Everything had been quite calm overnight, so we concluded that whatever we experienced the day before was now gone.  We were unaware that the wind was still strong, but because of the protection of the surrounding mountains, we experienced none of it.  We were also unaware that the waves were continuing to bombard the western shores, but because we were safely tucked away deep in the Cul-de-Sac at Le Marin, the water immediately around us was flat calm.  It was like we were in our own little protected bubble, while a storm raged on around us.

We went ashore first thing in the morning to clear Customs.  We checked the Weather Advisory posted on the bulletin board of the marina.  Lenny was approaching St. Maarten (Advisory 20A), and although it had lost a bit of its strength, it was still strong at 115 knots, well into Category 4 territory.  The forecast was still calling for it to move quickly off to the northeast.

One of the local shops had printed a satellite photo of the storm from the day before and tacked it up in the window.  I was aghast at what I saw.  It showed that we had clearly sailed through a heavy rainband.  I have seen these satellite photos for many years.  Now I know what it’s like to be inside one of the rainbands.  We asked the shopkeeper if we could have the photo for a souvenir.

We began talking to people about the situation.  Remember, we are in a French country and French is not our first language.  Collectively, the three of us were just barely capable of forming one bad sentence in French.  We were told that the sea was very rough and that there was heavy damage, but we did not know what that really meant.  We asked about making passage to Anse Mitan, our preferred destination, but were told that it was inadvisable because of the rough seas.  I spoke with staff from the Moorings, who told me that they were keeping their fleet in.  They did not think we should consider Trois Islets, just behind Anse Mitan, because passage will be next to impossible.

We still didn’t get it.  I guess until we actually saw the rough water, we thought we could make it.  After all, we’re J24 sailors.  We pressed a few more people, all advised against the trip.  None of them said anything like “don’t even think about it, stupid,” because then we would have understood.  At that point, I decided we would stay in Le Marin for another day, but felt bad that we were missing out on our preferred destination of Anse Mitan.

We wandered up the hill and explored the town.  The sky was light overcast and it was stinking hot.  The first rainband had passed and there was a bit of a break behind it.  If a hurricane could have a lay-day, it was having one now.

Sitting There Ordering Drinks

We stopped for lunch at the restaurant/bar above Supermarché Annette called La Terrasse.  This spot had a great view of the harbor, so we just sat there and enjoyed ourselves.  We were joined by a fellow we met at breakfast named Wolfgang who, as far as we could determine, was either a gunrunner or a mercenary, or maybe both.  All afternoon we sat, ordering drinks, telling lies, and watching the rainstorms roll through the harbor.  Hurricane schmurricane!  It was a great afternoon. 

During this time, Lenny had finally arrived in St. Maarten, parking just a few miles off the coast to the southwest  (Advisory 21A).  It was still packing a mean punch at 115 knots. This hurricane was no longer moving, and forecasters were beginning to get nervous about where it would go next.  Certainly they had exhausted our patience with their “northeast” prediction.

Late in the afternoon, we rolled down the hill back to the boat for an afternoon nap.  Lenny had decided to head 10 miles north and provide grief to the citizens of Anguilla.  It stalled over Anguilla (Advisory 22), but was downgraded to Category 3 at 105 knots.  Like it made any difference.  The NOAA were really getting nervous because none of their projection models were working.

Situation Finally Sinks In Thursday Evening 

After a brief nap, a shower, and a most excellent cocktail hour on the boat, we piled into the dinghy and motored over to Indigo, a great little restaurant on the water at the far end of the marina.  We dined on fine seafood and listened to an excellent Cuban band playing some form of lively Latin music.

During dinner, the couple next to us was reading  the day’s newspaper.  I happened to notice a double page spread of color photos showing severe devastation and destruction.  I asked where this had happened.  The response was “all over the island”.  “In fact,” the gentleman stated, “right over there”, pointing towards Club Med just a mile away.

Yes indeed, there were photos of damage in St. Pierre, Fort de France, Anse Mitan, and Ste. Anne.  We were astounded to discover that this had gone on all around us, yet it was the very first we heard of it.  It was a bit of a shock.

Meanwhile, back in Toronto, Gord Burt was beginning to get a little nervous.  He later wrote:

“I was due to fly down on Friday November 19^th.  On the 18^th, I contacted Seth at Barefoot (see response below) to see if he had heard from the Suspects, and he replied that he had not.  He did confirm that LIAT was certainly flying and that I should make my way south the next day (Friday the 19^th). “

Text of email from Seth:  

Hi Gordon

I have had no news from Rob and crew - which I am assuming is good news. They left here as planned and were intending to go to St Lucia and then to Martinique.  LIAT is indeed flying to Martinique so I don't think you have any problems there - we have had very little wind down here, the problem has been very large seas but these are now subsiding.  I would go for it.  I presume that Rob made a rendezvous with you (Le Marin in Martinique?).

Let me know if you need anything further.

Best wishes
Seth
Barefoot Yacht Charters

“As I was packing my bags that night, I got a call from the Suspects advising that they were in Martinique – Le Marin, at a different location and that other than some rain everything was fine. Given the somewhat disjointed weather reports I was looking at - I heaved a sigh of relief!“

“I packed my bags, printed off the latest weather predictions etc. (even though they continued to be less definitive than usual!) and early the next morning left for the airport.“  

We had not contacted Gord in Toronto up to this point.  He did not know what was going on, just that he was to join us the next day, and that we were somewhere near “Extremely Dangerous Hurricane Lenny”.  We called him at 10:00 PM to tell him not to take a taxi to Anse Mitan, but that we would rent a car and pick him up at the airport. 

By 11:00 PM that night, Lenny was back over St. Maarten. (Advisory 23), but was continuing to weaken.  That might sound good, but the longer a hurricane lingers over a spot, the more damage it causes.  Rain causes flooding, erosion, mudslides, and lots of damage.  This thing was stalled 250 miles away from us, and the NOAA did not really know where it is going next. For the first time in history, the NOAA admitted that they had no confidence in any of their forecasting models.  Lenny could go anywhere next.  We were back on the boat pouring rummers.

Right In the Eye of The Storm

Our experiences over those two days were inconsequential compared to what happened in St. Maarten.  I later read through the reports on the Caribbean Hurricane Network website and was horrified.  The website also provides a comprehensive report on the entire hurricane that is well worth reading.