bertram31.com

Wow. All I can say.

After writing off the boat - shock and surprise, Lil Bert, Tom's boat the Capt. Morgan, and the related Bert 35 - August Moon all survived with no visable damage. I had leaves in my cockpit, but she cranked up, and even the antena's (layed down) seemed fine. Had only three or four gallons of water in the bilge.

Boats on the north side of the little body of water (Clear Lake) got trashed. Out on the road, major damage. But the little marina we were using is looked great. Bit flooded, but otherwise just bimini damage.

My camp at the beach is likely history. Most of Houston is without power.

Tom is living off a generator, but seemed OK as of yesterday mid-day.

WOW! Great news! I was thinking about how much I enjoyed my fishing trip with you out of Port Eades at the UVI I attended. So much has changed in the last few years hasn't it.

Ernest-So glad to hear you guys are OK and that your boats have survived. Sorry about your beach house, but from what the media has shown us, you guys have fared well by comparison to the horror pictures being shown. Stay well and holler if there is anything any of us can do for you! Walter

WHEW!

Glad to hear you all made it through to the other side safely with no boat damage.

It's incrediable how much difference a mile or even a 1/4 of a mile makes in these storms.

Glad to hear that you are Okay......

Harry

Big relief. Sorry about the house, but heck, its something you can always rebuild even if it takes some time.

Glad to hear all the brethen in Tx survived Ike OK. As you never know what kind shit gonna happen with each hurricane as they are all different. Looks like everybody gonna be busy for while cleaning up. Believe me I know, Ivan waxed my ass good, I feel for yall!

Capt. Patrick did you get you some needed rain?

R,
DQ

Doug,

Glad to see you're up & about after your swan dive! Falls are no fun, but those sudden stops are a real bitch... Not a drop of rain.

Br,

Patrick

Thanks, Capt. Patrick,

I hear ya! Trying to type with two broke arms on percoset 7.5's is hard as hell, makes it a little easier, but having to get the wife to bathe, feed & wipe me is a little embarrsing but that's better than being in the hospital. She told me I'm only good for one more 911 call accident, after that she's gonna leave it with me.

Getting to watch the Blue Angels practice this morning, buzzing the roof top of the house, you always get a better show watching them practice @ home out on my back patio. It would be much better if I wasn't all broke up.

R,
DQ

Ernest and Tom,

Great news on your boats. Has anyone heard from the Trey and John Cranston?

Garry

Just talked to John Cranston on his cell. No power or internet at his house- no communication except his cell. Was headed down to see "Reel Cowboy",and check on Salvador. He got word that his boat was OK(maybe some cosmetic/paint damage). Will post when I get an update .
Kipp

My camp made it pretty damn good. Launched my wife's whaler in a ditch and went by boat to our camp the day after the storm. The bottom is wiped out. Measured 14 ft water line, our base flood elevation is 15 ft. It was close. Deck and pier are still there. Pier was so far under water it must have had no wave action. Got 3 boats in my driveway/yard and a Hummer in my boat slip. Some broken windows, torn roof and some interior water damage. Pretty confident I had the first, post Ike, Tiki Island cocktail. Damn sure I had the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. Didn't want my remaining ice to melt.

As soon as they let us on, I'll hook a generator up and a window shaker and start repairs.

I feel Ernest's camp is toast. Went by boat the same day to Bolivar, not much left but sand, dead cows, and dead rats. Galveston Yacht Basin is the same. What survived the fire is pretty much piled upon itself. Lots of big fancy boats that aren't going to sea again. Ran out of time to check on Trey's part of town.

Glad to hear you guy's are OK, I saw the BYB on TV first day and was amazed it "appeared" to be intact. The strange thing about Orange and Bridge City is that they look OK, BUT...5 ft of water will take a horrible toll on our area.

This video pretty much tells the story on Bolivar.

http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.ht ... 2706&shu=1

Here's a few shots of Koni Kai, western end of Bolivar faired better, also good shots of BYB & the Hynea, in Group 1 pictures.

http://phototexas.com/crystalbeach/

That video is sad.

