Hurricane Gustav

[Drew Sailbum]

I heard that the dock at Rum Point got smacked pretty good by Gustav. Anyone know anything about that?

Thanks.

That's confirmed. It is "not usable" according to the Red Sail staff there.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

With a bare miss from Hurricane Gustav, lots of reservation changes, flights cancelled and the unknown of what things would look like after Gustav passed Grand Cayman, Tek Week 2008 (Aug 31 – Sept 6) still managed to come together. Thirty-three ‘Gustav divers’, as we have come to affectionately call them, arrived late Saturday, Sunday or Monday to partake in a week of technical diving in Grand Cayman. “We cannot say enough to our customers and the diving community for the wonderful support that we have had from them. We communicated daily updates to everyone about our expectations on Gustav, and the trust that this group has placed in us by coming the day after the passing of Gustav has been amazing” (Nancy Easterbrook/Divetech).

Tek Week is widely supported by the diving industry with representatives from around the world coming to show their products, new technologies, CCR’s, computer software, accessories, electronics and more. “It’s great to get together with the actual manufacturer’s and talk to engineers about new developments, industry trends and special design features. It’s rare that our customers get a chance to meet such an esteemed group of individuals and to see real life applications of such diversified equipment” (Eric Keibler/Oceanic Ventures/Houston, TX)

The line-up for presentations this year that came to share their knowledge and trends in technical diving, conduct pool demos to test out new Rebreathers (CCR) and present evening seminars on topics of interest to technical divers includes:

• Web Jessup and Dr. Randy Gross/Titan Dive Gear
• Peter DenHaan/Silent Diving Systems
• Paul Raymaekers/rEvo Rebreathers from Belgium
• Kim Smith/Jetsam Technologies
• Curt Bowen/Advanced Diver Magazine
• Vince Suddard/MicroPore/Extend Air Cartridges
• Wayne Miller/Laguna Research
• Bruce Partridge/Shearwater Research
• Peter Sotis/Add Helium
• Eric Keibler/Oceanic Ventures
• Ryan Canon/Reef Photo and Video

Other sponsors that could not make the trip but sent goodies and raffle items for the guests include Xtreme Scuba, VR Technologies, IANTD and Divers Alert Network (DAN).

Technology that is on display for guests to test out include many CCR’s including the Evo+, Inspiration Vision, Sport Kiss, Classic Kiss, Megalodon, Optima, Titan, rEvo, Drager and the Sentinel CCR units along with the new HD VR3, Liquivision X1, and Pursuit computers and Hydro LED lights.

“The visibility was excellent on the walls, with none of the silt or run-off that can be experienced in some islands. I’m really enjoying the diving. On our first dive, we saw 2 sharks, 2 eagle rays, a stingray and lots of turtles” (Robert Hew/Jamaica, a veteran CCR diver of both Tek Week and Inner Space events in Cayman for many years) “There is nowhere else I know of that could possibly host such a mammoth event like this, with all the supplies, tanks, gas fills, transportation, boat departure twice daily, meals – and all on time and as promised. The staff at Divetech and Cobalt Coast go the extra mile to make you feel completely at home here.”

 

[Maladryne]

Glad to hear it went great, Nancy! Can't wait to get back next year, we're relieved that you all fared so well.

 

[yakivet]

Does anyone have any updated info on the cleanup at Little Cayman and on the Brac. Any diving going on yet? Just wondering. Thanks, Ken

 

[DandyDon]

Oops wrong forum, my mistake...

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

any update on Cayman? I feel for all ya'll and the Gulf this season. Hang in there.

 

[-hh]

Southside-
Brac Reef - Reef Divers main dock area ("half" gone; still room to bring 2 boats in):

Sorry to say but theres not a chance in hell they can fit 2 boats on what remains of the Brac dock... I use to be the guy docking them.

I'm heading down later this month; I'll take some photos for you. In any case, there's still the Government Dock right there...its concrete wouldn't have moved (much), and it was fast to repair after Ivan in 2004.

Does anyone have any updated info on the cleanup at Little Cayman and on the Brac. Any diving going on yet? Just wondering. Thanks, Ken

Diving has resumed at Brac Reef, and LCBR is expected to quietly "soft open" this next week; I haven't heard yet how many boats are back running, but as per the Government's officially published Preliminary Damage Report (click here), it doesn't sound like that much of a real problem.

For example, on the Brac:

Two (2) boats received minor damage after being beached.
One (1) boat was totally destroyed after sinking and being ripped apart.

And on Little Cayman:

Four (4) boats received minor damage after being beached.
One (1) boat received major damage after being submerged.

A lot depends on what "minor damage" on a beached diveboat consists of.

Typically, the rudders & props get bashed up, and fiberglass damage at this points, plus a hull rub/hole somewhere. The bigger question is the engine. For the most part if its just hull, a "field repair" can be done in a couple of days, as the basic exercise is to stabilize the hull, remove the brass, clean up & straighten the thru-hull fittings (glands), then apply fiberglass resin & patch, wait for it to dry, refloat, then put the props & rudders back on. From a materials standpoint, fiberglass patching material is easy to come by. Props & Rudders can always be re-straightened /welded (braised) if they can't have a new one flown in ... if you've ever been on a diveboat with a bad vibration, odds are that its had this type of repair and they're running stuff that was merely re-straightened instead of replaced.


-hh