Hurricane Patricia 2015 Part Three

Hurricane Patricia Part Three: the aftermath

The hotel and grounds suffered a lot of damage from fallen trees

and flying roof tiles. Some windows were broken. The tennis courts took a particularly bad hit with several night lights laying broken on the ground.

 But the structure of the hotel is fine and by the time we finished breakfast a lot of it was already cleaned up. The big beautiful fig tree by the pool fell into the pool. That was sad to see. So no pool for a week or so.

The marina itself also fared quite well. Power had been turned off but some of the electrical meters were ripped out. Several of the caps on the pilings blew off, to where, one can only guess as there were none to be found. A few cleats were ripped out. A lot of trees and coconuts lying around but again pretty minimal stuff. No water on the dock and no power. That may take a couple of days. Water was pretty muddy due to the runoff from the mountains. Looked like chocolate milk.

Some minor damage to the docks.

A freighter broke loose from its anchorage and was wedged between the rocks on the other side of Punta Gordon, right behind us. The salvage crew is here from Florida.

We lossed the cover on our radar. David has tried the radar and it does not seem to be working. Good news today - after talking to our insurance company - we can get it replaced for $250 deductable. Phew! He will go up the mast on Tuesday to check it out but we may have lost the radar also. Otherwise the boat was dry and in order. Within a couple of hours we had the tarps and awnings back on and everything in its place. It was as if it did not happen.

By Sunday the hotel was back to normal despite no power. The road was closed for a day due to flooding so they could not get any more fuel for the generator. And the regular power comes from Barra which will be down til Monday or Tuesday. In order to conserve the fuel that they had, they only ran the generator a couple of hours a day. Most of the debris has been cleaned up, floors mopped up and cleaned. The tree has been cut up and removed from the pool - we are talking a big tree! 

I was talking to the manager and he was apologizing that it was taking them a bit longer as some of their staff could not get to work as they needed to deal with things at their homes. He only felt sorry that the hotel could not help them out more. During the last hurricane the hotel did not suffer any damage but put together teams to go to their staff's homes and help them. But this time there was too much to deal with at the hotel. 

They are amazing people. Some of the staff have lost their homes and one day later they are back at work! They are happy that their families are safe and that is all that is important. The rest is just stuff and can be replaced and rebuilt. By Saturday the rebuilding had already started. But you could see the sadness in their eyes when they greeted you. You just know that some of them lost a lot.

I went over to Barra on Sunday to check on Armon's house. A little water got in and so some of the small mats are wet but that was it. The beautiful flower bed of Bird of Paradise on the street side was lying flat out. And the huge tree across the street looked like it was the dead of winter. Two days ago it was green and loaded with beautiful flowers. On Sunday not a leaf to be found!

We usually cannot see the lady across the street when she is on the roof balcony for trees and things. Her roof was completely bare. But she had already cleaned up and had a pile of branches and debris 8 feet across and 5 feet high on the road. And she did that all herself. Oh - and did I mention that she is probably 75 years old! I asked if she needed help and she said no thank you. She was done and just waiting for the shredding truck to show up - which it did one hour later. She was low on water so I did give her one of our 20 liter water jugs.So you would think she would be ready to sit down and take a rest. No, she was across the street helping her neighbors. Incredible.

The army was also in town already giving out bags of food and water to anyone who needed it. The look on people's faces - they were excited as if it was Christmas!

But at one point I was coming over on the water taxi and I thought - should have brought my iPad so I could take some pictures. Then I looked up and the water taxi dock and palapa were no longer there. A couple of restaurants were more than half destroyed. These were people that we know. And I thought - I can't take pictures of this! These are people's homes and livelihood. This is not entertainment. I had a really hard time keeping the tears in check. And the only reason why I did not cry is that I did not see any one else crying, or upset, or angry. They were just quietly cleaning up and helping each other out and grateful that their families were okay. But I tell you - Sunday mass was standing room only! Even the pea hens showed up - trying to peck at the women's nail polish and shoes!

I have an incredible amount of respect for the people in this little town of 7000. The main part of tourist season starts next week and their main drive is to get these businesses opened and ready. The sad part was most of them had just finished painting and tidying up their businesses in preparation for the season. 

So we survived Hurricane Patricia. It was humbling if nothing else. But nothing compared to the people in some of the surrounding towns that lost much more.

Tomorrow we are hoping the road is opened to Puerto Vallarta. It has been closed due to mudslides.

But the bus company tells us they should be back in business. We will be returning to Victoria for a couple of weeks to pick up some much needed parts for our boat. Most importantly we want to see family and friends.

I understand that Hurricane Patricia, or the remnants of her, have now reached Toronto and southern Ontario, bringing lots of rain and winds gusting at 75!kpm.

Her path has crossed three countries!

