Hurricane Dorian, September 1, 2019
by Joanne Feinstein
This past September, Hope Town, Abaco, Bahamas found itself in the middle of a historically devastating hurricane. Boats of all sizes were tossed onto land and golf carts were tossed into the harbour. This monster storm turned the usually picturesque Hope Town and the entire island of Elbow Cay inside out and upside down. It felt like being in a blender at the highest speed for days with no respite.
Those who stayed on the island, and the volunteers and second homeowners who arrived after the storm all could only react with shock at the totality of the destruction. The devastation and amount of debris was almost too large to comprehend, and the sadness felt accross the island was indescribable. The true force of nature that was witnessed during that storm was extremely frightening.
One of the boats that was washed ashore, a 46 ft troller named Crawfish, was on the east side of Queens Highway in Hope Town. She was a true fish out of water with a hole in her hull, badly damaged by Dorian’s wrath. Yet, Dorian was no match for a team of locals alongside the Abacays transport company from Man-O-War. Using a plethora of equipment and admirable professionalism, the team made the tall task of moving a boat the size of a house off the side of the road look much easier then it actually was.
Watching Crawfish make her way back to the floating barge to get repaired was a great inspiration for those there that day, serving as an example for how to combine teamwork and positive energy towards the larger cleanup effort on the island. The experience of seeing the community come together changed the face of the recovery after Dorian. It was a true testimony to the enormous potential of the human spirit and our ability to overcome nature’s powerful brute force.
In the end, as is true with most things in life, the more we can come together and help one another, the more we will all benefit. Hopefully we will one day all watch with full hearts as we see Crawfish cruising through the Sea of Abaco once again. A reminder of a time when human kindness and teamwork overcame even the most powerful of storms.
