hello, everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. it is 11:00 on the east coast. let's get started. take a look. it's been almost eight hours since hurricane isaac started making its second land fall. this thing barely budged. we are getting brand-new numbers on isaac's location, straengt and where it's going. this storm can't move off fast enough. the power is out to more than half a million homes and businesses in four different states. it is a massive storm. the new and improved levees, pumps and flood gates all appear

to be working as they should. the unimproved eight foot levee is overtopped in plaquemanines pari parish. on the other side is 12 to 14 feet of water. that is floodwater that is go through homes and damage things. rescuers carrying out neighborhood rescues. they may have ignored the evacuation orders. at this point, isaac is a long way from tampa but still looming large over the other big story of the week, the republican national convention. we are going to have more coverage of that later on. to the immediacy of our coverage, we are going to begin with martin savidge standing by in new orleans and being pelted by the rain. marty, as i hear, this storm is only 6 miles an hour. that means you are getting dumped on there. this could last up to 48 hours. can they with stand that with

you are? >> reporter: it's the big question everyone wants to know. is the flood protection system up to the task? it's a question that won't be answered until it is past us here. we should tell you, we are in the french quarter. the heaviest winds and rain so far we are feeling even though the storm started impacting the city last night. i would love to walk you around and show you, the truth is trying to stay standing is the greatest challenge. i have my back to the wind but we are being pelted. i'm trying to protect the microphone. it's definitely blowing hard down here. it's the rainfall in a city that is pretty much below sea level. that is the biggest concern. they have made a lot of improvements since katrina exactly seven years ago. one of those improvements, they have upgraded the pumps.

they need to get the water out of the city as fast as it's coming down. in a storm like thi it's a real challenge. so far, they say the systems holding. as the wind swings, the passage of the storm means levees that were stressed now get eased off on. other levees are impacted and the army corps of engineers is keeping a close eye on the wind shifts. ashleigh? >> i don't know how you are standing upright now. be careful about the debris that could be blowing in from behind you. in the meantime, the plaquemines parish said this packed more of a punch than originally thought. my question is, is it going to be okay for the rescuers to go around and do their job and get the people on their roofs or in their attics? can the rescuers get around in

these conditions? >> reporter: officially, no. it's simply too dangerous to go out in circumstances like this. it's easy to see why. there was a mandatory evacuation. not everybody heaved it. neighbors are coming to help. this is the traditional way in this part of the country. the one thing we should point out, even during katrina, it was felt this area dodged the bullet. it wasn't until the next day that you realized that, no, that wasn't the case. it's very bad. i'm not predicting anything quik like that. i'm saying it's difficult to ascertain damage in the thick of a hurricane. >> it's obviously very difficult from your vantage point being lashed by the bands that keep coming in as to how much water is going to actually affect this. that was the story in katrina, not the winds, but the water. it took until the next day. so far, does it seem as though those pumps and those levees are

actually going to with stand what you are standing in? >> reporter: they definitely should. as bad as this may look, this is really a category 1 storm. that system of which millions was spent is designed to take at least a cat 3 or slightly higher. it's a test of the system but it should not be a stress of the system. as far as we have heard so far, it is holding up and holding up well. ashleigh? >> where you are standing is usually a den of activity. it's the french quarter usually packed with tourists clearly from 5:00 in the morning on. i have not seen one soul walk in front of that camera. obviously, people are staying away. there's no traffic. what about power? street lights, just functionality of the city? >> reporter: the power situation is 500,000 people, roughly, in the heaviest states, mississippi, louisiana and arkansas are without power at this time.

