The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Family Island hotels impacted by Melissa will be able to see “light at the end of a very short tunnel” even though their planned early November re-openings may be slightly delayed by post-storm clean-up.

Kerry Fountain, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business that even though the storm was “worse than expected” for some properties it had proven “a wake-up call” by warning that the resort sector cannot afford to “let down your guard” even for a Category One to Two hurricane.

He added that boutique resorts such as Cape Santa Maria, Gems of Paradise and Stella Maris on Long Island, as well as the likes of San Salvador’s Riding Rock Resort & Marina, had all reported similar impacts - some shingles and minor room damage but nothing structural, along with downed trees, flooding and utility outages involving downed electricity lines, water and Internet services.

“All of the hotels I’ve spoken to today are going through similar circumstances,” Mr Fountain told this newspaper on Friday. “It was worse than what they thought it was going to be in the north [of Long Island]. Everyone was expecting the storm to pass over the south but they got some backwinds or whatever you want to call it.

“Riding Rock Resort & Marina reported some water, some flooding, downed power lines, no electricity, intermittent Internet. The common thread or common denominator is that people are grateful they are alive, and all they have to do if they have electricity is turn on the TV and look at what happened in Jamaica, and particularly Montego Bay. I don’t think anyone has the means to complain.

“Unfortunately, a lot of hotels were getting ready to re-open next [this] week, but at least there’s light at the end of a very short tunnel,” Mr Fountain added. “You’re going to lose some early day business, but if you look at what’s going on in Jamaica, that’s long-term.

“Everyone’s thankful. We have some cleaning up to do, but there’s a very short tunnel and then we’ll see the light. I would say that everyone’s grateful and cleaning up. When the hurricane went from a Category Five or Category Four to a Category Two and weakened, you think you can let your guard down, but there’s no letting down your guard in a Category Three or Category Two hurricane. Really, it’s a wake-up call.”

Mr Fountain said that while The Bahamas did not require significant aid this time to recover from Melissa, those who have helped include the same private pilots and private commercial carriers that have been battered in recent years by the Davis administration’s increase of aviation-related fees.

“It’s the sort of people we didn’t call and consult with when we increased aviation fees,” he noted. “These are the same folks that help us through thick and thin. They are true partners and, no matter how we treat them, they are always ready to help us. It’s a lesson to be learned and remembered.”

The Bahama Out Island Promotion Board chief said he also plans to lobby and advocate for this nation to host a weather conference as a means of educating meteorologists about both its vulnerability to climate change and its archipelagic nature. He added that this will help ensure that, when a hurricane strikes The Bahamas in future, TV meteorologists do not suggest the entire Bahamas has been impacted.

Joel Friese, principal of Long Island’s Stella Maris resort, told Tribune Business last week that the property had “come off fairly lightly but worse than expected” with damage to roof shingles, windows and doors. However, the resort avoided any structural damage to property and buildings.

Mr Friese, who was off-island but getting regular reports and images from Long Island, told this newspaper of Melissa: “It was a lot worse than they were expecting. The power is off. They’re expecting to turn it on in the north by [last[ night. I think the south got a little harder hit and there’s probably downed lines.

“There’s reports of flooding. I know of roof damage, building damage in the Stella Maris area, and a lot of debris and trees, and specifically problems with the main road in the Gray’s area which is unpassable from flooding. There was a tremendous amount of rain, and I’d heard the eye went right over Clarence Town.”

Speaking to the impact on the resort, Mr Friese added: “We do have some damage - shingles, screening, paint damage. A window here and there, a door here and there. Basically nothing heavy or structural, but lots of clean-up to come. We came off fairly lightly but worse than expected though. I think it will probably take a few days,” he added.

“We’ve heard Cape Santa Maria is the same. It’s a little more than minor, not major, but there’s still a considerable amount of damage that needs to be cleared and repair what is necessary. By the forecast we thought the northern end of the island would be spared a bit more but it did a bit of a turn. There was no salt water flood but it was rain water flooding.”