In conclusion, I know that we were extremely lucky. We had some things working to our advantage. The fact that Patricia was moving so fast, the storm surge was less than it could have been, her path was quite narrow and the rain was a lot less as she did not have enough time to pick up as much water as she could have. But do not assume that this was anything less than a horrendous hurricane. People have lost their homes, and plantation after plantation has been destroyed. Businesses have been destroyed which means people's livelihood.

But the people are incredible and I can't help but continue to emphasize this. Today is a beautiful day in paradise. People are laughing and working hard. The sun is shining and all is good.

For all of you that contacted us - we thank you for thinking of us.

Hurricane Patricia 2015 Part Two

Part Two: Our Experience with Hurricane Patricia

So now that your meteorological lesson is over you might be wondering what it was like for us experiencing it.

We were able to predict with some accuracy, I might add, just what to expect from Hurricane Patricia due to excellent forecasting (EEB Mike and WindyTY.com), information from the marina office and hotel and information from the weather channel. What we did not know and never knew was where Patricia would actually come ashore. At times it looked like we were going to be a direct hit!

We had three days to prepare. All hands were on deck. This included the owners of boats that were in the marina, the marina staff and the guys whose job it is to look after specific boats. All tarps and awnings were removed and stowed. Solar panels were lowered and tied down. Anything that could blow away was removed from the deck and stowed below. The water tanks were filled. The batteries were fully charged. Extra provisioning was done. We took some extra wraps on the Genoa and staysail to prevent them from possibly unfurling and laid out extra dock lines. The dinghy was secured on deck. We were as ready as we could be.

We also decided to remove the dodger after this picture was taken. You can see the spring lines that helped to keep the boat from be pushed to tightly onto the dock.

Friday morning came and we, along with most of the boat owners, took up the offer of a reduced rate and booked a room in the hotel. We were allowed to check in early so at 10 o'clock we brought our stuff up to the room. This included important boat documents, passports and extra cash. We had a fridge in the room so we also brought up some of our food - crackers, cheese, sandwich fixings, fruit. All of our rooms overlooked the marina so we were able to keep an eye on our boats ( no pun intended).

We had a beautiful delux room with a king size bed and a bath tub! You must remember we live on a 37 foot boat so such luxuries are just that -luxuries. 

At this time the rain had just started and the winds were blowing about 20 mph. 

That is our boat on the third dock in the middle. The one on the right hand side of the finger with the blue sail cover.

David returned to the boat to make one final check of our lines and such. Everything was good so he returned to our room but he did not come empty handed. In one hand he had my stuffed moose from Finland ( our mascot) and in the other was some Grand Marnier. What a guy!

Nothing to do at this time except wait and pray. Not wanting to let an opportunity go by, I decided to have a bubble bath and some of that GM. 

David decided to have a siesta as it could very well be a long day and night! 

No one would have guessed that we were preparing for a Category 5 hurricane in the next 7 hours!

By early afternoon the winds had started to pick up along with the rain.  At one point I was sitting on the bed emailing family when all of a sudden I was splattered with glass. A small piece of the tile from the roof had broken the small side window. It took me a few seconds for it to register just what had happened. But I was not cut or anything and because it was a side window very little water came in. David was able to patch it up with a few towels.

The wind was coming from the East and as a result was hitting our patio door on a bit of an angle. But you could hardly make out the boats in the marina!

The large pillars between the suites was preventing a direct onslaught of rain. But the water still managed to seep through so we had to put towels along the bottom. There really was quite a lot of water on that part of the floor. We moved all of our stuff into the bathroom and sat on the bed located well back from the patio. And the noise from the wind was deafening.

It is amazing that through all of this we were able to send emails and stay in contact with family and friends!

I was looking out the window at about 5 o'clock and saw the boat beside us swing across the slip on an angle. One of the lines had obviously given way. Within 30 seconds I saw three of the marina workers run over to that dock and start re-securing Total Devotion. David could not stay in the room and just watch this happen. There was also a lull in the winds so he put on his rain slicker and went down to the docks. We realized later that this was the start of the wall of the eye passing over. 

I looked out from the window anxiously watching the activity on the docks. The cleat on our finger that was keeping Total Devotion's port stern on the dock had pulled right out of the dock. The boat did suffer a minimum amount of damage to the topside on the starboard side when it rubbed up against the dock. But really only a scratch.

Once this was taken care of the guys noticed that Karpesa's lines were also letting go. Now there were eight guys on the dock helping to re-secure her lines. They decided to move her over to the other side of the slip so that the wind would be pushing the boat onto the dock. This takes some of the strain off of the dock cleats. This was how our boat was tied up. And then the spring lines to the other side keep the boat from being pushed too hard onto the dock.

