Hey gang...just checked my "other" home page and found that Gert has posted a user video...shows a short video of Cayman and one persons' perspective on life in Cayman prior, during, and after a storm....for those interested, check out www.stormcarib.com
...for those not, hit the delete button or just ignore this post....
john
p.s....i should mention that i am one of the hurricane correspondents on this site and do my best to post current, acurate, and honest descriptions of any potential threat to our beautiful island paradise.....we have a new video camera and have a few recent postings on youtube.....will have it at the ready for anything new!!!
fair winds friends,
john
Tis the Season
Aloha John!
I really enjoyed the video, but unfortunately I am at work and the computer has no audio! Will have to re-run it when I get home.
Thanks for posting, it gave us a great view of the Island!
I will check it out in here in a bit. Sounds really neat.
Good stuff John!
When storms hit islands the inhabitants just have to ride the storm out, there's nowhere to run. A small price to pay to live in a wonderful world!
Mahalo, Dave
Thanks John. Hope that this season will be good to you. Will be glad to see some of your own videos with your new camera.
Love to you and Kate.
Christi
So glad to see from your "stormcarib" that Fay passed by safely. Great website for us to see how you are doing throughout the season - thanks John!
Aloha, my friend
Yes John, hope everything is alright. Some folks weren't so lucky in you're part of the world.
Thanks guys...yeah, some of the other islands are SO affected by mudslides and much poorer conditions that lives are always at risk with any storm that comes by....the latter summer months have historically been more active for our part of the Caribbean, so we watch everything closely...preparedness is key to survival and we have to be ready.....
thanks for the wishes, hope this finds you all well too!!
john
Mornin everyone....looks like we are getting some rain in the forecast....Hurricane Gustav is tracking south of Cuba on his current path...not good news for my young sunflowers.....will watch the path throughout the day....shutter up tomorrow.....if needed.....i will report when possible....follow along with excitement at
www.stormcarib.com
j
BE SAFE EVERYONE!!!
THE OFFICIAL INTENSITY FORECAST IS INCREASED AND NOW CALLS
FOR GUSTAV TO BE A MAJOR HURRICANE IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA. IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT BOTH THE GFDL/HWRF FORECAST SHOW AN EVEN STRONGER HURRICANE. MOST INDICATIONS ARE THAT GUSTAV WILL BE AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA IN A FEW DAYS.
Oh Lord, here we go again...I pray that all in Gustavs' path are safe.
I will be following along on your link John, take care...keep in touch when, and if, you can.
yeah, Ivan and Gustav....not sure what to think...has just been down graded....no longer a cane...will probably change by morning....once the system hits the warm tropic waters, will gather strength again and keep us honest...we are ready, shopping done, shutters at the ready....staying alert for whatever....at least it's warm and I'm still wearing shorts....haven't worn long pants in over 15 years....small price to pay.....let it blow! Gustav, kiss my ass!
caveman
the latest track...got rhum, aint skeered....
caveman
Checking in to see how you are doing in your part of the world...Johns hyperlink mentioned lightening shows in the Virgin Isles, hoping everyone is ok.
South Beach is still GREAT! I have lost 29 lbs. since 2 June and Hurricanes aid in the diet.....when there's no food, there's no eating.....hence Weight loss....I got down to my High School weight just after Ivan.......once the food and beer arrived, it was a feeding frenzy!!! I know better now....have worked too hard to make myself look presentable in a 2 mil shorty!!!! gotta go....j
I agree on South Beach. I determinedly gained back what I'd taken off by baking cookies at home, and eating all of them, and going to the beach bars and eating fried stuff with three or four beers. Boom! Got back in three months what I'd gotten rid of(Not lost! When you lose something, you want it back) I had gotten rid of more than fourty pounds of blubb, but that took me a year. But, I didn't like the attention that I was getting from men, isn't that nuts? Just not the kind of attention I like.
Your Island will be much better prepared this time. St Croix was a wreck a year after Hugo. They had to replace 13,000 of out 14,000 telephone poles. Some folks didn't have electricity for eight months! Now everytime(!) we get a storm, they get the roads cleared very quickly, and electricity back on in days.
Ah well, I need to do more than blabb here, Later, everyone! have a successful day!
Aloha, way to go John - 29lbs - that's great! I hope this morning finds you both safe and sound on your islands.
HEY KIDS!!