really, that's probably not that high a number considering the wind and rain we have been suffering for so long. this is a storm. the winds are heavier than many people anticipated with a category 1. we already talked about how long it's been lasting. that's going to become key for the rain. how long will it stay here. >> quickly marty, before i let you go, i know you are in the same location where soledad o'brien spent the morning as well. over the course of two hours, it seems like things are getting stronger. the winds seem stronger, the rain seems stronger. are you over the worst of it or is that yet to come? >> reporter: well, i think this is -- we are still building, actually. part of the reason is of course the storm has been a long time approaching. so, even though it came ashore in southern louisiana eight hours ago, it slowly, very slowly has been making its way. the hurricane winds arrived this

morning. here, we are heavily sheltered. this is not as bad as it is. >> all right. get to some of those shelters and stay safe. thank you for being there for us. martin savidge, live in new orleans for us. rob marciano is also live in new orleans. he's watching all of this and how the levee system is handling this. wait until you see a structure being almost literally shredded behind him. >> winds switched. here is the river. winds going this way last night pushing the water up river against the flow. now winds are coming out of the east. you can see white caps there coming out of the east and bashing up this side of the wall. by the way, the river up here is not going to overtop. the levee that protects the city of new orleans that's been here for years is not going to over top. the levee that surrounds the

city is beefed up by the feds. that's holding up fine. as far as what's going on in plaquemines parish, they are plaquemines parish private levees. they have been overtopped and continue to be overtopped. hopefully, we don't get a hole in the levee. >> right. also, we want to remind you rob marciano was up wind from that structure so if it did lose its integrity, it would not have endangered his life or our crew. this incredibly powerful hurricane is not over, not by a long shot. jennifer delgado has been watching the path. get me up to speed. from where marty stood, it doesn't look bad. >> we are going to see gusts up to 90 miles per hour. the latest information from the national hurricane center,

sustained winds, 90 miles per hour gusts. moving to the west at 6 miles per hour. it looks like the center of circulation was inland. it has moved inland. it will continue to weaken and likely to become a tropical storm later in the afternoon. weather conditions are going to continue to be bad. we are not going to see the center of circulation. it's going to weaken, exiting out of louisiana until thursday morning when it's going to actually make its way into arkansas. let me correct you, should be friday morning. the days are starting to blend in. wednesday, 8:00, then it continues to weaken. the rain is going to be the big event. we continue to see the winds weakening because we are talking some of these locations ten to 20 inches of rainfall. a lot of flooding problems set up in the coastal regions. now, we showed you live shots with marty as well as rob. look at the winds. they have been up to 67 and 70.

it's going to continue to be gusty out there. the center of circulation located 45 miles south-southwest of new orleans. it's going to continue to move up toward north. right now, coming out of the east. i want to hop over and show you on another graphic, we have a tornado warning in place in mississippi. what you are seeing in pink is going to last for 15 minutes. we are talking 10:15 local time. that means anybody needs to make sure they are listening to local authorities going to a place that's safe in your home. we are going to see this tornado threat throughout the afternoon. a chance up to 4:00 this afternoon. >> all right, jen. as you were speaking, information from the red cross as well that 80 shelters across six states were housing 5200 people overnight. with what you have been saying they probably shouldn't be leaving right away. jen delgado, thanks so much.

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go to cnn.com/tv and follow the instructions there. it's a good thing to do, too. this story keeps changing even before isaac developed into the cat 1 hurricane we are watching now, louisiana was being pounded. the powerful torrential rain that hit this place, remarkable stuff. at one point, the eye of isaac was smack dab over the middle of the town. take a peek at your screen. things have only gotten worse since this photo was taken. the flooding, yeah. that's someone's house. unpleasant and it ain't like they haven't seen this before. ed reporting on those who have been affected by this now and those who had to deal with it once before. >> we are in the midst of going through hurricane isaac here in grand isle, louisiana. i want to give you a sense of the conditions we are battling. we are in a garage of a home.

this is ground level. with the storm surge, the water is starting to come into the garage here. this is where things start getting dicey. this is what the water does. it moves slowly. look over here. each wave comes in. it creeps closer and closer. this is the entrance into the house, into the ground floor. i wanted to show you this shot. can't keep the door open long. watch what we are dealing with here. the water creeps closer to where we are. it's hard to keep the door open. work with me. this is the storm surge. this is the -- ahh. sorry. see how fast moving the water is around us? we probably have another two feet before water comes inside the house. it's hard to keep the door open with the wind. let's look how powerful the water is cutting across the yard. the ground level view of the

storm surge and the water pushing by the house. this is what we needed to stay away from. we don't know how high this is going to get. obviously, being on the ground floor is too dangerous and being down there with all our equipment isn't smart, either. the one room that kept us on the air and doing the reporting we have been doing. the person who built this house used to work for exxon and developed oil rig platforms. that's why we are in safe conditions here. it's why this house is holding up so well during these wind gusts. we took one look at this generator here. we knew that we would be in good shape. this generator is able to power up the house, keep it on. no problems here. it's gone out a couple times.

