Many of you who read this post may have vivid memories of the storms that crushed the Treasure Coast of Florida in 2004. Frances and Jeanne destroyed our coastline here with back-to-back cyclones within three weeks of each other. There hadn't been a major hurricane to hit this area since 1964, a period of forty years, but Mother Nature made up for that with a whip-lashing unseen in this area for over a hundred years.
The two storms followed the exact same path, landing south of us in Sewall's Point, part of Stuart, and wreaking havoc on everything north and south of there. Sebastian is about forty miles to the north, which put us in the center of the worst part of any hurricane; the eye wall.The eye wall of both storms slammed us with the most intense winds and rain, with dozens of tornadic cyclones thrown in for good measure.
I remember being at my desk on the second floor of my condo all through the night as Jeanne just wouldn't let up. At one point early in the night I heard an unusual noise in the hallway, and when I went to investigate I found the trap door to my attic bouncing up and down like a breathing monster. The roof was creaking and things were being thrown against the sides of my place. I was certain that my roof was going to be ripped off at any time, but it held up and I escaped with minimal damage to my condo.
There was incredible damage to the beachside barrier island and the shores of the Indian River Lagoon, which is Sebastian's natural border to the east; it was like a horrible dream that you woke up from and discovered it wasn't a nightmare. Boats were thrown across US 1 and the riverfront up and down the coast, and homes throughout the area were destroyed by the tornadic activity. We had devastating erosion at the beaches, and almost everybody lost all or most of their docks. I hope it's another forty years (or never) before we see anything like that here in Sebastian!
These two storms inspired me to make them part of the adventure that became my book, Serpent's Curse. The second storm rips a new inlet across Highway A1A on the beachside, exposing new treasures from the 1715 Plate Fleet. Two local fishermen hook into something they didn't expect while trying to load up on some fresh pompano that are coming in through the new opening.
What they discover in the peaceful lagoon opens a window of horror that began over a thousand years before. A cursed relic from the Mayan Empire, stolen centuries before by the Spanish and put on one of the ill-fated treasure galleons that sank off the coast here in 1715, surfaces in the shallow waters. It turns out to be not such a good day for these two local boys, and things only heat up from there.
Explore the Curse on your own. Go to my link below and read the first seven chapters FREE. There's a link to find the book if you'd like to continue reading. Catch up with this one; there's a sequel coming out soon and you'll want to read them both!
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1456c9f6ce6cc2b2
For more information, go to:
http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/
Have a great weekend! Thanks for taking the time!
Mark
This was a typical scene along the shores of.the Indian River in Sebastian.
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