In the early hours of Friday morning as Hurricane Helene barreled into Georgia, Huck―the only name he would give― experienced a real-life “Lt. Dan” moment, standing on the railing of his sinking houseboat holding onto the roof and talking with God.
Huck and Creed, his dog, rode out the storm on Friday morning in their home, a salt-and-weather-beaten pontoon anchored in the Back River near Tybee Island. As the howling winds increased, their vessel began listing to the side where it was stubbornly held in place by the anchor. Water flooded in as Huck, who claimed he’s just a “simple man,” sprung into action.
Fueled by instinct and adrenaline, he rushed to cut away the anchor. He tossed stuff overboard. As a last resort to save his home from sinking, he leapt onto the railing and grabbed hold of the roof.
“I learned counterbalance real quick,” Huck said. “She was beyond listing, she was sunk.”
Huck credits this moment of quick thinking to his faith. “I didn’t know how to counterbalance. I asked for help and could feel the hand of God on my back”
When the boat finally came to a stop, Huck carefully stepped off the deck into the pitch-black night.
“Where am I?” Huck recalled thinking.
Daybreak offered an answer: the side of U.S. Highway 80. His first visitor was from a Chatham County Police officer. “When I landed here there was no ‘hey, how are you doing, I’m glad you survived. They slapped an orange sticker on my window, and I ripped it right off.”
The boat was still on the side of the road Monday where vehicles whizzed past while Huck and Creed sat on the deck. While seemingly content with the current location of his accommodations, Huck is more than ready to be back on the water. With the help of a floor jack and blocks of wood, he began lifting the boat on Monday afternoon with hope of finding a way to move the pontoon closer to the water.
“When the tide comes in,” Huck said holding his feet in the air while sporting a mismatched pair of shoes, “I’m going to take these two shoes, grab that anchor, and I’m going to walk it out there.”
If that doesn’t work, he has a back-up plan of borrowing a trailer and winch. “And if that fails,” Huck mused, “there’s always Oct. 19 when we’re supposed to have over 9-foot tides.”
But, Huck and Creed do not have that long. Chatham County Police announced plans to close one lane of Highway 80 on Wednesday afternoon to allow a private contractor to tow away their home.
Richard Burkhart is the visual journalist for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at RBBurkhart@gannett.com. Reporter Evan Lasseter contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: the ballad of huck and creed and their houseboat on u.s. highway 80 e
