Tornado Alley

The routine of our lives in Vicksburg was frequently disrupted

by the threat of tornadoes. Old timers told me that the city

enjoyed a modicum of protection owing to the topography

of the area. According to the saws, the width of the

Mississippi river and the high bluffs of the area channeled

twisters into the path-of-least resistant flat-lands adjacent

to the city boundaries.

Memorial Day weekend of 2009 I was invited to crew a 36

foot, two-masted ketch thru Mobile Bay, past Petit Bois Island

and back. A leisurely cruise of three days with a friend and

his two teenage lads. I am in love with the notion, history and

craft of sailing. I also experience motion sickness just riding in

the backseat of a car. I suffered the entire trip, except when I

was at the helm, running right angles to the twisters.

Official damage assessments were wrong. We were overtaken

by a 70 foot motor yacht that was towing to port 5 smaller boats

disabled from the storm.

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