First the sharks, then the flood, then the (not really) thief

[smokeythecat]

So...Megalodon and I went down to Calvert Cliffs, MD to look for sharks' teeth. We took my new little boat for the trip. Weather was perfect in the 60's no wind, no waves. When we got there some water had "escaped" the Chesapeake Bay, but there was about 4" on the parking lot at the marina. So we launched the boat and went probably at least 5 miles down the bay. The water was higher than normal, and we found some teeth but left just before 1 pm.

When we pulled in the marina this is what greeted us.

When I got back to my neighborhood I took the truck to the car wash as it was half sort of under salt water. And the front tag is gone! So probably not a thief but I'm hopeing the car wash folks have it!

Almost all the sharks teeth were small, but it was a lot of fun.

The frightening thing was as we were leaving I saw six electric meters at the piers UNDER WATER and smoking, making popping sounds and essentially hissing! THAT was scary!

And for you smarty pants out there, the cars were NOT walking on water!

 

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[SD51]

Yikes, glad you guys stayed dry!

 

[smokeythecat]

Now who would even THINK we stayed dry. I'm glad I bought a lightweight aluminum boat. There was no way we could get the truck and trailer down to the launch ramp. Water was halfway up to my waist at the TOP of the ramp. So we "walked the dog", that is pulled the boat across the parking lot, lined it up with the trailer, got the winch extended all the way, hooked it up, now the trailer is 1' above the water. I used an oar as a lever to raise the boat a little and up it goes! It was tilting backwards, so I pulled the front down, we finished loading it and took off! Through a lot of water.

So...I had to file a police report, which I just did, and Tuesday I have to get new tags! Yippee!

 

[Megalodon]

Hey Smokey,
Let's not do that again. Usually the "no wake" zone applies only to the actual creek and not for 1/4 mile of parking lot. Those smoking and arcing electrical outlets for the boats are usually 6-8' above high water. They were underwater and high tide was still two hours away.

If it wasn't so chaotic and with folks gawking from the second floor of their vacation rentals, I would have gone into the office and asked for them to refund your ramp fee since we both launched and retrieved your boat in the parking lot rather than the ramp.

The license plate loss is the icing on the day. I don't think it could have rusted off that quickly.

 

[smokeythecat]

I thought for sure the car wash ate it, but the guy there couldn't find it. Actually it was FUN! But not the smoking, hissing, popping electricity in the water. I hate to think what would have happened if we stepped out of the really wet Faraday cages we were in and went into the water nearby.

Ocean beaches are flooded also. Somebody said Ocean City hasn't had this much flooding since Sandy. Our vehicles did make a "wake" in the parking lot. Especially mine when I saw the electric sparking.

That one Subaru may have been a total loss, and the folks with bigger boats still out, may STILL be out there.

 

[Megalodon]

Yikes, glad you guys stayed dry!

Dry - yes - I swear: we had nothing to drink. Occasionally, we do things that in hindsight were a mistake and can't blame booze...

 

[Megalodon]

I thought for sure the car wash ate it, but the guy there couldn't find it. Actually it was FUN! But not the smoking, hissing, popping electricity in the water. I hate to think what would have happened if we stepped out of the really wet Faraday cages we were in and went into the water nearby.

Ocean beaches are flooded also. Somebody said Ocean City hasn't had this much flooding since Sandy. Our vehicles did make a "wake" in the parking lot. Especially mine when I saw the electric sparking.

That one Subaru may have been a total loss, and the folks with bigger boats still out, may STILL be out there.

Subarus use horizontally opposed cylinder pancake engines that sit a little lower. Usually the lower center of gravity is a handling advantage - but not in a flood.

Do you have access to a submarine?

 

[smokeythecat]

All I had to drink was iced tea! Submarine? No, not really. BG & E (electric company) was sitting in their truck there at 8 am when we pulled in. As was a police officer. They were just leaving, and the high tide was previously at 3 am. Must have had electrical problems then. The new marina owners need to invest in better electrical services, or cut them out all together. I also noticed another unmarked cruiser sitting there when we left.

Annapolis flooded, Baltimore flooded, everything flooded.

Was not a mistake - we got sharks teeth, and both our vehicles got a nice car wash.

 

[Megalodon]

Considering everything, we got pretty lucky in the end to get out of there at all. I'm thinking a carwash that sprays wd-40 to the undersides would have been a big hit today.

 

[OBN]

I'm surprised you guys went out.....


It's Killing me, 10 days without a hunt....

 

[Megalodon]

I'm surprised you guys went out.....


It's Killing me, 10 days without a hunt....

It was a beautiful day and we couldn't resist a rare October day without wind. But the high water resulted in very little beach to hunt. We were just too impatient to wait until this high water recedes. When it does, I hope we get some more days like this one. The water temp is dropping and today might be the last day of the year in swim trunks for me.

Have you ever found coconuts in the Bay or on the beach? Found another one today and I have no explanation. I have found them on the western side of the Bay, the Patuxent & tribs and Potomac & tribs. Seems weird to me, but have found them for many years.

 

[Megalodon]

There must be others here who have driven through saltwater. Have you used any product like Salt-Away or Fluid Film or Salt-X after promptly having an underbody wash at a hi pressure car wash? I'm not convinced that solvent based products like wd-40 are the right way to go for this situation.

https://www.theruststore.com/Salt-Away-32-oz-Concentrate-P206.aspx

 

[tinpan]

Hi ,Fossil deposits and ancient sites are kept secret by locals and land owners where i live or the same as usual the sites will get raped by greedy outsiders . Everything even the vast gold fields is become hard for outsiders to get a foot in the door. Selfish and greedy are not welcome . TP

 

[smokeythecat]

Where we go it is perfectly legal to pick up sharks teeth, Indian artifacts, even fishing lures and plastic. On any given day you might see 10 people out doing it.

 

[Blak bart]

Same tides down here.....we drive through the salt water all the time. When the frame rots out we get another vehicle. We are expected to be at flood levels all month. Have to use a step box to get in and out of the boat I work on. Add a king tide and some good wind from the right direction and you got a good flood.

 

[SD51]

Wow, I stand (and sit) corrected! I was hoping that at least your truck didn't get flooded inside! If you are worried about the salt under your vehicle, we deal with it all the time up here in the north during the winter. Just go through a car wash where the system automatically sprays water underneath.

 

[smokeythecat]

SD51 as much salt as is here in the winter also, my car wash does the under carriage wash and I have no rust from years of driving on salt covered roads.

Today the tides went down.

 

[Megalodon]

Wow, I stand (and sit) corrected! I was hoping that at least your truck didn't get flooded inside! If you are worried about the salt under your vehicle, we deal with it all the time up here in the north during the winter. Just go through a car wash where the system automatically sprays water underneath.

Thanks - that's exactly what we did to both vehicles. My 4x4 pickup is higher than Smokeythecat's suv and neither of us got interiors flooded - but we did see a subaru with water above the door jamb. We also escaped before the tide reached its max height. Seeing tidal flow in a parking lot that was strong enough to knock down traffic cones is a new one for me.

 

[smokeythecat]

Those smoking electric meters made me want to speed out of there. I called the marina today. Things are back to normal. The electric company came and turned off the power to those areas they needed to.+


Boat is now cleaned, gassed up, battery charging, ready for one last adventure this fall.

 

[controlfreq]

I've seen a few references to other areas in the Carolinas experiencing higher than normal tides. What's the deal. What part of the country was this? Just curious.