AFTER HURRICANE SANDY

Fortnight sailed into the Bahamas on Sunday Nov.4th, just 8 days after Hurricane Sandy            devastated these islands.  The first indications of storm damage that we noticed was a change in the colour of the vegetation lining the shores of the deserted northern “out islands.” Normally landscapes glimpsed from these waters boast a wide variety of trees and plants in a range of lovely greens.  But now it was almost like an autumn landscape in Canada with wide swathes of rust coloured leaves stretching across all of the islands.  Upon closer examination it was obvious that many of these trees were dead--or at least the foliage was--killed off by sea surge and salty water that had been blown 30’ to 40’ up into the branches.

The waters over the banks themselves were eerily calm--smooth as glass but cloudy.  And it was impossible to see the star fish and other sea creatures that usually greet us when we peer down through the crystal blue-green waters which is the Bahamas we know in normal circumstances.  There was a murkiness to these waters--with who knows what lurking beneath.  This was particularly disturbing when Vince was forced to go overboard into the “unknown” to free our boats prop from masses of sea grasses and roots that were clogging it.

All the way from Great Sale Cay to Green Turtle we encountered patches and streams of these plants torn up from the ocean floor by the storm and left to drift menacingly everywhere over the waters of Abaco Sound.  When we called the marina at Spanish Cay to ask about the possibility of checking in to customs there or tying up for the night, the extremely frustrated manager advised against it.  Their harbour was apparently completely filled with thick seagrass (and who knows what else caught within it--nets? logs?) which was so overwhelming, he had no idea how to even begin to deal with it.  He also mentioned, among other things, an abandoned sail boat bobbing about in the mess. After talking to the people at Spanish Cay, we decided to “take a pass” on that place and head on straight for Turtle Cay as we had originally planned.

During the 9 hours we travelled through the northern Abacos that 2nd day we encountered no other boats!  “Kyanna,” one of the vessels that had crossed over with us on Sunday, was behind us the entire way, but other than that there was no sign of life out on the banks at all.  We saw dozens of little fish jumping out of the water and skittering along for hundreds of feet across the surface, but no signs of human activity.  Weird.  But at Hog Cay our first indication of any real property damage was apparent when we saw a beautiful two masted sailboat angled precariously up on the rocks.  Other than that there was nothing.  We anchored that 2nd night at Manjack along with Kyanna and another boat.  And on the 3rd day motored into White Sound at Green Turtle Cay.

The first thing we HAD to do upon actually LANDING in the Bahamas was to check in to customs.  But when we took our dinghy into the town dock we were surprised to find the dinghy dock completely submerged under several inches of water.  This was new.  So we tied up instead to a wooden ladder on the other side and then made our way into town. Here we saw real change.  Normally the little, low-lying village of New Plymouth is alive with colour.  Leafy green trees shade streets and lawns. Quaint homes are hemmed in by lush masses of Bougainvilla and Hibiscus and pretty pink, purple, yellow and blue flowers spill out of gardens. Not this year.  Not here.  Green Turtle Cay took a direct hit from Hurricane Sandy with waters submerging all the streets.  Lawns were brittle brown.  Leaves had been completely stripped from many trees and those that had managed to cling to the branches were dead.  All the lovely flowers were gone. Surprisingly, the houses and shops we passed seemed to have been largely unaffected by the storm.  There was little change there and business was being carried on as usual.  But without its colourful, lush vegetation, the “setting” of New Plymouth was completely altered.  On a happy note, when we were able to take a closer look at the trees and shrubs, new growth was apparent.  And with weather patterns returning to normal, it may not be long until everything grows back to the way it was before the storm.

As we dinghied back to our boat tied up at the northern end of the island, we looked over towards Black Sound where the land is elevated and dozens of sailboats are dry-docked at Abaco Yacht Services.  All of their masts poked straight up into the sky--as they should--and it seemed that this part of the island at least had sustained little damage.  Bluff House also escaped most of Sandy’s wrath.  There was some damage to the docks--pilings had slipped deeper into the mud, altering the angles of docks attached to them.  But this was being repaired by workers and power had been restored to the slips.  Bluff House itself was beautiful--completely untouched.  There were new cast aluminum tables and chairs with bright blue umbrellas, wicker arm chairs, sofas and coffee tables, the pool was sparkling and six brand new marble-tiled bathrooms were available for the guests who were presently enjoying drinks at the bar or tucking into a variety of wonderful dinners.  Minimal damage had been done to the vegetation throughout the resort and workers were busy constructing a new docking/dining facility for boaters on the Abaco Sound side of the property.  There were however, changes to the shoreline on that side.  Normally a wide swathe of thick white sand curves in a crescent for almost half a mile along the shore.  The winds and waves of Hurricane Sandy had redistributed this sand--altering the beach considerably.  Now the shoreline on the Bluff House property was twice as wide and twice as beautiful. But the waves had eaten into the land fronting all of the private cottages, reducing their beachfronts by half.  We expect to encounter this on the other Abaconian Islands--it’s what seems to happen after a storm shorelines in constant flux.

When I took a morning stroll over to the Green Turtle Club the next day, it was a different story entirely.  This resort sits low--virtually right off the beach.  It’s inarguably a very pretty setting but one that is also extremely vulnerable to any fluctuations in water depths.  And the floors of their beautiful dining rooms, historic bar, book lined lounge and wonderful gift shop had been completely underwater and ruined.  Workers were busily painting, new carpet had been laid in the formal dining area and a hardwood floor was being hammered into the building that had once housed the shop.  I was heart-broken to see that the resort was closed for these renovations--this is my favourite place in all of the Bahamas to dine and shop--and they would not be re-opening until Nov. 16th.  But at least they WOULD be reopening--that was the happy part.  And renovations always make things brighter and better than they had been before.  So it’s all good.  Another wonderful thing is that the vegetation surrounding White Sound for the most part is in very good shape.  Everything still looks gorgeous.  We will probably stay here for another week or two at the very least.  We’ll be meeting Margaret and Ben on “Diva” in a few days when they fly in from Canada to launch their boat.  And hopefully together we’ll be among the first to celebrate the re-opening of Green Turtle Resort with a wonderful dinner and drinks as we toast in the 2012-2013 Winter Cruising Season in the Bahamas.