Lockwood Marina, Raritan River, New Jersey

With much deliberation and help from our knowledgable friends and locals, we decided to get the boat hauled out.  We had originally planned to do this, anyway, since we had our watermaker shipped to Corbet and Robin's house in Bradley Beach.  We met the Monicas in Rum Cay, Bahamas.  Wade's brother, Leigh,  said that we must have a homing device planted on us since Hurricane Irene seemed to follow our trail from the Bahamas all the way up the East Coast precisely landing in each and every location that we had just visited or passed by.
We worked hard stripping the boat and dismanteling the 5 solar panels which just fit through the companionway and into our boat.  Wade had to take off the sails and the forestay (and then later put it back on), chart plotter and bimini and we had to stow everything away and tie everything down.

Well, then we took refuge with Robin and Corbett who took in all the strays.  We defied all odds and barbequed on the front porch, had a Hurricane Feast along with Pete's Beach Juice which gave us the courage to bring on the Catagory 4.  

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!  Irene!!!!!!!!

(overdramatization just like the news)

Well, the Catagory 4 turned into a Catagory 1 which seemed like the average Tropical Storm encountered almost daily in the rainy season in Costa Rica. But there were gusts around 68 mph and there were, sadly, deaths due to falling trees.  But it was nothing compared to snow storms endured in Canada.  So Wade and I survived our first hurricane!  I even went surfing the next day!

BRADLEY BEACH