Set to arrive just about the same date as KATRINA

Here we go again. I will start this one ahead of time. Let's hope this one does not hit us direct. Spent the day prepareing for this one. Helping others with boats and even houseboats. Plans are I am (NOT) leaving. Buddy and Sushi, our 2 cats, and I will be fine. We are inside the levee protection system. Jo-ann was up at our camper that we use for evacuations with our grandson but because it is not anchored to the ground I did not want her to stay there. She is going to be in Houston at our daughter's condo with the grandson and 3 dogs.

3 boats from Venice will be moved up to my place and at least one captain will be staying with me. This is the first visitor in place and 4 of the 6 tires are already chocked.



My boats will be locked inside the steel building. A lot of the fishing gear will be in there. Most of my stuff is in the pipe racks along the wall. The rest, leaning, is others property.





In order to move all this out we would have to make several trips. When they decide "MANDATORY EVACUATION" the road in is closed and nobody will be allowed back in. Tomorrow morning there will be a lot of money here for safe keeping so we will be here with it. Some of the neighbors are also staying and I offered my place if wanted because ours is heavier, each side was 62 tons, and it is anchored directly to the old house foundation as opposed to anchors into the dirt. With all the rain we have been having the ground is over saturated. We have 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms so there is plenty of room if needed.

I anchored the gas tank today just as some extra security.



The boat harbor is filling up with all the boats from Venice and Buras. I will take some storm prep pictures tomorrow and keep all of you informed. Till then:

Life is Good!

Well seasoned now Hoop...good luck, be safe and an extra helping of prayers coming your way.

Good Luck Hoop.

No matter what - stay safe !

Good Luck Hoop, we'll all be praying for you down there.
Be safe.

Good luck and be safe Hoop !

Hoop, stay safe!

Hoop, Did you always have that gas tank?

Good luck with the storm.

we'll be thinking of you Larry

Just saw on the news that they are looking at a potential 20" of rain and it is headed right at New Orleans. I sure hope they are wrong for your sake Hoop.

Hang in there Hoop and stay safe.

Wishing you the best of luck and sending a few prayers your way as well.

Hoop, no offense, but your state is really raising insurance rates and draining the FEMA money

Good luck buddy. Stay safe.

Good Luck Sir, will be waiting for first post after. Think about lashing over the roof of your metal Building. Good Luck and God Bless

Sailors delight ?

Good luck, Hoop ! You're locked down best you can be !

Not worried about the smaller metal building. It is in an area that is somewhat protected. The large blue metal shed is a fortress (I HOPE!)

Keep checking. I will keep you posted. Hunkerd down with nothing to do.

Winds were 40 mph at midnight. 8:00 am and just put on coffee. On and off sleep listening to wind. Blowing a lot harder now. Capt. John was here late last night. We were planning to take a top off the Cougar this morning but that may not happen. Out side of the only 2 trees I have remaining after Katrina there is nothing within 100 feet of my house. Both trees are near the house but not very big. If they did break and hit house I would not expect much damage. The power grid is all new after katrina so there is a chance we may not loose power here unless locally. If I go out it will most likely be by foot. Not smart to take the truck for a ride and have a tree or power line block you from getting back to the house. Thanks to Katrina there are very few trees and the ones remaining have mostly new growth. Hack berry trees rot in the middle and fall on a regular basis. Only ones on my property are one out front, with a lot of bad spots that I hope will come down, and way in back on what I call the hill.



Going to cook up breakfast. Will keep you posted.

Thanks for the consern and calls. Just making breakfast and already had 3 calls. 1 from the wife as expected.

Life is Good!

Be Safe Hoop, we'll be standing by waiting to hear from you
after the worst is over.

1:00 afternoon. Winds getting higher. Lichts flickering occasionaly. 11 more hours before storm passes. Hope it moves a little faster. Reminds me of Cindy. Was planning to take a walk in the hood but almost impossable at this time.

Life is STILL Good!

Sunny and nice here in CT clean your boat .Good luck
the other capt Hoop

Definitely getting sporty down there from what the news goofballs live in NO are showing

You and Jo be safe, along with your family and neighbors. Best wishes bud!

Thoughts and prayers go out to you, your friends, and family Capt Hoop. I hope this passes quickly with very little damage....

Good update ! Thanks, Kelly !

Thanks for the updates.

Hang in there Hoop!

good to here

This thing really needs to start moving, at the rate it's going it looks like it's about half over. There's going to be over two feet of rain in some spots before it's all said and done.

Good to hear.

