Author Topic: Hurricane Harvey discussion  (Read 2994 times)

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Offline Jstx

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Hurricane Harvey discussion
« on: August 31, 2017, 06:01:38 PM »
This Hurricane Harvey SOB deserves it's own thread.

Harvey was on my tail since last week.
Made a trip to Rockport, TX midweek to secure the boat, which is/was(?) in a Rockport marina. Y'all have probably seen news (drone) video of that very same place. I'll put some before and after pictures below.

Stayed as long as I thought prudent, with a margin to drive out (NW) safely, back home (100mi, Harvey's diameter was 300mi+) without finding a flooded road or three. Even that got hairy, haven't seen rain like that in a long while, plus some buffeting cross winds.
Did this when the NHC forecasts, tracks, and discussions converged near Corpus Christi and didn't budge much.
The early likely's showed a probable landfall down near Baffin Bay, which isn't too far away, and puts the Live Oak Peninsula where Rockport, Fulton, Aransas Pass are, on the right front quadrant.
Had been following Harvey very closely since it left Africa, like I do most of the cyclones all over. Hoped it would do something else, but the track finally settled down on my homeport.

As the hurricane drew closer on Thursday 24Aug17,  I made my own prognosis/forecast (or personal decision) that Harvey was probably going to be at least a Category 3, maybe a Cat 4 or even 5 at landfall, contrary to what the media and even NHC were still projecting ATT.
Landfall also looked like it would make Rockport ground zero, which it did about twelve hours after I got outta Rock.

Spent some time there at the dock redoing the lines and adding new ones, securing everything possible, as best as possible. Only so much you can do when some of it is almost fifty feet up and the wind is howling.

When I decided late Thursday evening that Harvey was inevitable, and, IMO, was going to hit as a Category 3 or 4+, I shifted my strategy from just securing things, to saving what I could in the way of the most valuable gear aboard. From past experience I know pretty much what to expect and how much devastation one of these suckers can deal out.
Man, did I stuff my vehicle full of marine electronics, an extensive suite of (very $$$$) bulky sails, and about everything else of value I had room for (and/or until I ran out of energy). The rest of the stuff would either survive or be lost.

By then it was past 0'dark-thirty Friday morning, and the rainbands, winds and lightning were ramping up pretty good. I kept advising some dockmates who lived aboard that they should leave, that it was going to be much worse than what they had heard elsewhere. Don't know what they did after I left, hope they are OK, good guys. The few pics and vids I've seen look awfully bad.
There were a large number of vessels hauled out and up on stands too in the various marinas, including some very (IMO) expensive yachts. It looked as if every boat on stands was knocked over, probably like dominoes.

I then took a drive around stormy Rockport, to get a look at one of my favorite places...and when conditions were clearly deteriorating (and I saw TV trucks rolling in), I headed home.
So, Hurricane Harvey then more or less followed me home for a while, getting as close as about thirty+ miles away to the east (as a weakened Tropical Storm), bringing some serious winds, but luckily only about 3.5" of rain over a long period. My Wunderground data shows it. So been kind of busy.

So, here are a few pictures. Hope to post more NOAA radar and sat loops (I 'snapped' a bunch of them online), and NHC text later.

Hoping y'all will delve into a discussion on the whys and wherefores of Hurricane Harvey in particular. I'm sure that the NHC is going to study this one in detail, it was a bear. I figured it would probably be the most expensive US storm ever.
Thoughts and condolences to the many others much worse off than me from Harvey.


Rockport's Cove Harbor N&S, multiple marinas, before Harvey:
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Cove Harbor aftermath (slightly diff angle...got another one similar, have to find it):
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Harvey's bullseye on Rockport and the Live Oak Peninsula:
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Downtown Rockport Thursday, before Harvey:
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Not mine (I hope):
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« Last Edit: August 31, 2017, 06:13:26 PM by Jstx »

Offline Sooner Al

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2017, 08:29:00 PM »
Saw a photo of Charlotte Plummers in Fulton but could not tell how much damage they had. Curious about Paradise Key restaurant in your marina. One of our favorite places in Rockport. If you get back there soon we're also curious about the Laguna Reef Condominiums at the corner of S Austin and E James...
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Offline Glenn

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2017, 08:13:43 AM »
Thanks for posting the writeup and pics Jstx. Hope things are ok with your boat and that your dockmates were able to ride things out without incident.
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Offline Jstx

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2017, 11:38:55 AM »
Saw a photo of Charlotte Plummers in Fulton but could not tell how much damage they had. Curious about Paradise Key restaurant in your marina. One of our favorite places in Rockport. If you get back there soon we're also curious about the Laguna Reef Condominiums at the corner of S Austin and E James...