We are as ready as we can be...forecasts say Gus is less than a cat 2 sometime tomorrow...layin back enjoyin some bluz on the box....catch you kids on the other side of it.....thanks for the thoughts and prayers....they have helped ease the stress of yet another storm....feel it folks!!!
j
Good Morning!!
Didn't sleep well and up since 4 a.m.....a bit restless with anticipation of Gustav's arrival i guess....just a few plants to move inside....
here's a question, should we dig up all of our herbs and replant them after the storm? I don't think we will have winds over 100 mph but we just dont know...all the herbs have done so well since we installed 50% shade cloth over the top of them....I took the cloth down yesterday in prep for the storm but wondering what to do with the plants now...
otherwise, we are as ready as we can be....i will continue updates as long as the power stays on....
j
I, too, was up most of the night. Have never had to deal with 100 MPH winds but I would take my largest roasting pan and what ever else it required and dig the herbs under the roots, plant in the pan. Pretty sure the high winds will shred the leaves and if inside they have a better chance. After the storm has passed, plant back where they were originally.
Concerned about you and kate.
Then we have the Gulf Coast to take our attention. Lots of DGers there.
Will be checking on you as soon as it is possible.
Love all of you,
Christi
It's 4.45am here too - of course it's much later with you, probably far too late to say I would cut the tops of the herbs off and leave the roots in the ground !
Hope all is well John, I will be waiting for news...
Jen
Depending on how long the plants have been in the ground... But I doubt if you're still running around outside as I write.
Cutting off plants short is a good idea. Keep the tops of the herbs to dry, and still have the plants in the ground, especially if there's low protection like solid fences.
OK, as for me, I'm watching a low that's off Africa! rediculous.
Christi, everybody that's prepared will be OK. And we all have to have our turn, also.
Don' worry, be happy" Be well!
Mo, you need to keep your eyes on Hanna....it's messing about and could affect you in a day or three..
right now in Cayman, light breeze, occasional gusts...along with sudden bursts of heavy downpours....chores done now and we're riding the waves as they say.....I will update every couple hours if the power stays on and there is an interest....party on Garth!
ferg
definitely an interest. Let us know how you and Kate are faring.
Hey gang...we are cool here ya, got some spotted winds and downpours so far....here is a link to the latest on Gustavabitch....
http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1033202
We are hold up...got baby herbs pulled and potted...got fresh fish grilled up....got cold beer in a glass...nothing else to report for now....I think the good stuff happens later....no sleep 'round here until all clear is given...sometime tomorrow....good luck Gulf Coast...Gus will gain strength from us and nothing but deep, warm water to feed on thru the Yuc..Pen...our prayers stay with you....more as possible....
ferg
should have added this link... a new weather site and it gives up to the minute info from the PLANET! great stuff here....only problem is we can see what's next.....i guess the shutters will stay up until Christmas again....I have a plan tho....Christmas lights incorporated with Hurricane Shutters...Brilliant!! Put them up once and leave 'em!! No, I never lived in a trailer park!
still laughin....
j
Our prayers are with you too, John and Katie! Be safe!
So far it looks like we should be ok. Most of the models say it is going in to the east of us from Beaumont (say a prayer for Janet and Connie) to the panhandle of Fla (Mainly New Orleans).
My sister lives near Pascagula, MS, so they are preparing as well. They will be on the wet side, possibly. We as well are praying for the whole Gulf Coast!
Thanks for the prayers everyone and our prayers are with you all as well.
Recently updated to a Cat. 2 Hurricane, Gustav is passing us right now as I type this. The eye is 50 miles away to the North of us. Pelting rain and very strong wind gusts..Spike and I went outside to have a look see...garden shed door ripped off...I found it and carried it inside. Everything else seems to be holding up.
Thankful to still have power and water...wish i could sleep...very tired but can't seem to drop off....more later
Good luck Gulf Coast, Gustav is going to continue to strengthen as it leaves Cayman...
john
Hi, John, I look at the weather online every day of the year. Seven eyes makes one jumpy. Hanna's a funny one, going away to the NW, not even any rain here, but it's supposed to left turn southwest into the Bahamas, then where?
A house is a shelter, not a showcase. The old Great Houses here have outside walls four feet thick, and interior walls three feet thick. The slave houses have walls two feet thick. From historical writings, St Croix got a probably cat five storm, to read what they wrote was amazing and very frightening.