Sat. photos suggest that maybe the camp lives. I can see what I think is my roof and the deck, they appear to be properly positioned on the land, so maybe it lives. Big maybe. Time will tell.

Scot, the water took a huge toll at BYB. No boats survived and everything below 14 ft is destroyed. My father has a home there and that's where we landed on Sunday.

It is amazing that there will be a row of houses completely destroyed and then there will be one that looks relatively intact (I am sure it is badly damaged too though).

My house had little damage, just limbs and trash. Camper flipped on nit's side again, but it's been there before. My property in the woods has some trees down, none hit the camper out there, but I won't be tending my feeders for awhile - until I cut up the trees down on the road.

Black Sheep climbed up on the dock to escape the storm surge, is sitting on a piling and two 2 x 12's, stern in the water. Had water in the cockpit, none I can see in the cabin or engine compartments. Probably going to take a crane to re-launch.

We`have no power, running off a generator, but have water, gas, and sewer.

Ernest, glad your boat was OK, I worried about it.

Hope the boats not hurt too bad Mike.
Here's a few shots from the Beaumont Enterprize Gallery. The Pleasure Island marina is toast. That's where my current boat stayed, and where the 25 "was" going. Although the piling are there, so maybe repairs can be made reasonably quickly.
The PI marina is in the Gallery. A friend of mine had a 31 FB there....hope he moved it.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/multi ... e_air.html

I'm lucky, no water, power came on yesterday and very little damage. Rita really culled our trees and 80% of us have 3 year old roofs here.

Ernest...was the 28 at BYB?
My buddies place in Koni Kai looks really good compared to most of Bolivar. A friend surveyed his place yesterday and everthing on the 1st floor gone (duh) No broken windows, the boat house & deck still intact, all shingles on the roof. Hip roofs fare much better than other configurations (duh again)

Capt Mike,
Glad you survived. Black Sheep will probably be fine. Stout ships those early expresses. Stern in the water? Fire up those Cummins and back her off. Time to fish!
Keep us posted pal.

Good to hear from you Mike! Glad it wasn't worse! If you had to have part in the water, I guess the stern is the best part! Good luck getting her relaunched!

Great news Mike. We were concerned about you and Cranston with your boats potentially outside the levy. Let me know if you need anything or if there is anything I can do.

Scot - Lil Bert a/k/a The Hyena exited the Bolivar Yacht Basin on Wed. before the storm. Thanks to Tom P. who turned me on to a good marina in Clear Lake with floating docks. But for that move, she would be history and her stewart jailed for invading Bolivar to determine her fate.

Mike,

Glad that you're safe and sound!

Br,

Patrick

Don't think there is enough of her in the water to back off, sitting at a pretty steep angle. Cabin door is jammed, can't get to the keys. Got lots of other stuff to take care of first, I'm afraid. The boat will be OK where it is, certrainly can't sink. Would like to left it off to make sure the hull and running gear are OK. Nopt supposed to get power back til next week or later, put a bigger generator in service today.

Hey Guys - Pam here

I am at a consulting gig and checked in for John and I. We are with out power and are in the extended grid - could be 2 weeks or more. Going on 5 days without power; but have generator - and the cool front is a blessing.

The Reel Cowboy and our place in Freeport came out of the storm without a scratch. If I had to start that boat over again I may develop a drinking problem. John already has one!

We hope all are doing well and if any one needs anything give us a shout on the cell phone - no computer or land line.

Thanks for all your support.

Pam
John - 713-906-0842

Pam,

Thanks for checking in & glad that you, John, & "Reel Cowboy" are fine. Hopefully the dog days of summer are over for the most part & you get electricity back soon.

Br,

Patrick

Ernest & Tom,

Rumors are everywhere about FEMA not allowing the rebuilding of Bolivar Pen, basically letting it return to it's natural state vs hundreds of millions to clean it up, which would be useless to all except feral hogs and rats. Are you guys hearing any of the same?

I can't see Galveston letting that tax base go without a fight?