it's struggling a little bit. you can't complain. we have been able to stay up through the worst part of the storm. thank god we have that with us. >> ed live for us on the telephone in grand isle. ed, if you could update me when you were taping this piece, has the water made it inside? >> caller: it has. it was around midnight last night. the water is three to four feet higher than you saw in the garage. you can't even walk into the garage anymore. you are waist high at this point. so, you know, dean blanchard and the family members are trying to rearrange furniture to try to keep it as dry as possible. part of that bottom floor is going to be flooded out. it's the way it's going to be at this point. >> can you give me a reference

point? we are jumping throughout the coastal areas. given what we are seeing you report on, how close and similar are your conditions to jefferson county and the ninth ward? how does grand isle differ from that? >> caller: you know, i have been able to briefly talk to colleagues up there. we are 60 miles directly south of new orleans. this is kind of the end of the road when you come into the marshland south of new orleans toward the gulf of mexico. this is it. this is as far south as you can go, basically. it's an island seven miles long and a half mile wide in the widest places. at this point, the bay waters are meeting the gulf of mexico waters. there's water on every part of the island. i imagine we got the center of the storm here. it's been jogging across us. last night wrapping up the day of reporting, we were on the western edge of the eye of the storm. it makes it easier to take.

if you have to pick a side, that would be the safer side. the eye of the storm moved over us. now, we are on the eastern edge. it's definitely, the winds are much more ferocious and much more sustained than they seemed to be last night on the western edge of the storm. the winds have not died down. i don't think it's raining as much. you know, we have better visibility today. some points yesterday, we didn't see beyond 200 yards from the house. we had visions of the surrounding homes around us was obscured. we can see it now. most of the power lines i see are still intact. some roof damage and that sort of thing. structurally, everything seems to be holding up well. i don't see home that is collapsed off their stilts. that is the welcome news. we have to ride out the storm surge. it's going to take awhile for the storm to siege.

>> we should remind viewers if grand isle, louisiana sounds familiar, we were talking act it two years about with the gulf oil spill. these people have had their fair share of major hassel and difficulties. 5200 people have been fleeing isaac's pounding rain across the state. pictures of mississippi and where ed is in louisiana, alabama, too. many seeking shelter from the red cross. we are going to continue to update you. sive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different.

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hurricane isaac is lashing new orleans right now. it is impossible to ignore this is all happening on an eerie anniversary. the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. it's today. it's like adding salt to a very deep wound. this is what people have been dealing with for hours now. making matters worse, isaac is moving so painfully slowly, about 6 miles per hour and just dumping and dumping and dumping its rain. the big concern there for flooding. the big question there for the levees. will they be able to hold this

time? this is the first real test for new orleans since the levees failed during katrina. it's something we will never forget, particularly russell. he's joining us live. we are also going to speak to the new orleans mayor, mitch landrieu. mayor, let me start with you. we saw breaking news that came in. sheriff's boats were able to get mobilized and into plaquemines parish and able to assist residents using their boats to rescue people. i'm getting information about 150 of those residents called 911 needing rescue. can you add to that or clear this up or tell me what the situation is like? >> caller: the general can clear it up. plaquemines parish is quite a

distance. the levee system that surrounds new orleans, that we spent billions of dollars in, it's stable, it's fine, it is not being compromised. what you are referring to is 20 miles away from new orleans in plaquemines parish. it's an interior local levee that has been, from what we can tell, over the top. he's speaking more directly to the issue. there's a search and rescue operation going on there. i'm sure the parish president has teams employed to do search and rescue. as it relates to new orleans, the levees are fine, the pumps are working. everything is working according to plan. the complication with the storm as you noted, it's hovering over us. it's going at 6 miles an hour. when it keeps dumping water, it creates interior flooding. we haven't seen much of that