A couple of pics Hoop sent me with his phone this afternoon - house in good shape!





Tree missed house and pool

The radar looks like Venice is still in a heavy downpour, but the storm has pulled some dry air into the circulation and it's just to their east. Fingers crossed...

Relieved to see this,I was worried when I heard about levees overtopped in Plaquemines Parish.

Been thinking about you two. Siera called me yesterday and the first thing she asked was if the storm was going to hit your house, concerned and remembering the pics you showed her.

Hope everything went well. I am sure you took care of things and helped others.

And, BTW - I don't think HOOP actually sleeps, I think he just sits down sometimes...

Jeremiah

He only sits to eat, drink a beer, or use the head.

Hoop, glad you made it without major loss. Still a huge headache I'm sure. Hopefully the clients will be able to drive to the end of the world again very soon!

Cleaning up is bad enough. Not being able to work sux.

Four months? And we thought the past two storms up here were bad.

Got a call from Hoop yesterday afternoon apparently the cell towers are working down around Venice he was out in the truck. A lot of debris on the road. He and a friend went fishing they got seven nice redfish in 20 minutes so they are eating well. He turned a hose on and got a little running water not enough pressure to make it to the house but that was encouraging. All the boats are full of fuel so there is plenty of fuel for the generators. He sounded like he's doing fine

Hi! It's Kelly Ann again.

Just spoke to Dad and here's an update on his progress.

Yesterday he got running water and today running water is back full power. Things are smelling much better around the house! HA!

Yesterday 76 utility trucks set up camp in his neighborhood. Today they started surveying the damage and straightening up damaged poles. The one in front of his house is cracked but is still strong enough to hold the line. Still don't have an eta on when power should be restored. But it's looking promising to be soon.


In typical Hoop/Dad fashion he's been working day and night helping neighbors and friends restore their property and even made some cash in the meantime. Gotta love him!! He sent me a great pic of his truck pull of equipment getting ready for "work". Rest assured there is a fishing pole in the pic as well. You never know when you'll be able to drop a line! I'm going to try to figure out how to post it. It really made me laugh.

He's eating like a king given all his friends freezers are thawing and need to eat it all before it goes bad! Shrimp pasta, blackened red fish potato salad, crab and corn bisque....all made from scratch of course.

Rest assured he's still saying "Life is Good" and keeping busier than ever. You'd never know the guy's 70!

Kel

Oh I did it. Here's the pic I was talking about. Does anyone remember Sanford & Son? Well this brings back memories of my childhood....that's exactly what my Dad's truck looked like as long as I can remember...he's come full circle!

Elizabeth I'm a comin. Love that tailgate decal Hoop.

Thanks for the info Kelly. I knew he would be a "man on a mission" doing the most he can. I reconize a couple pics....man !! I am going to give him a buzz...

I have been sending disaster equipment down like crazy the past week plus and have had to do so via "courier".. All regular shipping, tourism, travel, etc. has been shut down. It is pretty crazy..

The last picture of flooded area was in Venice area where a feeder band gave them 7 - 10 inches in about 2 hours. I was trying to drive in that mess.

First of all I want to thank all who wished us luck and prayers. Y'all are my insperation. I am thankfull I have friends like you.

It was an interesting experience to say the least. I will try to let you know how things went down here. The innitial storm was to be a tropical storm. We don't get nervous untill a cat 2 so I just took precautions and settled in. We lost power at 13:15 on the 28th. The rest of the area lost power on the 29th. The storm sat on us for about 3 days. My cat Buddy hid under the bed most of those 3 days. Both cats never got near the door to the screened in porch which is thier favorite place in the house.

I don't know if it was the first or second night but around midnight or 1:00 am I get a call that the water is splashing over the 18 foot levee in Buras across from the firehouse. I have my EPIRB attached to my life jacket and the cat carriers each had a life jacket attached to them. My truck was backed up th the Americat and all I had to do was pull it ahead and when the water came in I would cut the strap and run the boat as best I could untill I could beach it on a levee. The cats and I would then have to sit there untill rescue came. That senerieo never came.

The third day I took a ride to see what had happened. The rain was still hitting us but the wind had changed direction and was letting up.



Just down the street was part of a neighbor's porch blocking the road.



Across the road on a side street was a singlewide 70 footer that was never anchored down. It was flipped upside down and crushed.



Every where you looked camper trailors weather anchored or not were tossed around like twigs.



The power system was in shambles. I even had to pull a pole off the road with my truck to open it up. I teamed up with a young neighbor and we started removing debris and trees in order to make all roads accessable. I helped cover homes with tarps.



