TROP STORM BARRY

Another first – caught in a storm with a name. The morning we departed from Elliott Key we could see on the XM Weather that we were surrounded by a big storm. At that time of our departure, the report was calling it a tropical depression. The clouds on the satellite covered most of the state of Florida – there was no getting around it or waiting it out. We knew we were in for a really wet ride. The morning started out cloudy and spitting rain. The wind was still coming at us at about 25k, but an interesting change was occurring. The east wind that had followed us for the last week was now turning south. Uh-oh, we thought, the south is where all the tropical disturbances comes from. The rain increased until it became a blinding downpour. We traveled under motor alone, taking turns at the helm. Waves crashed violently over the bow and slapped against the dodger. Rain was blowing at every conceivable angle and we were completely soaked through – even my toes were waterlogged. When we got to Riddenbacker bridge we couldn’t see which spans the channel went through and had to blindly rely on our chart plotter. The sight of Bayside Miamarina was very comforting, and we were glad to be safely tied to a dock while Barry passed overhead.