Few people know the cruising communities of the Caribbean better than Chris Doyle \u2013 he examines what the aftermath of hurricanes can bring to the islands, and what might be next for Grenada and the Grenadines after Hurricane Beryl.Damaged yachts in the mangroves of Carriacou after Hurricane Beryl. Image: wxchasing.comHurricanes are not unexpected in the Caribbean. On average about seven form each year. But although everyone in the region remains alert, the path of a hurricane is relatively narrow and each year most islands are unaffected.\u00a0
\nGrenada has been disastrously hit only a few times in the past 70 years: Janet in 1955, Ivan in 2004, and now Hurricane Beryl. It would be rare for any location to average a bad hurricane hit more than about every 16 years.
\nHurricane Irma, which devastated Barbuda in 2017, is the only storm I know of that has precipitated a change so great that Barbuda is unlikely to be the same again. Barbuda is a low-lying 40,000-acre island with many lovely beaches. The population of around 1,700 people held the land in common and so controlled development. They\u2019d leased land to four hotels, two of them now defunct. Barbuda was low key and quiet. The Antigua and Barbuda government had long wanted to end the communal ownership of land and to encourage large-scale tourism, but the reaction of Barbudans was mixed \u2013 most wanted Barbuda to keep control of its own land.\u00a0
\nDevastation after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the Caribbean in 2017. Photo: Sharpshotaero\/Alamy
\nAfter Hurricane Irma, the government, for the safety of the population, ordered a complete evacuation of all Barbudans to Antigua. During the evacuation, the government did some restoration work, and started construction of an international airport for executive jets.
\nThe hurricane destroyed the Coco Point Lodge Hotel, which sold their lease to PLH, a high-end development company. PLH also bought the lease for the defunct Palmetto Point Hotel. Ever since, there has been a steady progression of development. Luxury houses now occupy the former Coco Point Lodge land. PLH is converting Palmetto Point into a resort. A report by the UN concluded: \u201cIn the midst of a global climate crisis\u2026 it is shocking to see the development of a yacht marina in an area known for its fragile ecosystem and a golf course on an island that relies on scarce groundwater resources.\u201d
\nThe low land barrier protecting Barbuda\u2019s Codrington Lagoon breached during Irma. This has happened before, but previously the barrier naturally restored within a few months. This time more has eroded \u2013 it is not recovering on its own.\u00a0
\nGrenada bounced back after the 2004 Hurricane Ivan as a central hub of yachting \u2013 here the Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis marina, Grenada, before Beryl.
\nIsland resilience
\nThe Caribbean is resilient in the face of hurricanes. Over the years I have seen many photos of terrible damage to an island, only to visit the next winter to find them up and running, apparently back to normal, even if there are occasional blue tarps on yet unrepaired roofs. \u00a0
\nThings are changing: when Hurricane Maria (2017) hit Dominica, very little information emerged for almost a week, but within a day of Beryl, news was coming from Carriacou and Union. While big aid organisations always help, 2024 is also the first year in which assistance arrived promptly: a helicopter delivered sandwiches to Petit Martinique very shortly after the storm.\u00a0
\nThe Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada was one of the first to start raising funds for Carriacou and to send aid on yachts. In Union Island Jeremie Tonet, who owns a kitesurfing business, did an almost miraculous job by raising \u20ac250,000 in just a few days and visiting Martinique to ship things needed by both plane and ship.
\nThe Tobago Cays in the Grenadines is a stunning cruising ground. Photo: Peter Phipp\/Travelshots.com\/Alamy
\nI returned to Grenada the winter following Ivan (2004) and life for most people was close to normal. But the rainforest was destroyed; trees stripped bare of their leaves and covered in vines. Its recovery was gradual, yet 10 years later most would not have known there\u2019d been a hurricane.
\nAbout the author
\nChris Doyle\u2019s is a name familiar to all Caribbean\u00a0cruisers, as the author of best-selling\u00a0cruising\u00a0guides of the region. Having explored the Caribbean for more than 40 years, there is barely an anchorage he hasn\u2019t visited or a harbour he hasn\u2019t surveyed. His knowledge of the eastern Caribbean is second to none, and his cruising guides can be found on the shelves and chart tables of thousands of boats.
\nThe post What next for Grenada after Hurricane Beryl? appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Few people know the cruising communities of the Caribbean better than Chris Doyle \u2013 he examines what the aftermath of hurricanes can bring to the islands, and what might be next for Grenada and the Grenadines after Hurricane Beryl.Damaged yachts … <\/p>\n