Lower Susquehanna River flood...(photos)

[travlineasy]

The hurricane pretty much left the marina where my boat is moored, unscathed. However, three days of torrential rains that followed put the complex under several feet of muddy water. When the water finally receded it left 6 inches of brown ooze on the docks, sidewalks, lawns, and just about wiped out the swimming pool and bath-house. Here are a few photos taken from the nearby condos.









The only thing that saved the boats from the rising water was all those remaining in their slips had lengthened and doubled up the mooring lines for the hurricane a few days earlier. Consequently, the boats had sufficient line length to compensate for the 10-foot rise in water level.

Cheers,

Gary

[Faster]

yikes.... how long do they expect til it's back to 'normal'?

[bgeddes]

The flood was over the summer, early September I think.

Our boat was on the lake, although it was 12' higher than the normal level, it was no worst for wear when things receded.

[T37Chef]

Amazing...

I cant even begin to comprehend how much crap got washed down the bay and out...sad.

Glad you made it through, no damage?

[travlineasy]

Most of the marina has been repaired, the swimming pool is still a disaster, but the worst part is the mud deposited in the slips makes it nearly impossible to get in or out of the slips during low tide. The marina owners have obtained permits to dredge, but this is a very expensive proposition and in this economy it's probably not going to happen for a long time. If, however, a good storm rolls through this winter it could was out some of the mid.

The volume of debris washed down Chesapeake Bay was beyond anyone's wildest imagination. Logs the size of telephone polls, huge trees, 55-gallon drums, parts of buildings, and loads of plastics surged down the river for two weeks. It made sailing anywhere above the Bay Bridges a risky voyage at best. Fortunately, most of this stuff has either washed ashore or sunk to the murky bottom. Unfortunately, if you look at Conowingo Lake, particularly just above Conowingo Dam on the west shore, there is about 5 acres of flotsam just waiting for the next storm to arrive.

Cheers,

Gary

[Dfok]

here are a few pictures and a short video from September, 2011 on the bay. A group of us sailed from Hances Point YC to the Magothy, Annapolis, Middle River and the Sassafras. The water was chocolate from the sediment, and the worst of the debris field seemed to be along the western shore.

Chesapeake Crossing.M4V - YouTube

[BubbleheadMd]

Yep, I went sailing in that mess from the Rhode River, just south of Annapolis. I passed a huge propane tank, probably for a whole-house emergency generator. I wanted to recover it, but I didn't have the gear or an extra set of hands.

The day I sailed, the wind was very light, causing me to use the engine. Whenever I would approach these long tendrils of sea grass that had been ripped from the bottom, I'd have to shut down to avoid wrapping the prop shaft. Eventually, I refused to risk running the engine and broke out my 170% drifter and managed to sail to my planned anchorage point in Annapolis.

Thank God for my Martec folding prop.