Isn't there some legislation out there about not rebuilding coastal communities if they are blow away?

Would make a nice surf fishing reserve.

We got a bigger generator today, hooked it up, took a short nap, went to get more gas, came home and the power was on.

Mike, that is what I am betting on. I got a 135Kw gen today, but can't find the 4awg wire here in Houston to get the thing hooked up to the rest. looking in Dallas tonight? Have a friend setting up the fuel via another friend (125 gal a day) and the Cummins guy coming out in the AM to reconfigure the draw cuz I need 240 vs. the 208 it was set up for.......................... just another day on the Third Coast. But I bet when I have the last piece of the puzzle in place ....... the power will come back on!!




Still better than living north of I10. Sorry Brew. See Ya in a week I hope!!!!


Rob C

rob
i dont have any #4 600 v wire, i do have #8 triplex 600 v strand i could ship down to you, another opion is if you cant find what your looking for in dallas, stop by any line crew and ask them, coffee , water , beer , soda goes along way. tell them a lineman friend is asking for a favor

Scot - rumors abound. I have heard everything from 1000's dead on Bolivar to no rebuilding to massive grants to aid rebuilding. Not sure what the deal is going to be.

Some Ike victims may not be allowed to rebuild
By MICHAEL GRACZYK and CAIN BURDEAU – 11 hours ago

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Hundreds of people whose beachfront homes were wrecked by Hurricane Ike may be barred from rebuilding under a little-noticed Texas law. And even those whose houses were spared could end up seeing them condemned by the state.

Now here's the saltwater in the wound: It could be a year before the state tells these homeowners what they may or may not do.

Worse, if these homeowners do lose their beachfront property, they may get nothing in compensation from the state.

The reason: A 1959 law known as the Texas Open Beaches Act. Under the law, the strip of beach between the average high-tide line and the average low-tide line is considered public property, and it is illegal to build anything there.

Over the years, the state has repeatedly invoked the law to seize houses in cases where a storm eroded a beach so badly that a home was suddenly sitting on public property. The aftermath of Ike could see the biggest such use of the law in Texas history.

"I don't like it one bit," said Phillip Curtis, 58, a Dallas contractor who owns two homes — a $350,000 vacation home and a $200,000 rental — on Galveston Island's Jamaica Beach. "I think the state should allow us to try to save the houses. I don't appreciate the state telling people, `Now it belongs to us.' It breaks your heart."

The former state senator who wrote the law had little sympathy.

"We're talking about damn fools that have built houses on the edge of the sea for as long as man could remember and against every advice anyone has given," A.R. "Babe" Schwartz said.

Ike's 110 mph winds, storm surge of 12 feet and waves that measured as high as 26 feet obliterated the 4- to 6-foot dunes and redrew the tide lines along a broad stretch of the Texas Gulf Coast.

Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a Republican whose office is responsible for policing the beaches, said he saw hundreds of houses in jeopardy of being declared on the beach unlawfully as he flew over the coastline this week.

"And those are the ones still standing," he said. Other homes, he said, were reduced to pilings sticking up out of the sand or water.

Patterson said no decision on whether homeowners can continue living there would be made for at least a year, while authorities watch the ever-shifting boundaries of the beach.

"You want to have at least a complete all four seasons and find out what Mother Nature is actually going to do until she finishes what she's going to do," Patterson said.

That could put homeowners in a bind. Many may be afraid to spend money on home repairs if there is a chance the state is just going to condemn the property.

Those whose homes were destroyed can collect insurance. But it is unclear whether those whose undamaged homes are condemned under the Texas law will get any compensation, from the state or anyone else. Land Office spokesman Jim Suydam said the agency used to offer people up to $50,000 to move, but he didn't know if that fund still exists.

Rebuilding the eaten-away beaches does not appear to be an option. Schwartz said that the Gulf of Mexico does not deposit sand on Galveston Island and other nearby beaches, and that trucking in huge amounts of sand would not work, because storms would just wash it away within a year or two.

