Charley
 

Well, we're SUPPOSED to go to Jamaica on 8/14- but now Charley is disrupting my plans!
We're constantly checking the weather, etc.

Anyone been in our situation? I've gotten myself so worked up over this- argh~!

Betsy

Hi. Charley's center is expected to pass Jamaica's southern coast later today, so you should be fine by the 14th.
Best place to get your updates http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Enjoy Jamaica!

Also check out stormcarib.com

Thanks much!
I have been checking NOAA for the most part- still anxious. But what can you do about an Act of God??

Betsy

I think you will be fine by ten. It lokks like it is passing over now. You may see some uprooted palm trees though!

Do you have hurricane insurance?

that should say fine by "then"

Charley passing over now/rain and winds
but by the 14th will be long gone....

We have trip insurance- thank goodness! Everyone here at work has been kidding me about it. "Have fun in the hurricane next week," etc.

It's almost time to check the NOOA again! Thanks everyone for your responses!

Betsy

I went to Cayman once just as a hurricane was approaching - it stayed about 180 miles off shore. It wasn't a bad vacation at all. Not beach weather as we know it, naturally. But it was interesting to see what the water was like,walk the beach, see how people reacted, etc. I wasn't about to pay to fly there and return home the next day. We were glad we stayed. If it had been significantly closer, I'd have had a different opinion.

Betsy, We are in the same boat - we are supposed to fly from Orlando to MBJ on Saturday. However, we live in Tampa so in addition to worrying about how Negril holds up, we are worrying about our home (Charley is scheduled to arrive here on Friday) and then getting out of Orlando on Saturday. We also have travel insurance, but I really need this vacation now. Anybody in Jamaica who can give us an update? Good luck and thanks. Linda

go to www.stormcarib.com for best,latest updates--especially from Portmore /Kingston/MoBay and mid-point on island near Whitehouse. go to
www.treasurebeach.net for latest pix from this morning, pre-storm, of the South Coast. The storm's passing about 90 miles from shore so places like Pedro Cays have been evacuated by the fishers due to high seas and wind gusts/and no fish. The strongest winds are expected this evening. Groundseas are probably the worst worry since
beach sand can be displaced. We'll know more in the morning with daylight.

8pm Cayman time Wed 11th... Charley is not here yet, but not a big storm (Cat 1) and will be passed us (and way past JA) by early afternoon.... should not be a big disruption and no reason to cancel travel

Batten down still, Tom -- the eye passed over Old Harbour on JA South Coast just this evening and LOTS of heavy rain...

Everything OK with you Tiv?

I have been thinking of you guys for the last 24 hours as I watched it bearing down on JA.

We went through Karen, Luis and Marilyn in 1997 on St Lucia and many here in North Carolina over the years - not fun.

I hope everything's OK with you and the rest of the island residents and the flooding and wind wasn't too bad.

We leave for Negril and Ochi next Friday.

My travel agent called the resort where we're staying this morning, and said they had gotten rain and wind, but had no destruction. Thank goodness!

Things are definitely looking up!
(Thanks John!)

Betsy

A quick update from The Reef Resort in Cayman.... no significant damage, just a messy beach... and then one of the most remarkable stories of my career in the tourism business... the following just went out to our mailing list, but thought people on this board would be interested :

Hurricane Charley passed close by The Reef this morning (Thursday August 12th), but apart from the frazzled nerves from waiting for the storm, there was no significant damage.

The beach, however, was quite a mess of flotsam, jetsam, and sand was everywhere, including in the pools.

With a shortage of staff this morning (as they had their own homes to tend to, and the island still being on Hurricane alert), an amazing thing happened?.. our guests, ready to get out and release some energy, started to clean up the beach themselves?.. within an hour or so almost every guest was out on the beach as a mass clean up squad !

Not used to such a huge volunteer staff, we quickly ran out of brooms, buckets etc, so guests from 2 to (at least!) 72 years old used anything they could find to clean up.

The atmosphere is?. festive, ebullient, celebratory, convivial, I run out of adjectives, but it is a moving experience, both literally and figuratively.

It is now about 2pm and the beach is immaculate?? now we are going to have quite the party tonight with Barefoot Man leading the party !

We can?t promise you an experience like this on your next visit to The Reef, but this is certainly the type of thing that makes The Reef (and our guests!) very special.

Bluefields Bay/Belmont emerged relatively unscathed. A few tree down, that it. At 4pm they were doing massages on the jetty at Horizon, so obviously no great panic there. Further on,some flooding in St. Elizabeth with roads highwater and current, water intermittently on/off.1 life reported lost in flooding/6 inches rain, seas up. But all quiet now on the South Coast front. Airports open -- Negril should be fine. After rains like these, Taino pottery shards appear from the ground on the South Coast

Thanks Tiv and Tom for your reports.

I was thinking about you guys when I saw Charley bearing down on you and hoping all would be OK.

We've almost finished with our rain from Bonnie here in NC, but I am very worried for my Florida friends with Charley headed right for them. We are supposed to get the remnants on Saturday.

Tiv, I'm very sorry to hear that someone died in the storm - flood waters can just rise so fast and even shallow water is treacherous.

Let's hope the islands all dodge the bullet for the rest of the 2004 hurricane season!

Thanks for the updates all. Great story, Tom! Yes, Diana, let's hope it's an uneventful season.

Good luck to the Floridians who will be dealing with Charley next. Stay safe.