The lines on Leibling also looked like there was some potential to let go so those lines were tied around the pilings. Poncho told me after that him and Alejandro checked each dock and all of the lines every hour. At one point during the height of the winds they were actually holding hands to support each other! I tell you - these guys went way beyond the call of duty to protect our boats. I cannot say enough to about them!

With much relief I see David's yellow slicker returning to the hotel. At this time the phone rings and it is the front desk informing me that they have arranged a buffet dinner for us in the Grand Ballroom. So David met me there. We sat with the director of the hotel and it was then that we were informed that the eye was passing closely over us. It ended up passing 29.5 miles north of us which put us right on the wall! 

When it hit land it slowed down the forward movement of the hurricane and so we had a couple of hours of relative calm. They put on an amazing feast for us and the staff in that short time, including chicken, ribs, fish, salads, vegetables, rice and fruit and cake for desert. The director,  Edwardo, even had one of the guys go to the tequila Bar and bring back a bottle of Herradura - we are talking a very good bottle of tequila. One of the top 18 in the country! So we had a toast on the house! To celebrate our survival!

The room that they chose to have the buffet is actually a part of the hotel that is built into the Rock - almost like a bomb shelter. They had also put up cots and blankets and pillows for anybody who needed a place to sleep. The hotel had a good reservoir of water as they have their own water treatment plant and they have a large generator. At this time we still had power though.

We were so protected in the ballroom that we did not realize that the hurricane had started moving again, the wind had changed direction from the SSE and was building up strength. But this put us right in the lee of the hill. So when we got back to our room we actually had to look outside to see if it was still blowing and raining as no rain was being blown directly on our balcony this time. The estimate is that the winds topped out somewhere between 75 and 100 mph.

But the same was not to be said for Perula and Cuixmala and Chemala. Patricia came to shore at 165 mph. Apparently the towns are no more but the good news is the fact that all the people had been evacuated and so far there are no reported deaths. This area is also sparsely populated. It would have been a much different story if Patricia had come to shore at Manzanillo or Puerto Vallarta.

Another blessing was the fact that Patricia did not bring as much rain as originally forecasted. So even though there were floods and mudslides, the damage was a lot less than it could have been. A lot of damage was due to falling trees. Many plantations of bananas and papaya trees were demolished. It looked like someone had gone through with a machete.

It continued to rain and blow through the night. As Patricia moved further and further inland those winds eased off and by 0700 am it was over. 

We went back to the ballroom for a wonderful buffet breakfast and then back to the room to pack up. Time to get back to the boat and assess the aftermath.

We had just experienced an incredible 12 hours. By morning I felt like I was part of a movie. After waking up to a sunny day one had to wonder if we hadn't dreamt the entire thing.

But I have to say that during it all we were never scared. The hotel staff and marina staff were incredible. There was never any sign of panic or mayhem. Some large windows had broken in the lobby and lounge and there seemed to be water everywhere but people just quietly dealt with it and kept everyone safe. The director and managers were always around to give comfort and support and ensure that we were okay. They would personally call us in our room to let us know that the food was ready! And they looked after their staff as well as themselves. Amazing!

So now that Patricia has passed it is time to assess. And so I move on to Part Three.

 

Hurricane Patricia 2015 Part One

Hurricane Patricia: Part One

Many of you are aware that we experienced a major hurricane on the 23 rd of October. After getting many emails to ask us how we were I decided it was about time I got this Blog up and running again. I was just waiting for something exciting to write about. Well excitement we got and then some! I do not want to worry any of you or keep you in suspense so I will tell you the ending before I begin. We are fine and the boat is fine. There were some nervous moments but all is good with the world and things are almost back to normal.

Just a little side bar: I was going to return to the Blog with a short recap of what we did this summer. I had the script all written and when I went to copy and paste it into the Blog I cut it instead. That means I have to rewrite the whole thing. Well that could take a while and I am sure you are more interested in the hurricane so I have decided to post this first and tell my story about our summer later.

Once I started writing I realized that this edition was turning into a chapter in a book. So I have decided to divide it into three parts. In keeping with my past Blogs, I have always tried to explain aspects of our sailing adventures to those reading this Blog who are not sailors. You got it - that means another education session - Hurricanes 101!

So Part One will try to do that. The experienced sailors may want to skip this part except for the specific characteristics as they applied to Hurricane Patricia. Part Two will describe exactly what we went through, our experiences with the people, the destruction and the unbelievable attitude of the Mexican people in this area to deal with the situation. Part Three will be the aftermath.

First of all you may hear a hurricane called a typhoon, a cyclone, a tropical revolving storm or a willy- willies. I kind of like the last one! But what it is called is usually related to what part of the world it occurs in. It is called a hurricane once the wind speed exceeds 64 knots. But wind alone does not define it. It also has to have certain characteristics that go with the speed. 

