... and I don’t mean for the most excellent waves we just had.  Or for getting these photos even.  I mean for that upper-level wind shear that helped collapse Irene’s eyewall the last day before land fall across North Carolina.  Huge.  That was some very hot ocean she was feeding from and the potential for her to gain power that last day had me fearing for the worst.  Yeah, the loss of life, the destruction and pain would have been so much worse but for that single most excellent event. 

    Still, the locals on Hatteras have never seen a flood like that.  Not one but two new inlets.  One up at the Pea Island Refuge station and the other at Mirlo Beach at the north end of Rodanthe.  Maybe a road again in a month or so.  The ferries are running but only essential inbound traffic.  The place is a disaster.  The Hatteras Island Surf Shop grounds were swept clean.  The decks and stairs are gone, the boats skattered, ....

    So there was about a three hour calm in the middle of the storm and apparently, a lot of the people there even thought it was over.  The water was blown out of the sound as far as the eye could see.  When the wind switched the water all came back and flooded up to the floor of the Avon Sail House to give you an idea how it was down in Avon. 

    I’ve been trying not to hassle my friends back east for news because I know how much work it is coming back from these things but wow.  And the contest is stuffed.  Sam’s event insurance doesn’t cover hurricanes either so she’ll have to eat a lot of the investment in that stop of the tour. 

    There’s a lot more news but there’s supposed to be south swell tomorrow so I better get some sleep.  Still, wanted to share some of this for now and I’ll have more as soon as I can pull it off.  

    Pretty radical.  Seems like that’s what we’re in for.   All the more reason to live each day like the foolish squirrel.