yet. we'll continue to stay in the fight and do as well as we can do. >> mayor, one of the things i remember the general saying seven years ago is communications are critical as the storms hit and after the storms hit. that is one of my questions. clearly, all we have been hearing about is the crisis in plaquemines parish. it seems your parish is doing okay. do you communicate? are you mobilizing your teams? >> caller: he's one of my heroes and always will be. the communication has been great. we were in communication with the white house this morning. fema is in constant communication with the governor. we are in communication. we have each federal, state and local agency speaking. it's been great. execution has been greachlt you have to be humble about the storms. it's a four quarter game, not two quarters. things right now in orleans

parish are fine. >> any rescues? >> caller: we don't have significant flooding. we have power outages. other than that, flying debris and heavy winds. if the rain sits on us, we are doing fine. it's all up and operating. the levee system is working. we are good to go so far. we are going reach out and help our neighboring parishes if we are needed. >> good to know. i'm assuming you are in communication with the president, too. >> we are in communication with the parish presidents and we stay in that mode 24/7. >> general, jump in here if you will. let me know what you know, if it's updated from what mayor landrieu said and the critical element here. it's one thing to have a plan going into this.

clearly, there's a blueprint. we have been through this before. it's another thing executing it and dealing with how bad the situation is. >> we have an old saying in the army, the first thing that goes bad is the plan. it's the first point of failure. in this case, we are dealing with category 1 hurricane put into context of katrina. katrina went through between 12 and 14 miles an hour in forward movement. this storm is only moving 4 or 5 miles in forward movement. it's staying around longer and doing more damage in terms of dumping water in the plaquemines parish and new orleans parish. the search and rescue right during the storm is going to happen by what we call the cajun navy who did most of the rescue

in the first 24 hours. that's neighbors helping neighbors. those first rescued will be done byeighbors as is the case in louisiana. >> of course, one of the biggest concerns, those no unknowns. general, thank you so much. we have so many other reporters we need to get to as well on the scene. for you and mayor mitch landrieu in new orleans, thank you for being with us. we know you are busy at this point. just a reminder, this storm is moving northwest. it's moving at 6 miles an hour. all that rain that is churning in those models is dumping and dumping and dumping. we are tracking it all. we are at the severe weather center. we have updates for you in a moment.

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>> as the situation continues to worsen in new orleans and quite frankly along the gulf coast we have been hearing reports. one person suggesting he might have to shoot holes in his roof because he, his wife and baby were in their attic and not sure how long they could be there. it's frightening for anybody who decided to stay. connie decided to stay and is live with me right now. not only do you have the history of seven years ago of riding through hurricane katrina but you are running a recovery center during hurricane katrina. i suppose the fact that you are

a responder now might answer this question but lord, how is it that you decided to stay through this? >> caller: well, first of all, this is a katrina recovery center that is still operating today. totally focused and dedicated to rebuilding shattered homes and lives seven years later. because we are a center for recovery, we open the center a year after katrina. i felt it was very important we be there as a recovery center and responder center. people know us. they know where we are. they know we have, you know, access. we consider ourselves a partner to the city in helping, you know, just doing everything we can to assist our residents in the aftermath of the storm.

not so much during the storm. i hunkered down with my husband. i'm riding it out here. but, i want to be, just ready to go -- >> for them, if needed. connie -- i have to ask you, how bad it is. i can't tell from your phone line. i know you have been watching out your window at the street and the line, the paint line in the street to see if you are going to be in trouble. you are in orleans parish. how bad is it? >> caller: we are riding it out well. the white line is very visible. no signs of street flooding in our neighborhood. the wind is fierce. it's very unsettling. it's just my house. i'm in a big, old new orleans 90-year-old house, three stories high. it has shaken numerously throughout the night. we have not slept at all. so, it is unnerving. the wind has me more rattled

an -- the rain is just a steady rainfall. it's not coming down in buckets. that's usually what will flood the city of new orleans when you have the heavy downpours. so, this rain kind of stays at this steady pace. our pumps won't be able to handle it. >> i hope so. >> mayor landrieu said the concern is the storm is hovering over us and how long can we hold up. >> connie, i'm heartened by the fact you and your neighbors met and decided to stock up on supplies not just for yourself but fellow neighbors as well. we do want to wish you well. i hope things are going to be okay for you. i appreciate you joining us today. thanks. >> caller: i have one note to end on if you allow me. what god at the helm and drew brees as your quarterback, come

