The boy who cried “Hurricane!”

Hurricane Irene did her worst and finally expired over Quebec. Like an ex girlfriend of mine with the same name, Irene liked to share it around a bit. Quebec, for goodness sake!

Here in the Caribbean we expect to be hit by hurricanes. Those who have lived here a while know what to expect, we are aware of what could happen and how destructive a storm can be. There was a time in the Caribbean when most people, especially those living on boats, were rather blasé about hurricanes because they were such a rare occurrence, in fact business owners who also owned yachts enjoyed the low season and went sailing. In St. Maarten that all changed on September 5 1995 with the arrival of Hurricane Luis. A category 5 monster storm that devastated the island and changed the way those who experienced it think about hurricanes. Once you have been through a destructive hurricane, you will never react in the same way again.

An island like St. Maarten is a pinprick in the ocean, and the chances that it will take a direct hit from a tropical storm or hurricane are low. Tropical storms vary in size and move at different speeds. Some storms are tiny in diameter and if they miss the island by 30 miles, we may get nothing more that a clap of thunder, a squall and a rain shower. Other storms are hundreds of miles across and can cause serious damage even if the eye wall never comes within 70 miles of land.

The problems begin when a storm doesn’t arrive as predicted, and that brings us to the boy who cried “hurricane!”

Ignorance is bliss.

Shortly after Irene swept north along the east coast of the USA, many said that it was a waste of time preparing for a storm that hardly affected them. Others were left crying amongst the remains of their possessions.

Forecasters do a wonderful job in predicting the paths of hurricanes but even with all their technology they don’t always get it right. It is not an exact science.

The next few times the forecasters get it wrong and you decide they are crying wolf, keep your weapons handy. The next wolf could be wearing sheep’s clothing.

Storms on horizon as St. Maarten Simpson Bay Bridge closes for repairs

With the tropics heating up and storms on the horizon, mariners should take note! Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation hereby announces that as of Monday, August 17 the Simpson Bay Bridge will be close to maritime traffic for a two-week period to facilitate additional repair work. Boat owners and captains therefore must decide whether they will leave their vessel in the lagoon or in the bay. The last bridge openings will be on Sunday, August 16 for inbound and outbound vessels.

Hurricane updates make me smile.

The weather gurus at Colorado state university have again looked into their crystal ball and rattled the chicken bones and come up with a new prediction for the hurricane season. Not bad now that were half way through it. The scientists, in their wisdom, have downgraded the forecast and now say we can expect ten tropical storms, four of which will become hurricanes. Of those four, they say two will reach major status, that’s category three or more. I shouldn’t knock the prediction because even if they’re only half right it’s better than their December prediction which said we could expect 14 tropical storms and seven hurricanes. The last time I poked fun at the hurricane forecasters I got into trouble, and some one called to say I didn’t take hurricanes seriously enough. Having ridden out hurricane Louis while at anchor and experienced many hurricanes since, believe me I take them very seriously in deed.