A neighbor just built a little 'house' for his two trash barrels beside the street. Block, with a four inch thick reinforced concrete roof!! For his trash cans! hahaha. Hugo totally destroyed St Croix. You cannot hire a builder to build a stickbuilt house. They're all block now. Folks who haven't been in a storm have no idea of the force, do they?
I bet the Cayman canal homeowners are going to be building flood fences around their homes now, hey?
Glad you were missed. I bet 7mile beach looks funny!
Glad you're OK.
Good morning!
We still have TS winds and rain now....I hope the rain will wash most of the salt spray off so things don't turn brown...Did not do a complete walk around but overall things look okay.
The tops of the bamboo are all snapped off. Oleanders snapped off. Shamrock, same...Shed door, lots of leaves from everything everywhere....Will head back outside with my coffee and take some pictures....When my bride awakes from her slumber, the video cam will head out and we'll post a video on youtube....I will send the link to anyone that wants it....dmail me ...
thats it for now...i am really tired, didn't sleep much and stress always makes me tired...It's over now but the cleanup, at least for us...Gulf coasters, monitor Gustav as he is gaining strength and is heading over warm, deep water...G
Good Luck everyone and thanks!!
j
Aloha John,
So glad to wake up this morning, log in, and find you safe and sound. Hopefully you will be getting some rest now. I am looking forward to seeing your video on youtube when you have time and have caught up on your sleep.
Jen
Lucky GC, not so lucky Little and Brac. Glad you're OK John, and now back to no beer!
Leaves have it tough with wind and salt rain. Every storm here, the trees all turn brown the next day because the leaves are so bruised. Hurricanes pick up a lot of sea water and rain it down, salt rain.
The leaves drop off the trees after several days, and everything looks funny, winter in Paradise? Then it turns green again in a week or so.
Spotty heavy rain here today, leftover from Hanna moving northwest. I drove ten miles out to Cane Bay, and it was raining, dry, then raining again. Here's a rainy place out in the sae. If you look closely, there's St Thomas on the right
Here's a photo of a rain shower between St Croix and St Thomas, fourty miles away, taken a few days ago.
Great pic Mola! John, so glad that you and Katie and Spike made it through another one. Look at all the "tops gone" and mass pruning...they will grow back fuller and more lovely than ever.
Hope everyone else in the paths stay warm and dry and safe. Everything else is just "stuff".
As far as south beach goes:
1) Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
2) A balanced diet is better than any fad. Balance = a cookie in each hand.
3) Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
Yokwe all,
Shari
Beautiful Sunny day here...quite a change from yesterday....I see that Gustav is a real monster now...Cayman is surely Blessed....Good luck Gulf Coasters!! Be smart, your preparations should be winding down now as it draws within a day of landfall...
Sorry we did not get out yesterday to shoot anything...spent the whole day cleaning up all the debris in the yard. I did manage a shot this morning...folks scramble for any high ground they can find during a storm...6000 cars were flooded during Ivan and no wants that again....here is a few that have yet to get moved back home....
j
We are having weird Kwaj weather here. Beautiful sunny day, and it is raining like mad! I always worry about all of you folks since so many storms start out here. When we get strange weather, it usually means a TS is heading toward HI and the States. I know, the ones you get John don't form out here, nor usually the ones that hit in the Gulf, but I can't help but think of you all anyway. Please, everyone, better safe than sorry, so don't be stubborn. Take care.
Yokwe,
Shari
Hey Shari and JB!! as I stated above, Cayman was Blessed yet again...Gustav was just waking up when he passed us and took steroids between us and Cuba. Now, the still Katrina raveged(3 years to date) New Orleans is fixin to get mashed up again...I pray life is spared and recovery wont take as long this time...Hannah looks like it is heading for Jxsvlle and Savana Georgia....still a Tropical Storm but warm water builds strength and it's August....further to the East, just south of the Cape Verde Islands, No. 2 is something to watch, all the ingredients are in place to be the next named storm...IKE is the next one....Cayman always has trouble with male named storms....anyway, enough of my weather forecasting...
Hope you and JB are well, thanks for the thoughts and we'll keep ya posted!!! oh, by the way, I found a plate from CHUUK....my newest addition to the collection....check it out!!
thanks for catching up with us...look after each other,
j