The law was enacted when there were far fewer houses on the Texas coast. In fact, there are lot more houses on the coast now than there were in 1983, during Hurricane Alicia, the last time the law was invoked against large numbers of homeowners. Many of the beach homes on Galveston and other nearby beaches are second homes, many of them rather modest.

Schwartz said the area's homeowners should not be surprised.

"Every one of them was warned of that in their earnest money contract, in the deed they received, in the title policy they bought," he said. "And whether you like it or not, neither the Constitution of the United States nor the state of Texas nor any law permits you to have a structure on state-owned property that's subject to the flow of the tide."

California and Oregon have similar laws.

State Rep. Craig Eiland, a Galveston Democrat, said he is not aware of any move in the Legislature to change the Open Beaches Act. And the track record for those who choose to fight the state in court is grim.

"No one has ever succesfully ever beaten the state when the state comes after you under the Open Beaches Act," said Charles Irvine, a Houston coastal law attorney. "But everyone still tries to think up innovative arguments."

Susan Holman, 60, of Dallas, owns a house with her brother on Pirate's Beach on Galveston Island. Her parents built it 25 years ago as a vacation home. The home is still intact, but the water's edge is now close, meaning the house might be seized.

"Until we know more, I'm not going to worry about something that hasn't happened," she said. But she added: "If that did happen, it would break our hearts."

Associated Press Writer Monica Rhor in Houston contributed to this report. Michael Graczyk reported from Houston.

cjw,
That was a great idea, but we found it in Dallas.
Thanks.

Ike victims

I prefer the term " Ike casualties". There is little honor, or self reliance in victim status and we're trying not to embraced here. We are all taking in the homeless as best we can, all 50,000 of them from Orange, Chambers, Jefferson county and the near by Louisiana Parishes of Cameron and Calcasieu. Practically everyone I know is helping others and thousands have someone coming to their house.

My house has turned into a make-shift gun restoration facility, I have close to 40 guns from friends and relatives that I'm tearing down and trying to save. 6 ft of salt water is hell on guns.

Found a 6 ft gator in my cousins yard yesterday....you guys know the outcome of that encounter. I have to admit they really are endangered species when they get in your front yard.

The floating coffins are really a sight, I told the wife to drill some holes in mine.

Micheal Chernoff(sp?) was in Orange yesterday...that's one individual you don't want to see on the local news!

After Rita, and now Ike, many have had it. I'm hearing folks talking about moving. I have to admit that if I didn't have a thing for the coast I would take off myself!

How's life in the hill country Capt Pat!

How's life in the hill country Capt Pat!

Quiet, moderate weather, a bit too dry, but nothing rusts away before your eyes, and almost never a storm to speak of, least of all a hurricane.

I could prpbably put up a casualty or two, but they'd have to be able to tollerate fiberglass dust & be willing to work on a boat restoration...

Keep up the good work, everybody needs neighbors like you.

Br,

Patrick

My little marina on Pleasure Island, Port Arthur, TX finally has phone service. The news is as bad as the pictures.

The first thing they asked me was "have you found your boat?" Thank God my boat was pulled 2 days prior to the storm. Basically the marina is totaled. The time frame to return is "1 -2 years". They are still looking for a friend of mine's 31 FB. No one has been able to contact him to see if he moved the boat...it's nowhere to be found. He has a history of letting the boat ride out the storms. I hope he moved it.

I told them to flag my account and slip, I want it back when they are back in operation. They requested no deposit, no fees, nothing. Their only concern was the condition of my boat and my home. Good people.
They insured me that I would be first on the list to be called when they could accept boats again.

I picked up some interesting IKE statistics:
>The air national guard search area was 6,000 sq miles.
>They passed out over 1,000,000 lbs of ice.
>The current damage estimates exceed 25 billion.
>160 miles of coast line recieved between 3 to 15ft of surge.
>Impact to the Louisiana fishing industry is 750M (Louisiana was 60 miles east of the eye land fall)
> Current death toll is around 30, with another 50 unaccounted for on the Bolivar Pen.