S/V WAHOO: Back to New Orleans

Photos show what we like best about sailing!

Favorites are Colorful fishies and

With Isaac becoming a realty and Roy put on "Standby" we realized our plans had to change. Instead of hauling Wahoo out of the water and securing her "on the hard" at Abel's Boat Yard in Rio Dulce, we decided to leave her at Mario's Marina where we were staying. Marco, the manager will have her checked weekly, run the various systems, keep her aired out and cleaned. This relieved a lot of scheduling problems and allowed us to change our flight reservations from 9/11 to 8/29 (what's going on with those dates!!). Actually the most difficult (read expensive) part of this was arranging for Galnoir, our cat, to fly with us. Got it all done and flew out of Guatemala City on August 29, which as everyone knows is now as famous a date to New Orleanians as Mardi Gras or Super Sunday. We were booked to Houston then on to New Orleans. Naturally, that last portion of our trip was canceled. So here we are in Houston visiting with John Edward and Laura. Nice!

Tropical Islands and

Outdoor Markets and

Dinner Aboard and

We've spent the morning getting in touch with friends and family. Seems for New Orleans the big problem is no electricity. Much, much better then 7 years ago. Everyone there is a little sick of the advice "to hunker down" but prefer it to "run for your life". Mostly the new levees and pumps worked as planned though the one at the 17th St canal needed to be started manually. The real story was outside of the city.

Overtopping of the levee in lower Plaquemines near Braithwaithe offers a little too much déjà vu with about 25 folks in attics and stranded on levees. But this was an isolated incident and lots of resources were available to help. The northshore is in danger of seriously rising waters from the plethora of rivers swollen from all the rain.

Havana street scenes and

Family and

Old Friends coming to visit and

New Friends along the way and

Saddest of all is our old hometown of Lafitte, once again inundated by floods. Why should something called the "cost-benefit ratio" doom an area nearly as old as New Orleans. The people here epitomize what America is supposed to be and the values being enshrined over in Tampa right this minute. The bayou people have a history of family, morals and hard work. They have risen from the flood waters over and over since 1985 when Hurricane Juan flooded them For the FIRST TIME! And don't get me started on the "why don't those people evacuate" dribble that's on TV. I hear "if they would just leave I wouldn't have to hear this and allow the human part of me to worry". How's about - once you leave you can't act to preserve your home when dangers you didn't envision arise, once out they won't let you back in, plus how far and how soon must you go!! Let me stop as this rant can go on and on.