Tourists Make the Best of Charley

Honeymooners Terry and Jane Fisher from Missouri enjoyed a walk on the beach during Hurricane Charley	The Lansberg family was ready to leave the Island but stayed for the storm

Monday, August 16, 2004

While most people do not take a Cayman Islands vacation for the wind and the rain, that’s what everybody got on last Thursday when Hurricane Charley came calling.

In the end, the storm was a lot less trouble than was anticipated, but the hurricane warnings closed nearly all the shops, restaurants, watersports operations and attractions, giving many tourists little to do.

Some tourists, however, were keen to experience a hurricane firsthand.

Visitors Mark and Nancy Knourek were outdoors when Charley was expected to be at its worst.

“We were walking along the beach this morning at around 11:30 and saw clear blue skies,” said Mark. “We’re here from Arizona, and we were hoping we might get some real tropical weather while we were on Grand Cayman, as we don’t see much rain around our way.”

The Knoureks, who were staying at Treasure Island Resort, were determined not to let the weather stop them from enjoying their vacation with four other members of their family and their young son, they intended to make the most of the day regardless of the weather.

“We’ve been here a week already and had plenty of time on the beach, so we don’t mind a little rain. We are just going to relax with the rest of the family”

Terry and Jane Fisher, honeymooners from Springfield, Missouri were staying at the Hyatt Regency and decided to check out some of the other resorts along Seven Mile Beach.

“We thought we’d head down the beach and look at some of the other hotels because of the rain,” said Jane.

“After the warnings, we expected something big, but we get weather worse than this in the Mid-West,” added Terry. “We are quite happy to be out in the weather. It’s great out on the beach.

The Fisher’s saw little damage caused by Charley. “We noticed that some trees had come down by the Ritz-Carlton site, but they can’t have been there for more than about three minutes, and we haven’t seen any other damage at all on our travels.”

Rick Ortes and his wife Angela were staying at the Westin Casuarina Resort and waiting to leave the Island after their flight got cancelled. “We are hoping to get out this afternoon, though we’re in no real hurry because the storm’s heading that way, too.”

Some tourists were surprised with the precautions taken in advance of the hurricane, including Martin and Kala Lansberg, who were visiting from California with their one-year-old daughter Sarika.

“The way they were building this up, we had to decide whether to stay or go,” said Martin.

“Just in case, I had us packed and ready to go,” said Kala

The family was glad they decided to stay. “This hurricane wasn’t really anything. I’m from Holland originally, and breezes like this are everyday weather there.

The Lansbergs took a stroll on the beach at 11 am, during what was supposed to be the worst part of the storm. “It was beautiful. The only effects of the storm we noticed were that three coconuts had fallen.”

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