Irma

capnsensible said:
TCM is ok but his house took major damage. Good luck if you are reading this!
Click to expand...

And Richardbayle should be fine unless he departed Guadaloupe!

We have been on Antigua for the last week, moving from boats to basements as the forecasts dictated. 12 hours ago Jose was a huge threat, but has now followed Irma's northerly shift and we are currently projecting only strong winds here in English Harbour.

We dodged a huge bullet with Irma, right at the last minute, and our thoughts are now with those who either didn't or haven't yet. Completely understand Robins plight and can only wish him well - maybe we should all have stayed in Poole!

I'll be glad when Jose has moved through, and on current projections it shouldn't compound the issues for those suffering Irma's attentions. Stay safe Matt.
 
well the latest dodge slightly west is good except it puts us in the dirty NE quadrant when it arrives, lots of storms and possible tornadoes they say. Currently the onshore surf is already well up. SWMBO wanted to go sailboarding but they have put the red flags out, bugger:disgust::biggrin-new::biggrin-new:. Real disaster howevee, MY ( regular coffee) coffee maker ( SWMBO's is decaf) went tits up but local supermarket had one in stock at double Wally World';s price of course but hey, if needs must, throw money at it!

Most of our condo neighbours are staying put but two left today, rather oddly headed towards the current projected track area over on the left coast, I guess they have family with generators over there but still seems odd choice to me.

Keep safe all
 
An MIT weather professor on the BBC has just explained that at it's peak a few days ago they have estimated that the instantaneous power being generated by Irma was equivalent to about 50% of the total power generating capability of the whole of mankind.

It is staggering to think that if the power of Irma and Jose behind it could be harnessed and distributed, then virtually every power station, hydrodam, solar panel and wind turbine on the Earth could be shut down and no-one would notice.

Richard
 
Robin said:
well the latest dodge slightly west is good except it puts us in the dirty NE quadrant when it arrives, lots of storms and possible tornadoes they say. Currently the onshore surf is already well up. SWMBO wanted to go sailboarding but they have put the red flags out, bugger:disgust::biggrin-new::biggrin-new:. Real disaster howevee, MY ( regular coffee) coffee maker ( SWMBO's is decaf) went tits up but local supermarket had one in stock at double Wally World';s price of course but hey, if needs must, throw money at it!

Most of our condo neighbours are staying put but two left today, rather oddly headed towards the current projected track area over on the left coast, I guess they have family with generators over there but still seems odd choice to me.

Keep safe all
Click to expand...

It's looking so much better for the east coast now and I wouldn't be going to Naples/Fort Myers right now. You should escape most of the damage. There's a good chance Cuba will knock the puff out of it, but maybe with plenty of time to regenerate going north over that no doubt hot water.

I hope your wine cellar is full. Richard Branson had a great idea and sheltered in his.
 
Does any one know how Mr. Branson came out of it.
The photos of Bitter End look like major damage and that is only a short distance from Necker.
Simon
 
gertha said:
Does any one know how Mr. Branson came out of it.
The photos of Bitter End look like major damage and that is only a short distance from Necker.
Simon
Click to expand...

His big charter cat was down in Grenada when Irma hit. The Necker Belle is heading back to the BVI this weekend. There was an appeal for relief supplies on social media which raised more than it can carry with the overflow going up in a container.

I made a contribution based on my belief that the supplies would be going to the locals in the BVI.

NECKER-BELLE-27.jpgsir-richard-branson-on-board-catamaran-necker-belle-large.jpg
 
Last edited:
A bit spooky.
Someone on here flagged up the shipping exodus from Miami on MarineTraffic and I have been watching it with interest.
For the last hour or so, I was looking at the tail end Charlie - Tanker Silver Rotterdam which looked worryingly close to being Irma's way and was limping along at 11 knots.

Suddenly, it is gone from the tracker. Disappeared. I imagine it is just a glitch with out of date transmissions - especially since it was a good distance ahead of the eye. Spook, though.

EDIT - As expected, it is a data glitch. The last AIS transmission was just over 24 hours ago. MarineTraffic must have removed the vessel from reporting because the data is deemed 'stale'.
So, it hasn't physically disappeared. Just electronically.
Phew. I don't have to dust off my Bermuda Triangle conspiracy books!
 
Last edited:
Frogmogman said:
Do any of you have any theories as to which charity would make the most effective use of a charitable donation to aid disaster relief in the Eastern Caribbean ?
Click to expand...

