Lee and Peter Sailing Trip was for Four not Two Years. Now an Italian adventure

We are preparing against Hurricane Irma. We double the lines and add new ones everywhere and position the boat in the middle of the slip. The sails are removed and we tied up everything. We made a reservation for two nights in a hotel. It was sad leaving the boat all alone to fend for itself. It is our home.

When we arrived at the Hotel, we were relieved to see the Concrete Building and it is on the top of a hill. No chance of flood.

We have met Dave and Peter in the Hotel from Isla Marina which is ocated half mile away from the mainland, Fajardo where Notre Voyage is. Their power Boat is tied in at the Marina on the west of the Island. Everybody had to evacuate from Isla Island. On the map the white boat on the left is us, the Island on the right is Isla, the area is Fajardo, North East Puerto Rico.

They were really well prepared. We were not as prepared as they were. It is the first time for us so we vaguely thought that we could go to a restaurant in the Hotel but everything was shut down.

When we arrived at the hotel, the Hotel suggested us to prepare and have some food and water for a while. We went to the grocery store and found out not much water left. We have got cold cuts and some fruits and enough water. We also filled up some containers in the room. It was an irony since we are completely prepared in the boat and even have electricity with generator.

Well prepared Dave and Peter invited us for a dinner in their hotel room. They also have a Burner to cook a warm meal and two lanterns. The Hurricane started strongly at 5PM. We had rice and beans and ham and even coffee. We had not had any coffee that day. So it was luxurious to have coffee and being together too removed the anxiety, shared experiences helps.

There were other people at the hotel evacuated from Luquillo a nearby beach resort.

The sound of the wind is so loud that it is hard to concentrate on anything else. We began to worry about Cynthia and Mike in St. Maarten. They were sending Emails up to start of the hurricane wind and then stopped. St. Maarten got hit directly with Category 5 hurricane. They put the boat in the Marina and evacuated to an apartment with another boat family.

The next morning, we had blue sky and a sunny day. We all had a coffee and breakfast in Dave and Peter’s hotel room and decided to venture out to drive down to see the Boat. Since they do not have a car it was good to pay back their kindness and give them a ride. The roads were partly cleared up but all the traffic lights were out and some trees partly blocking the road.

Peter was nervous driving to the boat with damage all around. I was much more stoic saying we have insurance and can recover. When we drive slowly to the Marina entrance, we could see our Boat, Notre Voyage was floating all right. It was a very good sign! The door had blown open but the interior did not get badly wet at all. What a relief! The Boat is fine overall. Peter was worried a lot about the Boat for two days. Our marina is really well protected on four sides with a narrow entrance.

Now Dave and Peter’s boat. We drive to the Ferry to the Island but they don’t seem open. Very little is open yet in the street but we saw one Bakery open. Dave said that the sandwiches are very good there. So we had sandwich instead if cooking steak on our Boat.

After the sandwiches we drove to the Ferry again and look with binoculars at their motor boat. It seemed to be floating, they said. Then Peter got an idea! They could go to the Island with our dinghy. Dave thought that it is a good idea. We all prepared the dinghy and the engine for them to go.

After some time, they called that there is minor damage to fiber glass only. We were so happy to hear that. It seems the ordeal is gone now but a lot of the boats are sunk on Isla Island Marina. We are lucky to stay comfortably in our boat. We are still worried about Cynthia and Mike a lot. The photos from St. Maarten are terrible.

It is now Saturday 3rd day after the Hurricane, still no power in the area. We are OK completely self sufficient. The trees have been cleared. Despite what people say about Puerto Rico they seem to us to be very efficient. We heard that 6 houses out of 10 houses in St. Maarten were destroyed. We sent an Email to Cynthia and Mike but no news at all.