Hurricane Michael- The Power of Mother Nature

Hurricane Michael Tore up Florida

Trees were knocked over like this for miles and miles

Hurricane Michael left a wake of destruction in its path. We have been thinking for a while now that it would be great to buy a waterfront lot. We wanted one that would have a canal or place to park the boat. Frankly, with the price of property in Florida and the cost of slip rent, we started thinking that in about five to eight years of slip rent, we may be better off buying a lot.

Hurricane Michael property for sale

There are a lot of variables that go into a decision like this. For one is will the property or area allow us to live aboard if you don’t put a house on the property. And could we put a garage without a house on the property, etc?

This was a weekend that we decided to head over toward Panama City Florida area and see if there is a good deal to be had given Hurricane Micahel had just hit. I figured there would be quite a few listing of people who had either damage or losses to their house. Some will have collected the insurance money and wanted to get out of the area. So that was our plan. Head to Florida for the weekend and check out some properties that may have ‘some’ damage from Hurricane Michael.

The property Search – Round 1

This was one of the waterfront places we looked at. It is right on St. Andrews Bay, but will require a complete demolish and a new dock (you can see the old one in the background). I don’t think I am up for the work

We looked at a half dozen or so. The first good learning is that realtors rarely know much about water and water navigation. The number of listing we saw that said: “Deepwater sailboat access to the Gulf” was upwards of 20-40 listings. When we looked at the nautical charts, 98% of them were either in 3 feet of water or a narrow channel that was not dredged. Many were on the wrong side of a fixed bridge. In most cases, those bridges were 30-50 feet in vertical clearance and won’t work for us. There is a lot of extra things to sift through when considering waterfront property for a boat our size.

Moved by the damage

When we got to Florida, I was a bit overcome with just how devastated the area was even 2 months after the hurricane Michael. The sheer force of nature snapped forests of trees. Hurricane Michael destroyed buildings and homes and piled boats up like discarded toys. It was completly depressing. We still looked at houses, but frankly felt guilty the whole time doing so.

Pride amidst Devatation

Panama City Damage from Hurricane Michael — It was sobering to see the damage, this is out the car window driving down highway 98 and it is EVERYWHERE. This is not being selective to find the worst picture in the bunch.

Boat work continues

After the sobering visit to Florida we returned to the boat to continue with the epoxy work on the exterior that needed to be completed.

Varnish Work

Deb turned her attention to the varnishing down below. After final sanding and preparing of the surface, she applied 2 coats of satin finish varnish down below. She also opted to stain the banister and railing between the galley and salon a dark (almost black) color. It will have to grow on me a bit. Deb has never let me down over the years with her vision of color, paint and finish. She has suprised me in our home and now on our boat.

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