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The sailboat Applejack ended up in the back yard of a home that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan afterbeing hit by a 25- to 38- foot storm surge that devastated the Pensacola area. Photo by Kim KaminskiNORTHERN GULF COAST SAILINGtask by January.Pensacola Beach washeavily damaged duringHurricane Ivan, and thePensacola Beach YachtClub is slowly but surelygetting back on its feet.Members are attemptingto hold the first and hopefullylast “Float whatyou’ve got Left” Regattain an attempt to keep racingenthusiasm high.Hurricane Ivan mighthave dealt the area acrushing blow, but thespirit of a sailor is hard topush down.They say that changecan be good. Sometimeswe are dragged into thechange just like the cowboywas with the steamengine, and sometimeswe are placed in the middleof chaos, forced tochange for necessity.Right now, we are survivingafter Ivan and lookingforward to sailing off intothe sunsets once again.that boats were secured to came out of place with the 25- to38-foot storm surge (and the boats were still tied to the pilings!)The few boats that did survive the storm used links ofchain attached to their anchors with plenty of rode, whileboats such as Applejack used thick anchor lines, whichended up giving away in the surge.Applejack ended up on the opposite shoreline in theback yard of a home that was destroyed by the storm. Theback wall of the house looked like a Barbie doll house, completelyopen with clothes in a closet still hanging in place.Applejack was resting against a grove of cedar trees, her mastbroken in three pieces. Her rudder was mangled and tornfrom the boat. The prop of the boat looked like a giant metalpretzel...twisted back and forth and curved around again.Her hull looked to be in one piece, but after the salvagecompany dragged the vessel to a barge for removal, herdestruction was complete.There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel...a newyear and new beginnings will be right around the corner.The year 2005 will see the boating community come alive.New boats will be purchased, boat crews will shift aroundand a new era of racing vessels will begin emerging onto thescene, making the 2005 season of racing an unpredictableone.Of course, there still will be a few old and familiar competitors’boats out on the race course. As a matter of fact,Bob Patroni, whose team earned a first-place trophy positionin last year’s Key West race, is feverishly working onrepairing his boat Phaedra that was damaged in the storm sohe can defend his title. Community businesses are helpinghim get the supplies he needs to complete this enormousLocal News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS December 2004 49