Charley arrives with the usual calling card - 90 mph winds with 105 gusts and torrential rain.

Under Captain Hurricane's ever-questionable command, Sir Nigel and Wrong Way try to re-establish communications with the picture box showing the storm's ominous progress.

Captain Hurricane taunts Charley with a call from his conch shell. Seems the Cat 4 was no match for the Cat 5 of Human Debris and Emotional Wreckage.

At 8:30, we are thrown into darkness in the domicile. We ride out the second wave amid loud thumps outside. After the storm passes, we see what the noises were - trees downed everywhere.

The stately oaks took it the hardest. Branches snapped, entire trees simply pulled out of the ground, destroying houses, cars and property. We we lucky... no broadsides crossed our main beam.

CAPTAIN'S LOG

We were fortunate that Charley had lost some of its steam after seriously damaging the ports of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.

Diosa rode out the storm while reporting in downtown Orlando, watching her new Saturn longboat bounce around on the street.

We are thankful none of us were hurt. The only casualty was the food in the galley. Power was restored five long days after Charley hit.

And a song we wrote about Charley played across the nation that day. Guess we just don't know any better...