By Kevin 

On our drive down to Florida, just after leaving the Smoky Mountains, we got news that tropical storm Isaac had formed and was possibly heading to south Florida. (Thanks for the news, Canadian family!) Unfortunately, this is also where we have Real Life berthed in Fort Lauderdale.  

(Just another day at my new office, Real Life‘s engine room.)

So, we knew we now needed to head down to Fort Lauderdale to secure the boat and prepare for our first big storm. We arrived about 4:00 PM on Thursday and quickly got a room at our favorite Holiday Inn Express on Commercial Blvd. The front desk clerk even recognized Jen and gave us a discounted upgrade to a suite. (Sweet!)

The next day and a half we spent getting the boat ready to meet Issac. We figured out how to drop the three sails, which are all equipped with roller furling gear. Although we’ve sailed on boats with similar gear, we’ve never had the need to do anything other than furl and unfurl! We learned that the trick is to WD-40 any screw or fastening before you try loosening it.

Next we cleared the deck of all the loose stuff. Diesel and gasoline canisters, canvas awnings, even the large bimini enclosure over the center cockpit. We left the dinghy and engine on the davits but secured it to the transom with an extra line, so it wouldn’t be blown or slammed against the boat.

(The whole crew pitched in before the storm clouds arrived.)

We tied down both anchors. We secured halyards so they wouldn’t flail in the wind. And, we added additional (new) 5/8″ double braid lines and fenders. Unfortunately the slip that we are in doesn’t have great pilings for securing aft spring lines but we made due.

In the end, according to a phone call from a neighboring sailor, it got sloppy during the storm but it didn’t do any damage. We’ve yet to see for ourselves and I’ll be anxious until we return to Fort Lauderdale in a week or two to check for ourselves.