To my surprise, Sandy turned out to be something of a non-event for me and my family here in a Washington, DC suburb. Lots of rain, lots of wind but no damage to our house or cars. For a time late Monday I had genuine concerns about whether the large trees in our back yard would remain standing. I was actually thankful for nightfall when I could no longer see how badly the trees were being whipped around. Daybreak found a few limbs on the ground but nothing worse. We lost electrical power for about 18 hours and my office closed down for two days. We were lucky. New Jersey and New York City took the worst of it by far.
I spent part of the day Saturday aboard SS JOHN W BROWN in Baltimore, helping to put out steel cable mooring lines, lowering one anchor, and removing or tying down anything blow-able on deck. The center of Sandy ended up passing just north of Baltimore but I'm confident the ship handled the situation just fine. The ship survived Hurricane Irene a year ago while on the blocks in drydock so hurricanes are old hat for her by now.
My daughter, attending college in Norfolk, saw much more rain and much higher winds than we did, but rode it out safe and sound in her sturdy dormitory. The college never lost electrical power. At the naval base not far from the college, the fleet put to sea in advance of the hurricane.
Thanks again for checking.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
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