
Cindy Graham, of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Her Husband Came up to Portland to Avoid the Heat and Hurrican Season the End of July 2023.

Andrea & David McKay Aboard Diomedea, a 49 ft. Steel Sloop Docked at PYS This Afternoon With Some of Their Laundry Drying on the Yacht Stays!

Cindi Brennan and Andrea McKay, Whose Yachts are Docked at PYS This Afternoon, Are Staying Put in the Fore River Rather Than Being Hauled Out.
“We came up here from St. Petersburg, Florida the end of July to avoid the heat and the hurricane season. We missed Hurricane Ivaldi and now we are here for Hurricane Lee,” said Cindy Graham, this afternoon. She and her husband are keeping their 35 foot power boat at DiMillo’s Yacht Sales on the Portland waterfront. “Luke there told me he’d put out more lines and add fenders and he thought we’d be okay to get through Huricane Lee” she said. “I hope he’s right.” They are stayig at a hotel on the east end.
Over at Portland Yacht Services, ((PYS), 100 West Commercial Street, employees have been “straight out” since Monday when boat owners began asking to have their boats hauled because of Hurricane Lee. One unofficial estimate is that over 140 boats of all sizes have been hauled since the start of the week. Situated on the Fore River, the boat yard is a very protected port and so it is a popular refuge during a hurricane. Another asset of this boat yard is the travel lift that can haul boats that weigh over 660,000 lbs or 330 metric tons.
Some of those boat owners using the travel lift also came up from Florida to avoid the hurricane season and then ran into Hurricanae Lee here. One such boat is a 72 ft. Hatteras Yacht named “Escapist” from Tampa.It was hauled from the Fore River in the sling of the travel left intended for yachts over 40 ft. long this afternoon.
According to an employee of PYS the yard had hauled four yachts today using the travel lift. Some of the boats hauled since Monday have been from Florida whose owners come to Portland annually to likewise avoid the heat and hurricane season. They will need to be relaunched following the hurricane season for the return to Florida.
Returning from a grocery shopping trip this afternoon were Cindi Brennan and Andrea McKay when this blogger met them at PYS. The two, with their husbands, own sloops that are docked at PYS. Because it is such a protected port, both couples have decided to stay put at the dock and not get hauled for the hurricane. Following the hurricane, they will head south for the upcoming winter.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said Cindi Brennan, grinning, who with her husband is living aboad “Bravo” their 52 foot sloop. She is an aluminum yacht built in France several years ago. The couple has lived on their several yachts for the past thirteen years.