September 1, 2021 Wednesday

Eric came by in the morning in his power boat and picked up Sharon and took her to their house to visit for the day while I stayed aboard to work on the fuel tank project. With the serious weather coming in, Eric and I talked about moving Monarch up the creek and anchoring near the Quiet Waters Kayak Rental dock. A location that would be more protected and make it easier to pick Sharon up in the dinghy in case it gets too rough for Eric to bring her back up the river by boat and she could get back by car.

After I moved and re-anchored Monarch I went to work on the 1.5" rubber fill hose for the additional fuel tank. It was hot and humid and I as I struggled laying out the route for the hose, running up and down the companionway to make sure I had the angle right before I drilled a diagonal hole in the bottom of the lazarette. While I was struggling in the heat with the hose and drill, rain squalls started to roll in forcing me to shut the hatches and ports to keep the rain out. The marine radio weather alerts that had been alarming since yesterday with flash flood warnings now had severe thunderstorms and tornado watches.

After lunch the weather alerts were coming almost constantly as I continued to work while trying to keep track of the storm warnings. A warning came in for the South River very near me so I scrambled to get everything secure including the tools and supplies I had in the cockpit; caulking, screw drivers and a hammer, hose clamps, head lamp, hose, shop vacuum, drill bits and cordless drill. A weather alert reported a tornado was on the ground somewhere in the area and a thunderstorm that could produce a tornado was in Londontown which is just up the river from my location but was moving North-east away from me I hoped.

I called Sharon several times to see what her radar app was reporting but it was clear the time delay was too much to help me in this fast-moving situation. I turned on the boat's radar and was able to see the storms but not the intensity. I assumed the worst and braced for the next storm as the wind was gusting 20knots in this very protected creek. The rain became torrential but not a lot of close lightning. The worst had passed before I picked up Sharon at the kayak dock.

The weather alerts slowly came to an end and the storms that rolled through were just rain and an occasional burst of thunder. The worst of the remains of hurricane Ida had passed by four in the afternoon. Tomorrow is promising a cool north wind and clear skies.