My Katrina Story

By Bill Gray, WB5BNV

My story is not unique. Katrina has and is still affecting millions of lives directly and indirectly. Many lives have forever changed. Words will never be adequate to describe the suffering experienced by the hundreds of thousands of citizens of the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, nor are there words to describe the outpouring of help given to MS/LA from around the country. My Katrina Story is just one story of one person whose life has changed because of Katrina.

Our boat, Sans Fruscins, is a 1977 Columbia 8.7 meter. Sans Fruscins is the only boat my wife and I could ever agree on. Seaworthy, (my specs), and wide enough to dance below. (my wife’s specs).

Not being fluent in French, I have been told “Sans Fruscins” translates to “without a penny in my pocket”. That is a very apt description of where I stand on the ladder of boats and boating.

There is an old maritime custom that says when you step a mast you should place a coin under the mast for good luck. A friend of mine put a penny under his mast and I had to buy his boat so he would have money for medicine. He eventually died of cancer. I did not want that to happen to me. So when we bought Sans Fruscins we wanted a coin under the mast. We chose a French coin because of the French name. We bought the most expensive French coin we could find (or afford) and put it under the mast hoping it would bring good luck. Keep this coin in mind as my story progresses.

For 25 years we have had a sailboat on the MS/LA gulf coast. Down here if you care about your boat, when you tie up in a new marina, the first question you ask is “Where is the hurricane hole”. I am familiar with all the good spots from Mobile to New Orleans. The one hurricane hole that everyone thought best was Oak Harbor Marina, also known as Eden Isle Marina. Located on Interstate 10 East just as the bridge begins to cross Lake Pontchartrain, in Slidell La, Oak Harbor was built to hurricane specifications. Floating docks, thick concrete pilings, located in a deep lagoon, protected from the wind by condo’s, everyone felt safe there.

Then along came Katrina.

I was watching the hurricane forecasts and initially thought Katrina would go to Apalachicola. Then they forecast landfall somewhere on the northern gulf coast. At that point it was too late for me to go to the boat. I live 175 North of Oak Harbor, evacuation had already begun and I knew the roads would be jammed.. I prepared for the worst. I called our insurance company and told them to assign a claim number because I was sure I would be affected. As everyone else did, I watched the news, looked at satellite images on the web and told my friends that in my mind I had written off Sans Fruscins. No way she could survive. The picture I saw of Oak Harbor on the web was total devastation.

After Katrina passed I received a call from an adjuster who was working for our insurance company. He was in the area and went by the marina and called to tell me Sans Fruscins was floating. I told him, you must have the wrong boat! No way!. But he eventually convinced me he had the right boat and all was well. Except for the debris in the slip surrounding the boat she was fine. The only mishap was a spring line had parted which allowed the bow to climb the dock. There were wooden chips on the bow but the gel coat was not broken. Tough old boat. Remember the coin?

Pictures of the marina before and after Katrina can be seen on the outstanding web site:

http://www.jojamela.us/photos/displayimage.php?album=73&pos=19

http://www.jojamela.us/photos/displayimage.php?album=79&pos=45

San Fruscins, after Katrina, can be seen on that site at:

http://www.jojamela.us/photos/displayimage.php?album=76&pos=33

You will note the sail bag on the bow, main sail cover still on and the dodger still up. All this I would have removed had I been able to get to Slidell. Being friends with the boat next to me, we had previously double tied both boats in the middle of the slip. This kept the boats off the dock. His boat was not damaged either.

The Wednesday following the storm, I went to Slidell. The Eden Isle subdivision was apparently submerged during the storm. Boats were in the street, boats were trying to go down the interstate to New Orleans, boats were near the condo swimming pool. Destruction everywhere.

Our dock, dock 3, what I called the “poor folks” dock because it was for small boats, was the only dock in the marina that was not damaged or destroyed. Investigation revealed the dock had actually gone up and off of its pilings near Sans Fruscins and had miraculously come back down in the proper place on the pilings. This would indicate a tidal surge of at least 16 feet. Remember the coin?

