Bye Bye Bonnie

As I sit here this morning, Bonnie struggles to be anything more than a tired blob.  Even the ocean is calm this morning. As of 9 am, she is South of Panama City beach, and out a few hundred miles.   I'm pleased as punch about that.  The beach and water is clear, with out winds from the East.  And as the threat passes in the next day, the main BP teams on the rigs and the skimmers, and well head crews will get back to the task at hand.

Tropical Storm Warnings have been cancelled.We do have a chance of wind gusts later today, as well as rain and thunder as what is left of Bonnie passes to our South and West. And we also have a chance of WaterSpouts later, so be on the lookout for those if you are out.
I am hoping to see increased traffic at the beach now that the immanent threat of a Tropical Blow has passed.  Wave action may increase as the winds shift and start to come from the South.And from the National Weather Service.
"SAT JUL 24 2010 /355 AM CDT SAT JUL 24 2010/
...A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS EXPECTED TODAY IS IN EFFECT FROM 2
PM EDT /1 PM CDT/ THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING...
INCREASING WINDS AND SEAS OUT ACROSS THE GULF WATERS DUE TO
TROPICAL DEPRESSION BONNIE PASSING TO THE SOUTH WILL LEAD TO
BUILDING SURF AND DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE PANHANDLE
BEACHES TODAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
WIND AND SURF CONDITIONS WILL SUPPORT DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS
TODAY. RIP CURRENTS ARE LIFE THREATENING TO ANYONE ENTERING THE
WATER."


I only have one funny story to share and then I'll let you go on your way.  It's not a SURF story, but a fishing one.  While fishing the other night with my son, the lack of nibbles drove him to boredom.  He asked to go see what the other kids at the end of the pier were catching.  So he went to the other side of the octagon, where a boy his age had just pulled in a large sucker fish, a remora, which hang out under the pier, sucking on the pylons.  Anyway, they got it off the hook and the bugger suctioned itself to the concrete.  Watching two boys trying to get a determined slimy fish off concrete was just about the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.  Then it got funnier.

 I heard," Wouldn't it be funny if we got him loose and stuck him to that guy's back?"  HA !  There was a man fishing about 10 feet away, sunburned, no shirt and now I was envisioning him having to explain to his wife why he had this enormous sucker hickey on his back. " Honest honey, I was out fishing!"  Although with as hot as it was, maybe a giant wet slimy fish on his back would feel great.  (hmmmm, new cooling invention you might see on late night TV. "Call in now and order your one of a kind, super cool cooling fish. Just $29.95! When you're done with him, you've got a handy dinner for two!") Luckily for him, they thought it out and tossed fishy back into the emerald deep.

Kids.

If you're going out today; drink your water, use that sunscreen, wear your hat, have fun and share the knowledge.