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Isabel's Wrath

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You could see that the other side off the Coan River was getting pounded so somewhere around 4:30 I left Lewisetta and headed around.

If you are familiar with Lewisetta then you know that there is a road built over the marsh that carries you into and out of Lewisetta. On one side of the road is the Potomac River and Judith Sound. On the other side is Kingscote Creek with is a branch of the Coan River. The water had not come over this road yet. Only once have I seen the water come over this road and that was in November of 1984. The wind was really blowing from the southeast that morning and when we went down to the oyster house we had no idea of being able to work. Lake Cowart told us to go on a piece of protected oyster shore he owned called "Cotton Patch" and see what we could find. Boy did we ever find then. Donald Ashburn and I put 212 bushels in Donald's 27' skiff, Flatty. Although it was protected and and flat as a dish where we were working we could see the wind blowing the tops off the waves out in the river. We also knew the tide was continuing to come up because we kept putting out more drudge line.

When we got to the dock that day the water was a foot over it and after we unloaded I ran over to Lewisetta. The Highway Department had already been down there and put up high water signs. Before the tide started to go down that day it had gotten over the road by about 6".

Almost everyone that had a boathouse had taken their a boat out as the tide would have pushed it through the roof. Almost all that didn't wish they had. And anyone at the lower end of the river or getting hit directly by the wind moved their boats further up the creeks were it was more protected.

Captain Sewell Headley's old oyster house is almost under when I got there. Captain Sewell passed away 8 or 10 years ago. He is another one I really miss. Every time someone like Captain Sewell or Captain Alva Thomas of Lewisetta passes we lose a part of our history.

Whenever a storm came through that bought a tide with it you didn't want to make the mistaken of saying that was some tide wasn't it Captain Sewell? Sewell would say let me tell you about '33. That was the August storm of 1933 and Captain Sewell could paint you a picture. Sewell was the type of man that deserved your respect so no matter how many times he had told you about '33 you just sat down and listened.

Many of you know the Keyser Brothers run a crab house on Killneck Creek. They also own the land from the crab house to the end of the road. On one side is the old family home place and on the other side is their old oyster house. I can't remember the oyster house operating but once it was used for shedding crabs. The storm took most of this building. The tide was really getting up now so I figured I better get out while I still could. At this time the water was well up on the wheels of the truck.

My plan was to run down to Smith Point and try and get some pictures but thought I would run back home first to check on my boat. Trees had started to fall but this one was blocking the road. I live in Mallard Bay and all roads lead there so I turned around and came in from other direction. When I got to Mallard Bay trees had started to fall there and I had to walk down to the boat.

Mallard Bay is on the Great Wicomico River and it is pretty well protected up there. Most of the people had decided to either pull their boat out of the water or move it even further up the river. The first boat in the picture is mine. Since I felt as though she was secure enough and self bailing I was confident that she would be able to swim through the storm. An hour after this picture was taken the tide had come up over the piling.

By this time it was getting late, trees were falling and I was close enough to the house that figured it would be a good time to go home while I still could.