Hurricane Michael vs Seawind 24

One month ago Hurricane Michael swept through Panama City causing massive destruction. Many people were caught out as the storm was forecast to be a tropical storm with a small chance of becoming a cat 1 or 2 hurricane. Twenty four hours before the storm struck it was upgraded to come ashore as a cat 3 but quickly decreasing after landfall. Low lying areas were under evacuation orders for the storm surge but most people decided to stay as only a 3 foot surge was expected.  Eight hours before its arrival the storm was upgraded to a strong cat 4 and in fact arrived only a couple of knots below a cat 5.

 The day before Hurricane Michael hit we spent a lot of time preparing the boat. We used 4 anchors, a concrete mooring with heavy chain, and we tied off to the shore. We also stowed our sails and cleared the decks and cranked the companionway hatches down with ratchet straps. The forecast was for easterly winds at 30 to 40 mph becoming north at 110 mph (actual was 116 with a max gust of 190 mph) which meant we had good protection from the land right where we were. We had done everything we could to secure the boat and left her while we headed out of town wondering whether we would ever see her again.

Our neighbor at anchor, a good friend, sent us a text early the following morning which read "My boat is gone, yours appears to be ok". This was both sad and exciting news at the same time. The reports of destruction were dire so we loaded up with supplies and headed back to Panama City.

The scene that greeted us on our way in was quite unbelievable, most of our town was now unrecognizable. It took hours to get through all emergency vehicle traffic on the only cleared road, and once we got off the main road we had to weave our way through fallen trees and under powerlines. 

The bayou the day before the storm and 2 days later

We could not get to the boat that night and ended up walking in early in the morning. Anxious to confirm that she was ok we went straight to a place on the bank where we could see her. Through fallen trees and heaps of broken branches, there she was, lying peacefully in calm water. We launched our dinghy which we had tied to trees on the shore and rowed over. One solar panel was gone, and there was about 2 inches of water in the right hull. One anchor shaft (1/2 inch steel plate)was bent 90 degrees. The rest looked fine and we later figured out that the water had come in through the composting toilet vent pipe which had popped off presumably from the force of the air blowing into the vent.

Our first glimpse of the boat through fallen trees

The marinas and boats probably took the biggest hit. Some, like the Panama City Marina, have been totally destroyed and the few boats left afloat are seriously damaged. In the bayou where we anchor, every boat at anchor except our Seawind was swept across the bay into a heap on the opposite shore. Many docks just collapsed, adding to the heap of boats. 

Panama City Marina completely destroyed

I made a short drone video of the Panama City Marina before and after the storm. Damage to Panama City Marina from Hurricane Michael

Panama City Marina before and after

This area has not had a hurricane of this magnitude before. There were lots of very large old oak, magnolia, and pine trees, most of which came down or were broken off. This of course brought down power lines and blocked almost every road for hundreds of square miles. A month later the area still looks devastated, only a few businesses have survived and most homes have become uninhabitable due either to the level of damage or mold from soaked insulation in roof and walls.

Our cute little town is now a mess.....

Next; I don't really know, Panama City is not so attractive anymore..... moving on seems more likely now. We'll have to see how we feel once this is cleared up.