Ken Matthews Hurricane Ivan Story

I just finished my new house on the same lot where hurricane Ivan blew away my old fishing shack in Gulf Shores, AL.

Notice that the davits survived and my '93 Duroboat 16 is waiting at my backdoor for me to drop it in the canal as always.    The new site looks great.

Here is what happened. 

I drove to Gulf Shores before Ivan and just fastened things down and returned to Atlanta where I lived full time back then.

First Matthews House, with Duroboat out front.

When I got to Atlanta and turned on the weather channel I saw how big it had gotten and that it was going to be a direct hit. I took a quick nap and began the second 700 mile round trip.

The day before Ivan hit, I trailered the boat for the trip to Atlanta and put my few valuables up as high as I could in the house. When I got back after the hurricane the house was a goner. We are 4 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico beach and had a 24 foot storm surge. The boat probably would have wound up in Montgomery.
Now, over two years later, we have moved into the new house which is now our primary home.

The New House.   Duroboat still Out front.

Folks who travel up and down the canal often comment on the new house but also always note that my boat is still looking good. They seem to like the fact that we built the new house but didn't see a need to upgrade our fishing boat.

Ken Matthews
Gulf Shores, AL