ICW "Alteration
From "Trade Only Today" An ‘alteration’ came in the front door Annapolis, Md.-based Waterway Guide boasts “a staff of field editors who cruise the Intracoastal waterways” seeking out, among other things, “navigational alterations.” Last Friday, they found one — without having to leave the office. The Waterway Guide offices are located at the mouth of Spa Creek in the historic Eastport section, and the staff was in the process of closing the Southern 2004 edition when Hurricane Isabel “shoved the Chesapeake Bay up and over the bulkhead” out front. “Honestly, I was standing hip-deep in water with a computer in my arms when a 12-inch striped bass swam right by,” said editor Gary Reich in a statement issued by the publication. A big of hyperbole? Absolutely not, Reich insisted In a telephone interview this morning — in fact, he says, the bass wasn’t the only fish on the premises; there were “lots of minnows,” as well. Reich says the water reached a depth of 3 feet inside, despite the efforts of staffers, who Thursday had sandbagged the front of the office and warehouse. Computers and inventory were raised to the highest points possible, but hundreds of books were destroyed. Fortunately, though, “not one bit” of data was lost. “It’ll be at least a month before things are back to normal,” Reich said this morning. Meanwhile, the office is being used, although much of the drywall has already been ripped out. New furniture is on order and rewiring was to have taken place today, but was “delayed by a FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] requirement that outlets be placed 7 feet above the level of the highest high tide,” Reich said. Ironically, it was only last year that Waterway Guide moved back to its Annapolis birthplace from “high and dry” Atlanta.
