News & Views for Southern Sailors - Southwinds Magazine

HURRICANE SEASON 2006The October Hurricane Season:Last of the Big ThreeSeptember is the height of the hurricane season, but statisticsshow that the big three months for the Atlantic seasonare August, September and October, and hopefully we willget through this month without any major storms. Manystorms that form in the eastern Atlantic in October seem totake a more southerly route and head into the westernCaribbean, where some come ashore in Central Americaand some move north into the Gulf.Many storms are also born in the western Caribbean inOctober and move north and sometimes northeast. Somestorms move into the Pacific from here, and others meanderover land and back north. The most intense storm everrecorded for an Atlantic hurricane was Wilma, which wasborn as a tropical storm off the Yucatan Peninsula onOctober 17, 2005. It moved northeast, impacting SouthFlorida and the Keys before disappearing into the Atlantic.On October 22, 1998, Hurricane Mitch also formed in thewestern Caribbean where it dropped record rainfall inHonduras and Nicaragua. The storm built up to a Category 5and meandered over the Central American mainland beforeit eventually re-formed in the Gulf and then moved on toFlorida on November 5, making landfall in Naples, but it wasonly a tropical storm by that time.It was Hurricane Mitch that caused the loss of theFantome, the four-masted sailing ship of Windjammer cruises.The crew, after dropping off passengers in Belize, tried tosave the ship—and themselves—by sailing south towardsRoatan, off the coast of Honduras. They were aiming for thelee side of Roatan as Mitch struck the region, but the stormseemed to anticipate their every move and constantly movedto where they headed. The story of the Fantome is sadly, butwell-told in Jim Carrier’s book, The Ship and the Storm – theLoss of the Fantome.Another destructive October storm was Hurricane Iristhat formed in the eastern Caribbean and headed westward,coming ashore at Belize on October 9, 2001, as a Category 4. Iriswas responsible for the destruction of the dive ship WaveDancer, which was seeking refuge from the storm in Belize.The boat flipped over with a full crew and passengers aboard.Many of them died, and that tragic story was told in the book,No Safe Harbor (see book reviews in this section).We continue to ask our readers to send us your stories andexperiences. Some might not get published until next season,but they will all eventually go on our Web site hurricane pages.“No Safe Harbor’’ by Joe BurnworthBook on Hurricane Tragedy ExemplifiesIgnorance About HurricanesBy Steve MorrellA book review about a liveaboarddive boat in Southwinds? It is aboutboating, and it is about a sport thatI—a former dive instructor—andmany other sailors love. The booktells the story of a liveaboard diveship that was hit by Hurricane Irisin October 2001 in Belize. Well-writtenand researched by the authorwho witnessed the tragedy, thisbook kept me on the edge of mychair till the end. The subtitle is“The Tragedy of the Dive Ship Wave Dancer” and knowingthat the story would end in tragedy gave the book an ominousfeeling as I progressed through it, and I have chosen tomention it here because of one simple bit of knowledge Ilearned from it: How ignorant people are about hurricanes.I can understand how someone living far away fromareas affected by hurricanes can know little about them—how strong they can be, how unpredictable, how destructive—butI was surprised to learn in this book that a groupof dive club members and a liveaboard dive boat companySend Us Your Hurricane StoriesWe are always looking for stories on your experiences, tolearn those techniques that succeeded and those thatdidn’t, as we can learn from both. Ideas, tips and Website links wanted: editor@southwindsmagazine.com.PARTSREFRIGERATION PARTS SOLUTIONS100% INTERNET We carry a completeline of refrigeration parts for maintenance,repair, and upgrades for all brands including Grunert,Glacier Bay, Marine Air, Sea Frost, Adler/Barbour and more.We are also pleased to offer R28+ vacuuminsulation panels (independent lab tests) all atRprices: guaranteed lowest!www.rparts.comNews & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2006 33