Al,
Saw something online (Wednesday?) that C Plummers had survived, had power, and was waiting on water to reopen.
P Key on the corner of Hwy 35 and N Cove Harbor, or the restaurant at the boat ramp? (I never pay much attention to names). I suspect both are heavily damaged, there is some drone video of the Cove Harbor that might show it. One video pans up Hwy 35 north and turns over to the destroyed drystack buildings, that corner restaurant might be in frame.
I am going to get down there soon, last I heard it was still closed off, although as a part-time resident I might get in.

Your cited apartments might be in this pic past the center right.
The apartments near center are heavily damaged, don't remember their name, but they are located at S. Church and E. 2nd or 3rd, just south of Austin and James, and just north of my marina.
I always drive by them going to downtown Rockport. I always turn onto S. Church/Loop 70, that pic of downtown above was taken at E. Market and looking up Austin (the main drag of 'old' downtown.
As I finished my early Friday morning tour of Rockport on my way back out of town (to Hwy 188), I passed those apartments (now destroyed?), it was around 0400-0430hr.
As I did a vehicle scooted out of that apt parking lot right in front of me and was driving real slow, you can't pass because it's just one lane and the S curve starts right there (I usually get T'ed off at that kind of thing, but not now). Anyway, it appeared to be a young couple, yakking away, and their car was stuffed with their 'stuff'; they clearly had decided to leave town.
The pictured apartments are also the ones I think that VP Pence, etc., held a photo-op, press conference at Thursday or Friday.
The San Antonio Ex-News and Corpus Caller-Times newspaper websites have had some articles on all this, with photo galleries (ahem); I haven't checked the Rockport Pilot website yet, dang it.

Anywhoo, zoom into the pic below and you may see 'your' place (I think I downsized the pic to fit better here, have a higher-res copy):

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« Last Edit: September 01, 2017, 11:49:16 AM by Jstx »

Offline Jstx

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2017, 12:00:29 PM »
Thanks for posting the writeup and pics Jstx. Hope things are ok with your boat and that your dockmates were able to ride things out without incident.

Thanks Glenn,
Hope to get back there soon, will take a bunch of pics for sure.
Hope my boat made it, but I saw some evidence that the storm surge was pretty high, so don't know if it was submerged at the dock (you have only so much dock line adjustments to play with on fixed or floating docks), or torn loose.
The dockmates were certainly not "without incident", I'm sure the dock was overtopped. I just hope tat they decided to leave before it was too late, the roads out were flooded. Pics and video of the aftermath I've seen show no vehicles where we park by the dock, so ??

Offline Sooner Al

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2017, 04:46:31 PM »
Laguna Reef condominiums are circled in red in the first photo. Paradise Key restaurant is circled in rec in the second photo. Good luck with your boat...

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Offline Jstx

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2017, 05:34:16 PM »
Laguna Reef condominiums are circled in red in the first photo. Paradise Key restaurant is circled in rec in the second photo. Good luck with your boat...

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I figured the condos were about there, there's a 'Pirate' condo/hotel named place nearby too; I think the addresses are on Waterfront street though. Your top pic, top of your red circle is right at the entrance to Rockport Harbor. That whole area south of downtown actually had few homes until the 10-15 years, when many 'beach-type' places went up; it was always subject to flooding.
Close to downtown too. Ever go to the "Latitude 28' 02" ? I'm always surprised that the old HEB building next to Rockport Harbor never seems to get reused for something.
I zoomed in on the destroyed apartments, man they got ripped, probably built to very minimal standards in an exposed location, total loss. When I drove by at 0'dark30 AM Friday there were few vehicles in the parking lot (usually full), so most had left-- a good thing for sure.

Rockport is/was a great place. Used to be such a small, nice place, then it exploded with growth, big box stores, the whole 'burb thing (as was South Padre Island once upon a time, my homebase before).

Only been in that restaurant once or twice, not much on spending $$ at restaurants. When I was going about my bidness with the sailboat nearby (the chithouse is nearby), I noticed that the place had left a bunch of strings of xmas-type lights hanging all over the porches and building, a really dumb move.
Have launched my Robalo center console offshore fish boat from that ramp next to it several times though. Never liked that ramp as it is quite steep for a big boat (even w/a 4WD), always use the one at Rockport Beach Park on Little Bay near downtown. Before I left somebody was hauling out a huge CC, about 35-40', with triple outboards, probably 900HP+, onto a huge trailer; it had been at the dock closest to the end of the drystack, they made a good move at the last minute....
The other restaurant on the corner is favored by locals.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2017, 05:42:08 PM by Jstx »

Offline Sooner Al

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Re: Hurricane Harvey discussion
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2017, 06:21:13 AM »
You might be referring to a place called Hunts Castle a few blocks north from the place we stay at towards the old downtown area. I saw a report that it had it's roof torn off.

FWIW we spend 3 1/2 months in SPI then go to Rockport for March to avoid the spring break crowds..
« Last Edit: September 02, 2017, 06:23:21 AM by Sooner Al »
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