hell or high water, the who dat nation will prevail. >> state of emergency has been declared by the president in the state where connie lives. 500,000 customers are without power in louisiana alone. (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

with so much rain pounding coastal mississippi, the flooding has begun there, too. david mattingly joins us from gulfport, mississippi where he's riding it out. we have been watching the waves behind you and the winds and rain. tell me, i know you just got off the phone with the governor in mississippi, what did he tell you? >> reporter: he was talking about how they have planned on this storm parking itself off the coast of louisiana and having this kind of rain and this kind of wind for so long. the problem they are seeing in mississippi is all the water dumping on the land trying to

get into the streams and rivers to get out. you have all the water in the gulf that's pushing inland as well. all of that is meeting somewhere in the middle. he was talking about one community having tremendous problems with water right now. some people cut off. they were wondering how they were going to get people in there to take care of them. that's just one of the problems they are having to deal with right now with all of this water. this is a storm that's going to be continuing. the governor did say here in his own words about how this storm wasn't supposed to be here this long. listen. >> what worries me is the duration of this storm as the bands come in. you get the heavy rain. we get a surge blocking the rivers and tributaries and behind it we are hearing 48 hours of rain. inland is going to be a lot of flooding. we have to shift some resources there to prepare for that.

>> reporter: now, ashleigh, there's one bright spot here. we are looking at the ocean behind us with the slight sense of relief, just a slight one. we are at high tide right now. you can see, the water is not coming up over the top of the seawall that is here. it's a different story further down the road. we went down earlier and took photographs. the water had come up over the banks around where the harbor development is here in this town. that water not very deep at all but making itself known, pushing its way on to the highway. again, we have a lot more rain coming down and a lot more problems to deal with in the future. >> be careful david mattingly. we should add david was reporting the curfew lifted by 7:00 a.m. has been extended where he is. a state of emergency has been declared by the president in southern mississippi as well. 120 people are in shelters officially. more than 1100 people are

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(train horn) ♪ vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. hurricane isaac has been competing for the national headlines from the other big

story of the week. that's the republican national convention which is ongoing in tampa, florida right now. it's where we find jim mccosta and paul steinhauser. both of you live. what a night. for those who stayed up late to watch ann romney. chris christie was great, but ann was awesome. >> they were pleased with her speech. i talked to the senior advisers to the gop nominee. i was told mitt romney was very nervous before her speech, is what i was told. nervous in a good way, hoping she would do well. they were happy with the way things turned out. we are just getting guidance about mitt romney's plans for this evening. we are told he's going to be in the hotel room tonight watching his running mate, paul ryan deliver his speech. we don't expect him to come out

and make an appearance like last night. expect the unexpected. >> paul, give me the rundown for today as we look forward to the big speakers. give me the names. >> the big three speeches, 10:00 prime time. condoleezza rice, you are going to have sue -- we have two women. a lot of prominent women in prime time last night and tonight. paul ryan. this will be the biggest speech of his career to date. he's got a number of things he has to do. he has to tout the man at the top of the ticket and lay out the plan. how they are going to do things different in the economy. >> we know it's paul ryan day here. i saw a p90x sign outside the forum. we'll have to find out if he went through one of those

routines this morning. it's just a work out getting here through the security. >> i can only imagine. every time i see that guy, i think i need an exercise program. real quickly, either one of you can throw to this. jim, you mentioned romney was nervous watching his wife. today, he's not just leaving the building, he's leaving tampa. what's the deal? >> he's giving a speech to the american foreign legion in indianapolis today. this is going to be a quick deal for mitt romney. he's coming to tampa tonight to watch the paul ryan speech. this will have foreign policy elements in this address today. we haven't heard a lot of that lately. with condoleezza rice taking the stage, there may be some of that. there may be substance in that as well. >> this is a distraction having a speech the night before the

big speech but the campaign is very happy. they wanted to do this speech. they think it's a smart thing to do. >> it's been great tv. i don't often stay up past midnight, but it was worth being exhausted this morning. for the menu, again, vice president candidate, paul ryan and former secretary of state, condoleezza rice, the key speakers at the rnc tonight. it's prime time. it's at 10:00. we are covering the republican national convention. we start much earlier. you get all the speakers with us. heck, stay with us all day. how does that sound? , and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different.