Hi Giles, I think that these folk are pretty genuine re getting aid to the BVI's -
https://bvirelief.com

Does anybody have any links for a similar relief effort for the poor folk in St Maarten?

Reports coming out of St Maarten suggest that there is complete anarchy there - re the attached, this was on Facebook.SXM report re Irma.jpg
 
RichardS said:
An MIT weather professor on the BBC has just explained that at it's peak a few days ago they have estimated that the instantaneous power being generated by Irma was equivalent to about 50% of the total power generating capability of the whole of mankind.

It is staggering to think that if the power of Irma and Jose behind it could be harnessed and distributed, then virtually every power station, hydrodam, solar panel and wind turbine on the Earth could be shut down and no-one would notice.

Richard
Click to expand...

I saw that as well, it really put into perspective the amount of power this thing has.

gertha said:
Does any one know how Mr. Branson came out of it.
The photos of Bitter End look like major damage and that is only a short distance from Necker.
Simon
Click to expand...

I spoke to my son the other day about his friends who still live and work in the BVI. One of his friends was due to start work at Bitter End next week and he said they didn't know if it would open again. I thought he was exaggerating until I saw the pictures. Apocalyptic is not overstating it. Saba Rock a few hundred yards away was also badly damaged but nothing like that. We were there a few years ago and it was a really great sociable place for sailors. We were a group of 12 and we joined tables with a load of Americans so there was about 30 of us having a good time.

The hurricane seems to have been very severe (understatement) in some places and close by others have got off 'lightly'. Cooper Island to the south of the channel is badly damaged but all buildings still standing. Same on Peter Island a few miles west.

UK planes are landing on Beef Island with personnel and supplies so order should soon be up and running. Normality will take a while longer I fear.

For those who use Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1922822811318744/
 
Thanks Martin.

I'll make a donation to Virgin Islands search & Rescue (VISAR) which was mentioned on your link.

For The French islands and Haiti I've made a personal donation and also a company donation to La Fondation de France https://dons.fondationdefrance.org/...B4RfV-0ZUbvr5k8xyPkz7OF004I8DGFgaAlrCEALw_wcB

In my case (as a French taxpayer) I can recuperate 66% of this against my income tax, & for my business I can count 60% against corporation tax.
 
"Hallo everybody, i know everyone co cerned about us. Just got a lady from the us that gave me some internet acces through her phone. So a quick update. We survived hurricane Irma. St Martin looks like Hiroshima after the bomb, as im sure youve seen on the news already. I dont know wich was worse, the hurricane itself or the aftermath of it. Looting and crime just went over the roof. Especially on the French side. The area we were staying especialli. Gangs coming in, shooting at night, people threatened and apparently 3 people killed last night in a hotel close to we were staying. We left the area yesterday and are now amongst friends. We have weapons and a good security plan in place. So we are fine for now. The dutch side seems to be way better organised. Shame on the French. This will be the last update for a while. My service peovider is still ofline. On the positive side, we are all healthy and fine. Enough food and water and although poor (Boat name edited)is aground onshore, the is still reasonably intact and will float some day again freely. She does have quite a bit of damage but fixable. Also most of our most valuables we took off before the storm and by luck my office survived as well as our valuables. We are the more fortunates around. The biggest fear now us the looters raiding the boat and taking eveeything. Most of my friends here lost everything. Businesses, homes, boats. Boathomes. We are all still in shock and it feels more like a nightmare than real. Most people just want to get out of here. Us included. But we decided to stay and try to save our home. She is all we have.
In short, we are ok, and will give an update as soon and as often as we can.
A big thank you to everybody for carrying us in your hearts in this time. It is more thanappreciated and gives us the strength to carry on. Words cant describe how much it means."

Copied , personal details removed, from a Facebook post. The boat in question is a large, heavy, steel sailing yacht.
 
Ravi said:
Does anyone else think it is highly ironic that Irma is making a bee-line for a a specific address Mar e Lago, Palm Beach, Florida. USA - the home of arch global warming denier and idiot non-savante Donald Trump?
Click to expand...
Know him personally do you to be able to make such sweeping statements?
Stu
 
Last edited:
I hope it stays that way for you.

Has Matt (tcm) been in contact with anyone? Is his boat over there?

Good luck to everyone affected, keep safe.
 
To get this away from personal insults, spare a thought for people who relied on this to make their living, one of whom was a friend of ours.

Bitter End.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top