The formation of a hurricane begins as the winds blow around an area of low pressure. In the northern hemisphere this occurs in an anti- clockwise direction. As the wind moves towards the center it begins to spiral causing it to get sucked even further into the center or core. This core or eye defines the hurricane.

Hurricanes in this part of the world usually get their start between 7* and 15* latitude on either side of the equator. The breeding ground is the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where the two opposing trade wind systems meet. During the hurricane season starting in May the ITCZ starts to move north into Mexican waters. In our case this area of low pressure or tropical depression originated in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Remember when we crossed that area last year? - at the narrowest part of Mexico.

They usually travel about 10-12 knots and head in a NNW to NE direction. Note that this is the direction of the movement of the depression and not the direction of the wind!  During the summer the sun heats up and the sea water heats up warming and moistening the air above it. It is actually the revolution of the earth on its axis that creates the counter clockwise spin on the rising air current (Coriolis effect).  It is the combination of the low barometric pressure, the warm water temperatures and the increased moisture that results in the formation of the hurricane. And it is the heat that is released when the water vapor condenses that gives the hurricane its energy. So as long as the hurricane remains over warm water its energy supply is endless.

And this is exactly what happened with Patricia. In Patricia's case the barometric pressure was the lowest ever recorded at 880 millibars. The sea temperature was also warmer than normal at 29 C. El Niño and global warming? The winds were also light in the upper atmosphere preventing any shearing effect on the top part of the formation. When these winds are strong they can help to cut down the strength of the hurricane and disrupt the eye. This did not happen.

Through most of the summer these winds tend to travel in a WNW direction and die in cold waters as they approach Hawaii. All of the Hurricanes this summer have done just that, including Carlos which threatened us in late June. But come October their movement can become a little more erratic, intensifying rapidly, recurve and hit the Mexican coast. This is exactly what happened with Patricia.

So during this time of the year you just do not want to be sailing on this part of the coast. What you do want to do is find an area along the coast that will provide you with some sort of protection. These are referred to as Hurricane Holes and though no area is completely safe certain ones have a history of being safer than others.

Barra de Navidad, particularly the marina on Isla de Navidad, and the place where we have kept our boat for the last two summers, is one of those holes. The location is 19* 12.0" N 104* 41.4 " W.

 Punta (Point) Graham provides excellent shelter for the marina and adjacent hotel. In the picture below you can see the town of Barra in the foreground. On the other side of the entrance to the lagoon is the hotel and marina tucked in at the base of the hill. In fact parts of the hill are actually cut into the Rock.

So the point not only provides a nook away from the main coast but the elevation also provides protection. Think of Gros Cap or Horshoe Bay. 

The grey dot denotes the location of the marina and hotel.

Surges could have been an issue but in this case Patricia was kind and there was really only one surge that raised the docks within three feet of the top of the pilings. The design as well as the location of the marina makes it a pretty safe place to keep the boat. The marina basin has been dredged out so it is lower than the lagoon and all pilings are 4-5 feet above ground level.

There is one aspect of a hurricane that I still need to explain before I get to Part Two and what we experienced.

A hurricane is divided into quadrants, mainly for the purpose of determining the safest point of sail when you are caught in a hurricane. Of course the best thing is to avoid the hurricane altogether. But when you are stationary you just end up in whatever quadrant you end up in. 

Take the circle of the hurricane and draw a cross through it with the y axis pointing in the direction that the wind is going. The right top quadrant is the most dangerous one. The right lower quadrant is less dangerous but still not a place you want to be. You really want to be in the left lower quadrant. 

In respect to our location, we were in the top right quadrant as the front of the hurricane passed over us. The eye touched land 29.5 miles to the north of us. The red dot is where Patricia went to shore. The blue dot was our location.

This put us in the wall of the eye of the hurricane!

That is pretty darn close! After the eye passed then the winds changed and we were sitting in the lower right quadrant. Still a pretty dangerous situation. The winds were measured at 165 mph where it came ashore and maxed at 75-100 where we were. We think the only reason why they were slower right in the marina and the hotel was due to the elevation of Ponta Gordon!

So if you go back to this picture of Punta Gordon I will try to explain how the wind approached us. 

If you draw a line from the dot to the bottom of the yellow circular road you get the direction of Patricia before the eye passed. If you draw a line from the dot to the end of the red line right on the shore y get the direction of Patricia after she turned and produced her strongest winds. But as you can see the point helped shelter us from some of it.

By 0700 it had moved quite a ways inland, ran into the mountains, lost a lot of its power and petered out! It was a wild 12 hours! Saturday turned into a sunny day, light winds and no rain.

So now that you know everything that I know about hurricanes it is time to go to Part Two. What did we actually experience? I will warn you. It was nothing as dramatic as what the news was reporting! But I have to say, and David will agree, the potential of what could have happened could give one nightmares!