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a 6-year-old little leaguer who plays with just one hand just got the surprise of his life. courtesy of the atlanta braves, he got the meet his hero and our chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta has the amazing story in today's "human factor." >> reporter: he can hit. field the ball. even slide into home plate. >> all of the way around the base. >> reporter: 6-year-old reece holiday wants to play in the big leagues some day just like his idol chipper jones who plays third base for the atlanta braves. when he was born, his parents were shocked to discover that he didn't have a left hand and baseball was the furthest thing from their minds. they were not sure he would learn to crawl without a hand so

they got him a prosthesis, but little reece didn't want it. he learned how to crawl and then walk and then something remarkably happened, reece learned how to hit a ball. he was 2. >> he would get the plastic balls and hold it under his chin and drop it and swing the bat and hit the ball no problem. >> reporter: he is a natural and he has been playing on a team since he was 3 years old. as far as the holloways are concerned, reece doesn't have a disability. >> i was born like that. >> reporter: and they try to never hold him back and so far the only thing he cannot do is to tie his shoes. >> anything he wanted to do, we let him try it. there was no, you can't do, because you only have one hand. >> reporter: his parents are not the only ones rooting for reece. when chipper jones saw the story about him, he invited the little leaguer to watch the braves play the marlins. and first came batting practice, and then autographs. >> hello, reece. way to go. >> reporter: and then a private

meeting with the hero. >> he signed my glove. he signed my banner, too. >> he was squirming the whole time. >> reporter: and then it was time to play ball. >> it meant a lot to him. he will remember this for the rest of his life. >> reporter: after this experience, reece is more determined to follow in chipper's footsteps and make it to the big leagues. dr. sanjay gup tashgs cnn, reporting. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios

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we have some video just into cnn that we want to show you from wwl from new orleans and it shows families getting res kied throughout this morning. and we have been telling you that some of the flooding has been particularly difficult in plaquemines parish where the water breached a levee, and they are talking about 5 to 15 feet on the eastern side of the bank

of the levee. let me show you the video and you can listen in, and i don't know much about it other than a family being rescued. take a peep. >> how high is the water? >> well, it is about 15 feet or 16. >> how many people back there? >> none right now. as far as we have had a couple of rounds of it. this is it. this is where we are. >> and we will talk in a minute. are you okay? >> i'm fine. >> what's it like back there? >> it is horrible. everybody's house is gone. nobody got a house in breakway. nobody. >> how high is the water? >> the water is almost over my head. it is over 20 feet. >> oh, that is heart wrenching, and she says it is horrible. nobody has a house in braithwait according to her, and i dont 't

know if that is the national guard or sheriff who is sent out this hour to start the rescues, but up until now it is the civilians who are launching their own boats. and the president of plaquemines parish said he knew of two people in particular doing their own personal neighborly rescues. i want to bring in christine romans the chief reporter, but there is so much that affects all of us with the sadness of people losing their houses like the witness says, but there is a lot going on underneath the ocean floors. >> that is right. you know when people are evacuated industry has been securing the property for a couple of days now, and when you look within the gulf of mexico, the oil drilling platforms, and they have gone on to shut off the subsurface valves to guard against a oil spill or leak. they have had to evacuate the platforms, and they have had to have nonessential personnel in some parts of the western part

of the gulf and you look at the part of new orleans and they have locked down the cranes and locked up wharfs and had to protect against dangerous chemicals. >> and that port is done, right, new orleans port, because it is closed down? >> yes, it is a massive, massive port, and they will look at the damage and what has been done, but it was a few years ago that in katrina, you had frozen chicken rotting on the ports and piles of metals that were unsecured. and they know how to do this and are protect against it and taken the precautions that they can. >> and i can't remember the massive vessels that were toss tossed about like toys, and did they molize them in the port or out to sea? h. >> well, some of the vessels were 78 feet long, and think of the carnivale cruise lines go in and out of the po