Kat
Contributor
I got an e-mail from Jim Andrews, from CDL. It was a mass e-mail to everyone who had e-mailed him since the hurricane. So I thought I would post it here, so everyone will know what's going on. I did a search to see if anyone else had posted Jims letter & did not find it. However, if this has already been posted, I apologize for the error. Kat
Thursday, September 23, 2004 6:52 PM
From Jim at Cayman Diving Lodge
Hi all: Just a quick message to you who have written to us since the passing of Hurricane Ivan. Sorry it has taken so long, but this is the first chance I have had to respond due to lack of infrastructure here in Cayman. The update is that Kim and I have found an apartment to base ourselves out of in George Town; which is a good location for now as we just got power in this area yesterday...which means we finally have e-mail. Now if we could just get water...! So here's the status report:
As you may have learned from the dive report web site, CDL was badly damaged with the passing of Hurricane Ivan more than a week and a half ago. We experienced a near direct hit of a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and gusts up to 208 mph. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced, and we are happy to all be alive and well. Try to imagine myself, Kim and the three lodge dogs all hiding in a bathroom for 8 hours while the concrete walls shook with each gust. We had hurricane force winds for 15 hours!! There was much destruction on the island, we are not alone.
As for CDL, it will require a re-build of the accommodations building and dining room. We are waiting on the insurance adjuster before taking action, but the plan will be to re-build the lodge better than its previous existences. This will obviously take some time, as contractors will be in short supply on Cayman with so many damaged buildings. This may be premature, but I would conservatively estimate a year before we reopen. Obviously this could change and we will be keeping you updated on progress. Our home was also destroyed, and this experience has significantly affected our personal lives as well. All of the staff members except for Roy have left the island for now, and all have expressed interest in returning when we re-open. One bit of good news...I have had a chance to dive, and at depths of 40 feet or greater I se no change in the reef life (at least at one location where I was). Oh, and we have gained about 20 feet of beach/sand along the water line at CDL.
Some of you have requested refunds for upcoming reservations. Unless otherwise requested, I will be refunding deposits and payments for all upcoming guests as soon as we are able and have the service to do so. I will send a confirmation of this to all of you whom this applies to. I would ask you to refrain from canceling the transaction with your card carrier, as this will cause confusion and possibly duplicate debits to our account. I sincerely appreciate your patience as we try to get an operational office together. Some have expressed interest in keeping a deposit on file for a future trip and we appreciate the gesture.
Most of all I would like to sincerely thank all of you who expressed concern for us during this trying time. I wish that I could respond to each of you individually right away, but there are literally hundreds of messages in the inbox at this time. We will keep in touch, and look forward to seeing you at (a new and improved) CDL in the future.
Gratefully,
Jim Andrews
Cayman Diving Lodge
Thursday, September 23, 2004 6:52 PM
From Jim at Cayman Diving Lodge
Hi all: Just a quick message to you who have written to us since the passing of Hurricane Ivan. Sorry it has taken so long, but this is the first chance I have had to respond due to lack of infrastructure here in Cayman. The update is that Kim and I have found an apartment to base ourselves out of in George Town; which is a good location for now as we just got power in this area yesterday...which means we finally have e-mail. Now if we could just get water...! So here's the status report:
As you may have learned from the dive report web site, CDL was badly damaged with the passing of Hurricane Ivan more than a week and a half ago. We experienced a near direct hit of a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and gusts up to 208 mph. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced, and we are happy to all be alive and well. Try to imagine myself, Kim and the three lodge dogs all hiding in a bathroom for 8 hours while the concrete walls shook with each gust. We had hurricane force winds for 15 hours!! There was much destruction on the island, we are not alone.
As for CDL, it will require a re-build of the accommodations building and dining room. We are waiting on the insurance adjuster before taking action, but the plan will be to re-build the lodge better than its previous existences. This will obviously take some time, as contractors will be in short supply on Cayman with so many damaged buildings. This may be premature, but I would conservatively estimate a year before we reopen. Obviously this could change and we will be keeping you updated on progress. Our home was also destroyed, and this experience has significantly affected our personal lives as well. All of the staff members except for Roy have left the island for now, and all have expressed interest in returning when we re-open. One bit of good news...I have had a chance to dive, and at depths of 40 feet or greater I se no change in the reef life (at least at one location where I was). Oh, and we have gained about 20 feet of beach/sand along the water line at CDL.
Some of you have requested refunds for upcoming reservations. Unless otherwise requested, I will be refunding deposits and payments for all upcoming guests as soon as we are able and have the service to do so. I will send a confirmation of this to all of you whom this applies to. I would ask you to refrain from canceling the transaction with your card carrier, as this will cause confusion and possibly duplicate debits to our account. I sincerely appreciate your patience as we try to get an operational office together. Some have expressed interest in keeping a deposit on file for a future trip and we appreciate the gesture.
Most of all I would like to sincerely thank all of you who expressed concern for us during this trying time. I wish that I could respond to each of you individually right away, but there are literally hundreds of messages in the inbox at this time. We will keep in touch, and look forward to seeing you at (a new and improved) CDL in the future.
Gratefully,
Jim Andrews
Cayman Diving Lodge