Floating debris was everywhere. We tied off a refrigerator to keep it off our boat. There was a sunken shrimp boat just behind Sans Fruscins. Large pieces of lumber, 4x4’s, and 6x6’s, dock pilings, floating everywhere. At this point the debris was my main concern. I could visualize the damage that would be caused by the debris if a storm of any significance came in. Because the marina was making no effort to secure the debris or to clear it out, or to secure the loose boats, I told my insurance company of my concern. On my next trip to Slidell, a few days later, I found a sign on my boat, “XYZ Marine Services”. The insurance company had hired “XYZ” to remove our boat from the slip, take it to a boat yard on the western end of Lake Pontchartrain, inspect the hull and return the boat to us. On my next trip, I found San Fruscins tied in a raft up in the middle of the lagoon. At least it was away from most of the debris. I was told the reason she had not been taken to the boat yard was a minor discussion between the insurance companies as to who had salvage rights and who was to pay for the salvage of the boats in the marina. One of the salvage companies had even blocked the exit from the marina and that required the intervention of the local Sheriff.

Then there was Hurricane RITA.

When I eventually got to San Fruscins at the boat yard, I found that during Rita, one of the boats in the raft up was not tied properly, got free and commenced to damage everything in its path. There was evidence on San Fruscins that a bow had tried to climb in the cockpit, which broke a couple of stanchions and cracked the lens on the compass. So, now we have more damage to Sans Fruscins after the insurance company took charge than we did before!

The boatyard and the insurance company eventually released Sans Fruscins to me. In the mean time I had secured a slip in Bonfouca Marina, just west of Slidell.

The bayou leading to the marina and the slips in the marina were full of mud and grass, the piers and pilings were damaged. Every time the tide went out, I was on the ground. But at least it was a place to tie up

Going back and forth to Slidell to check on Sans Fruscins, viewing the devastation each trip, became very depressing for me, so I started looking for alternatives

We live 60 miles west of the Tenn-Tom waterway and at Demopolis AL they have a very nice marina and boat yard. We made the decision to truck Sans Fruscins to Demopolis.

Having never trucked a big boat before, this was a totally new experience. I was able to find a trucking company from Gulfport which was doing salvage work at Oak Harbor and they agreed to let one of their trucks take me to Demopolis. My regular boat yard in Slidell was destroyed by Katrina. The boat yard which was in operation was jammed packed with boats. Dealing with a boat yard during normal times is trying enough. But I managed to get her on the truck only 2 hours behind schedule.

Talking to the trucker, I agreed to stop at McDonalds in Picayune and buy lunch for us. He was to slow down, allow me to catch up and I would give him his lunch. When I got back on the interstate I called him on the CB. No answer. I called him on his cell, no answer. I then started calling the southbound truckers and asking if they had seen a sailboat going north on the Interstate. When I eventually got a report giving Sans Fruscins location, it was obvious he had not slowed down. In fact, he was slowly pulling away from me, headed for Demopolis. Sans Fruscins averaged 80 MPH on that run from Slidell to Demopolis. Remember the coin?

Finally, Sans Fruscins was in the water, 60 miles from my home, destined to become a riverboat and we were to become a river rats. Reasonable slip fees, (slip rent on the coast had doubled if you could find a slip!), very good boat yard, nice people, everything was in place. Until…they decided to raise their slip rent. Up 56% all at once. Not double but too much for me. This was the final straw. I took the coin off the boat, removed all of our personal items, and now have a FOR SALE sign on Sans Fruscins.

We have enjoyed the best of sailing conditions the Gulf Coast has had to offer. It will be many years before boating down south returns to normal. Now is the time for a change of direction. I have a small 21 foot trailerable that we will use until we are no longer able to sail.

As I wrote the above paragraph, the thought came to me. Should I have removed the coin? Or should I leave the coin on board her to continue to provide her with good luck?

Please let me know your opinion.

Bill Gray

Billfred5@aol.com