It happened one night



Scenes from the dock walk the morning after

 Tropical Storm Irene arrived on Puerto Rico about 20 miles southwest of us. As she crossed the island she was upgraded to a hurricane with sustained 70 – 75 knot winds. At the marina we saw 50 knot winds. Troubadour's injuries were the human equivalent of minor cuts and bruises.

In the darkness of night we couldn’t see the damages. But in the morning we found we had broken the castings on two chocks, and lost a roller from a third chock; the port aft cleat wriggled loose; the port hull was splotched with black smudges from hitting the dock (it looks worse than it is), and in the end, we had snapped three double braid Dacron ¾ inch lines.  Moments before the starboard amidships line snapped we jerked hard and Troubadour smashed into the dock. The fiberglass hull flexed in with enough force to knock the bookshelf above the settee inside the boat out of its support screws separating it from the bulkhead/wall.  

Troubadour sustained damage to three roller chocks
 and an inside bookshelf, as well as suffering through many scuff marks on the hull.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friends and family still in the path of this terrible storm.