Laurie and Ken

Laurie and Ken

Tuesday 19 September 2017


A few more pictures today
 
Here's some pictures of the damage
 
Here you can see some thing hit the top of the boat and pushed down the cupboard and you can see through to the outside
 
 Water in the boat. I believe that the bilge pump worked hard until it drained the batteries.

 Broken hatch
 Cleat ripped away from the boat
 Mast snapped right off.
 Laurie trying to take it all in.
 Mast and boom
 Here you can see the hole in the side. There was also water in the fridge so I think water was coming in from different places.
 Last picture I took of Mauna Kea before we left.
 
A few pictures from around the hotel

 Here is the beach where you can stand and have planes land just over you head. The beach is gone!
 The BBQ on the right was taken from the restaurant next door. The staff cook us a few meals here.
 
 
After arriving in Ontario I contacted one of the employees of the marina where we had docked the boat. He was in Collingwood visiting family as the hurricane pass Sint Maarten. We talked about the violence that was happening on both sides of the island. I was telling him that when we were anchored out in the lagoon we could hear motorcycles racing around the island at will. I asked him why these kids get away with it and never get stopped buy the police. I also said it was a rare site to see police anywhere on the island. He explained to me that Sint Maarten and St Martin are very violent places and these kids do as they please. Murders on the island are keep quite so it won't scare the tourist away. He also said that the death count after this hurricanes will be very low because they will only count bodies that are known residence and not tourist or anyone like our boat friends that have stayed there for years. I hear from many people that they love Sint Maartin and St Martin and they did not know about the violence there. Some thing to think about when visiting any Caribbean Island.
 
 

Saturday 16 September 2017

It's a strange feeling to be here!
We are relaxing and trying to figure out what to do. I guess there's no hurry but I feel I need to know where we are going and what we will do next. Laurie and I drove into town to check in with Ontario Hospital Insurance Program to let them know we are back in the country. We looked at each other and said it was a strange feeling to be here. Something just doesn't feel right and we don't know yet what it is. So we continue to relax at Simon and Cheryl's house. We are in Fenelon Falls on the Burnt River. Great spot to relax!



 
I have some pictures from around the hotel.
People were lucky they didn't lose their lives in this hotel! 




 No roof!
This is the bathroom. Not a good place to hide.

Pictures driving to the airport





I think I have some more pictures and video's so I will do another post soon. I have also talked with some people from St Martin and Sint Maarten. I will let you know a little bit about was I found out on my next post.

Sunday 10 September 2017

Here's a few video's of the day Irma arrived.


We were told the airport recorded 240MPH winds

Driving through the town of Cole Bay After Irma
 

Mauna Kea
 
 
Pictures from around the hotel and airport field
 
After we left the marina we stayed in this hotel for 3 days. It was across from the French side and there was lots of looting and rioting on the French side. We were worried they were coming over to the Dutch side of the island. The Dutch army was guarding the boarders. We also heard on the radio that the French side of the island was flattened, there was nothing left! We also heard on the radio that all French people were being evacuated to France because there was nothing left. There was also looting on the Dutch side but not as much as the French side. There is not much left on this island, the people have a lot of work to do. We felt lucky that we were leaving.
 


Hotel
 Looking at the airport field
These are pictures of people lined up at the airport waiting for planes
 We were giving umbrellas to keep the sun off us. The sun was very hot

 
 
 
 

Tuesday 5 September 2017

Tuesday one day before Irma



Sorry the video is a little blurry





Monday 4 September 2017

Monday night and we are almost ready!
 
Just a few things to do in the morning and we are done. Today was so hot I had to put on some socks to walk on the hot deck. The heat from the sun is unbearable. It's 8pm and I'm so tired and sore from all the work. I guess I'm getting old! Here's a video of what we did today.

Friday 1 September 2017

Getting ready for Irma!
We are watching this Hurricane very closely. If it doesn't hit us it will be close. Some models show Irma heading north so if it did then we would be all right. So today I made arrangements to take a dock at the marina. A dock may not be better than a mooring ball it's all a roll of the dice. On a mooring ball we could get hit by derelict boats that have sat out here for years and never been used. Or staying on a dock we may get hit by flying debris. Saturday we will head over and stay there for the month. It won't be that easy, my old water pump is still leaking and the engine will only run 20 to 30 minutes. I have to leave my mooring ball and linger around the swing bridge so they know I want to get through. Then it's about 15 to 20 minutes to the marina. So I might have to anchor half way there to let the engine cool. When we get to the marina, Saturday and Sunday will be spent stripping the boat of everything above deck and tying and securing the boat. We have been invited into the marine store to play cards while the hurricane passes. So we will report in as we get prepared for Irma. Lets hope she goes north.
Thursday Happy Hour.
We went on shore for happy hour to the Yacht Club and then a little dinghy around the bay.
Some pictures from around the bay
 There are many restaurants and bars on the waters edge

Her eyes seem to follow you as you drove by!
 Looks like the waters cold today!
The town of Cole Bay