hit.

I have left the sails and dodgers off, as I am not planning to go anywhere soon: the bay is too shallow for a relaxed cruise and I am doing a leisurely refit.

Corpus Marina has a robodial warning system, and this week I had a call with a recorded message to check lines for “the storm”. I called: “Do you mean Isaac, which is a week away, or that “no-name” mess 95L which is just off the Yucatan peninsular?” The nice lady thought it was Isaac, which was headed in a straight line, instead of curving up towards the North West. But there were seven to choose from!

Storm season

As Florence sits atop the Carolinas, no-name is pouring rain onto Corpus. We have had lots of rain, so the rivers will be full, but the wind looks manageable:

Meanwhile, I am hoping that Isaac, which is now called “the remnants of Isaac”, stays down and dissipates somewhere near Jamaica. Hopefully, the weather gods will have their eyes on other places for the rest of the season.