dpdash
09-18-2004, 03:17 PM
After alot of planning and some very generous people, Gary M and I headed over to WE and Bootle Bay to deliver some relief supplies and see first hand how they made out after Frances. The stories filtering out of WE were not good, nobody had power, water, phones etc. and there was very little in the way of stores or supplies. We loaded the Double D with as much stuff as possible and got a weather window to shoot over. We cleared Hillsboro inlet at 8:00 and and got to WE about 10:15. Seas were 2ish chop, not bad at all. The first thing we saw inside the basin was about a 100yard stretch of jetty completely gone, this was on the NE side of the basin. This pic was taken from inside the basin looking NE.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd001.jpg
After a littel debate with the customs official, we were allowed to clear without paying the clearance fee. Several of the large sportfish's out of Miami started to arrive and we had the only small boat so we headed up to Bootle to drop off our stuff there. As we approached Bootle, all of the vegatation was brown, reminded me alot of Miami after Andrew. We were very surprised to find that Vida and Lashonda had gone to West Palm before the storm and had not returned. Marvin, Norman and Vida's younger brother "Trick Daddy" were minding the store. To say the least, they were very happy to see us, as we were the first boat that had been there since the storm. Norman rode out the storm at Bootle and said that the water completely covered the island from N to South, with a river of water running right in front of Bootle, at the worst completely submerging the pilings on the cement dock! :eek3: The water came right up to the buildings step but did not go inside, they were extremely lucky. Vida's Seavee was floating on the trailer. Surprisingly, Bootle fared very well with minimal damage. The dock is fine, only one room had a roof leak. Here are a few shots of Bootle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd006.jpg
This boat didn't make it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd007.jpg
Bootle Dock looking west down the canal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd008.jpg
The canal behind Bootle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd009.jpg
They were so happy to see us, they fired up the generator and made us a delicious lunch of ff and cracked conch. After lunch, Norman and Marvin took us on a tour of the settlement of West End, which is located East of OBB and on the North side. It did not look very good as almost all of the buildings had at least 3' of saltwater in them. Granted, most of the houses that the locals lived in were not exactly "renovated" before the storm, but there was alot of damage and most of these people can't tap into their IRA's for some extra $ to rebuild. Here are some shots
This boat was docked just to the right
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd010.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd011.jpg
Harbor Hotel dock
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd012.jpg
Harbor Hotel bar, now pretty open air
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd013.jpg
Several sunken boats
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd015.jpg
Most people use generator's to run fridges, a/c etc, here, some locals take advantage of the generator to do a little stylin.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd016.jpg
After the tour of WE, it was time to head home, but first we did a little dropping for some dinner. Tried 3-4 different spots and caught Silky's in every one. Nothing else.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd017.jpg
Overall, the Bahamian spirit was very high, even though alot of people lost everything, house, car, boat and job. They will rebound but it is definitely going to take some time. The still need canned goods, personal items like toilet paper, wipes, tooth brushes, small propane containers, generators, meals that can easily be cooked etc.. West End had gas and diesel, they were pumping with a generator. I would like to personally thank several people for their generosity in making this trip a success:
Last Mango, Rugbychiro, Holdemhook, Gary M, Edk and many more non forum people who all donated time, $ and supplies. If any of you ever go over to the Bahamas and enjoy what they have to offer, now is the time to help in any way that you can, they sure would appreciate it.
Modified by Dpdash at 9:13 AM 9/18/2004
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd001.jpg
After a littel debate with the customs official, we were allowed to clear without paying the clearance fee. Several of the large sportfish's out of Miami started to arrive and we had the only small boat so we headed up to Bootle to drop off our stuff there. As we approached Bootle, all of the vegatation was brown, reminded me alot of Miami after Andrew. We were very surprised to find that Vida and Lashonda had gone to West Palm before the storm and had not returned. Marvin, Norman and Vida's younger brother "Trick Daddy" were minding the store. To say the least, they were very happy to see us, as we were the first boat that had been there since the storm. Norman rode out the storm at Bootle and said that the water completely covered the island from N to South, with a river of water running right in front of Bootle, at the worst completely submerging the pilings on the cement dock! :eek3: The water came right up to the buildings step but did not go inside, they were extremely lucky. Vida's Seavee was floating on the trailer. Surprisingly, Bootle fared very well with minimal damage. The dock is fine, only one room had a roof leak. Here are a few shots of Bootle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd006.jpg
This boat didn't make it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd007.jpg
Bootle Dock looking west down the canal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd008.jpg
The canal behind Bootle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd009.jpg
They were so happy to see us, they fired up the generator and made us a delicious lunch of ff and cracked conch. After lunch, Norman and Marvin took us on a tour of the settlement of West End, which is located East of OBB and on the North side. It did not look very good as almost all of the buildings had at least 3' of saltwater in them. Granted, most of the houses that the locals lived in were not exactly "renovated" before the storm, but there was alot of damage and most of these people can't tap into their IRA's for some extra $ to rebuild. Here are some shots
This boat was docked just to the right
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd010.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd011.jpg
Harbor Hotel dock
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd012.jpg
Harbor Hotel bar, now pretty open air
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd013.jpg
Several sunken boats
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd015.jpg
Most people use generator's to run fridges, a/c etc, here, some locals take advantage of the generator to do a little stylin.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd016.jpg
After the tour of WE, it was time to head home, but first we did a little dropping for some dinner. Tried 3-4 different spots and caught Silky's in every one. Nothing else.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/dpdash/WestEnd017.jpg
Overall, the Bahamian spirit was very high, even though alot of people lost everything, house, car, boat and job. They will rebound but it is definitely going to take some time. The still need canned goods, personal items like toilet paper, wipes, tooth brushes, small propane containers, generators, meals that can easily be cooked etc.. West End had gas and diesel, they were pumping with a generator. I would like to personally thank several people for their generosity in making this trip a success:
Last Mango, Rugbychiro, Holdemhook, Gary M, Edk and many more non forum people who all donated time, $ and supplies. If any of you ever go over to the Bahamas and enjoy what they have to offer, now is the time to help in any way that you can, they sure would appreciate it.
Modified by Dpdash at 9:13 AM 9/18/2004