Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Where We Gonna Go When The Hurricane Blows...

Once we had a chance to clear our heads and consider our situation... we THINK we've made a decision.  While so many of our Cruising friends are arriving in the "Storm-Safe" Grenadines... why are we sailing backwards???  

Where are we going to spend the summer?  What are our plans?  

Up to this point we've haven't known the answer to that question.  We've been living in a state of flux... discombobulated... undecided and vacillating between hurrying south and just hunkering down here.  

Now let me insert our disclaimer here and say that although we've made a "decision"... there is still a slight chance that we will change our minds and do something else entirely... but we THINK we'll be spending the summer in the Virgin Islands/Puerto Rico area.


Sun sets on our decision.  We think it's the right one.
Here are our thoughts:  
  • It is really "too late" in the season for us to make a dash down island...  We would be passing through areas with few available hurricane holes, and the holes there would be filled by locals and charter boats.  We would be in unfamiliar waters and would be forced to take less-than-favorable weather to make our way down quickly.  Plus:  There have been just SO many crimes reported on the Caribbean Safety & Security Net in the areas down south, that we just feel a bit safer in the Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands area for now.
  • In our opinion there are more available "hurricane holes" in this area.  Taking into account all of the information we can find... realizing that there is no completely safe hurricane hole... we feel that our chances are better here for riding out storm season.  We will be close to english speaking shores with availability of supplies and services, as well as flights out should the need arise.  
  • Our insurance carrier provides coverage for us throughout the Caribbean during storm season.  We researched and found appropriate coverage before we came here.  Damage due to a named storm is covered with a much higher deductible than our regular coverage... but we ARE COVERED anywhere in the area.
  • We've always lived in the hurricane box...  Our home waters of Corpus Christi, Texas are in the hurricane box.  My entire life has been spent watching storms develop and taking action to prepare for hurricanes.  The storms impact relatively small areas... the entire Caribbean is not doomed for destruction.  The storms that will come through here are typically in their beginning stages (weaker) when they travel through this area.  
The only way to ensure that you won't be impacted by a hurricane is to live inland and not on a boat!!!  There are no guarantees in life.  Now that our decision has been made, we will attempt to stick to it...  We will plan accordingly and move on to making ourselves and our boat ready... Let the confusion cease!  We are officially RE-bobulated!  

But meanwhile, we have the summer to continue our exploration of the unparalleled beauty that is the Virgin Islands.  COME SEE US!

Lots of Information out there to cloud our minds:

Here is another good one...(If you click this a download will occur)

4 comments:

  1. Always looking for insurance recommendations ...... who do you use? Thanks in advance.

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    1. Casey Heer with Casey Insurance Group in Florida has been very helpful in finding the right policy for our cruising grounds. We are currently with Falvey but Pantaenius was a good policy for Bahamas and US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Good coverage and good prices. Relatively speaking of course.

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