These cattle were roaming along Hwy 23 at Fort Jackson and 2 pit bulls were trying to attack them. I would have interviened but the cattle were doing quite well. There were a lot of people that left pets behind to fend for themselves. This is one thing I did not like at all. Most people could not get in for a week and several pets sat on vehicles or porches waiting for the owners to return. They got food and water as best they could.

I went 8 days before we had full running water. Flushed the toilet with water from the pool. Had a trickle of water, about 2 1/2 gals in 3 hours, so I could wash up each day. We were already under a water emergency because of saltwater in our drinking water before the storm. We did not have a police force for 4 or 5 days. The flooding north of us cut us off from the rest of the United States. Went 13 days without electricity. Just got land line phone today. Directv was scheduled for repair the 26th but after several days of calling I got it moved up to the 20th.

Several evenings I would take a break from doing something and wet a line off the side of the road. I was supplying many people with flounder and redfish. Got some nice park and cast honey holes.

Had a job for the last 2 days salvaging a steel long line boat. It hit the rocks at southwest pass and sank in 10 minutes This was not storm related. Do not know the story but 3 people were heloed out by the coast guard.



After the CG had all the fuel removed the owner never came to claim it so the CG gave the order to cut it loose. It is in very shallow water. After 2 days of hard work there it sits.



For this job I ran this boat bringing people and supplies to the work barge. I also set out boom and even pushed the barge when asked to move it againsr the wind and currant.



The boat I ran was called Miss Joanne.



Today was my first day offshore again. We hit some shrimp boats. Only a few dragging nets and not in good water. Marked some fish but could not get anything to bite. Did manage 3 blackfin before giving up. Had a lot of bonito and skippies for action. Dropped for amberjack and quickly limited out on them. Went looking for cobia on the way in and lost a good one at the boat. Spit the hook. Did get a nasty bluefish about 5 pounds and had a jig stollen by a kingfish. Same people tomorrow. Should do better.



Things are starting to get back to normal-------Not So Fast!!!!

On the way home my belt on the truck breaks. Made it into the yard with no brakes, no steering, etc. NO FISHING for me. Have to bum a ride to town and get a belt for the truck. Town is only 55-60 miles away.

Just another bump in the road. Would not trade it for any other place.

Have a lot of interesting pictures on my phone and some vidio but do not know how to download it.

Life is Good!

Glad your safe Hoop and life is getting back to normal for you.

Had to make 3 trips to town today just because of truck issues. Had the right part but dur to lack of knowledge went back and changed it for another that did not fit. Realising my blunder I went back and got the right one. On the way up I took some interesting pictures of the conditions as they are today still.



Myrtle grove marina boat sheds took a big hit.



Things have to dry out before repair can begin.





Ones that survived were moved to undamaged pastures near by and are being cared for.



Snow melts, this don't. As it rots the smell hangs around.



Utility work still going on.



Boats On side of road and piled in debris in the medium.



many animals still getting hit. 3 cows and an elk 2 nights ago. 3 gators last night. This one was not small. Live 50-60 years, survive massive hurricanes and get killed crossing the road looking for a new home. Sad if you think about it.



Lots of cars and trucks. This one had the windshield blown out.



I know people that lived in this neighborhood. It got hit very hard. The white trailor on the left had the whole first foot of wall ripped out and everything got destroyed. The rest of the neighborhood is covered in 8-12 inches of stinking gooey mud. All the trailors and other buildings got damaged and leaked. With people not able to get back for several days the water was allowed to seep and grow mold. Severe damage to a lot of places down here. Many unlivable and totaled.



Another friends home. The water came in fast and was up to his waist before he could move his fleet of trucks up the levee in back. He lost home and trucking business.



Areas that have been cleaned up already. That green wall you see was a barrier of sand filled hesco baskets that was put there to protect this area from flooding. they never had a chance with this water. Many areas were pushed across the four lane highway and into the woods with the sand still in them.



Places that were well built and did not flood still had extensive damage.



Had a waterspout across the river this afternoon.



Ended the day with the cruise ship sailing without me again.

Life is Good!

Glad your domain held up good Hoop. Good quality test hurricane on the new barn/garage along with your home. Hope to see you soon! Dave say Hi too!

cool Pics Larry!!! thanks for posting,...yal been getting the sh!t end of the stick lately.......

d your safe and doing well. Looks like a big big mess down there. Interesting is we do not here much about it up hear. Glad life is still good.