Typhoon slams Chuuk, on track to hit Yap harder

[KathyV]

Another update on facebook:

Odyssey Adventures, Truk Lagoon



Hello! My apologies for being away for a few days. Also please bear with me. I"m trying to catch up on emails and phone calls that keep coming in. I'm finally starting to get my feet back under me and getting things caught up. The boat is sitting in a trench of sorts right now. She is floating but has reef around her. They have removed the fuel, bilge water, etc to try and get her as light as possible for the next high tide to get her over the "hump". The outpouring of love and support for the crew is amazing! You all have no idea what this will mean to them. I will be getting a first round of donations out to them within the next week so Lenny can get money to them asap. Don't feel you can no longer donate. I will continue sending donations out as they are received! Thank all of you for your continued support, prayers and donations.





---------- Post added April 8th, 2015 at 02:59 PM ----------

$7500 raised for the crew in just 2 days!
Crew relief fund by Cara Kolczynski - GoFundMe

 

[WetPup]

If anyone is over there at the moment (or in the near future), could you let us know if there's anything they need help with in terms of supplies? My trip isn't immediate, so I have some time to collect donations of clothes, school supplies, etc. here before I go.

 

[Redsprint]

Hi

I'm going on the 22nd. so I will try to find out what can be taken over or sent over to help.I haven't been able to get any info. about that from Australia.

I have been in phone contact with someone from Blue Lagoon and got some emails in the last few days and they are operational. A group from Australia did around 4 days diving after the storm. They said the water was pretty silty at first but improving a lot every day. They sais viz was pretty good on their last dives. They confirmed Blue Lagoon was operating pretty much normally.They also said the power was about half way up the island (Weno) last weekend, though Blue lagoon was operating on their own generators.

As for clothes, short and t-shirts are usually enough and maybe something to put on if it gets unusually cool. This is my fifth visit and I always take plenty of batteries, recharging cords and plugs etc. I'm taking some water purification tablets just in case, and you should take some basic first aid stuff.

Hope that helps.

cheers

Paolo

 

[KathyV]

Here is some information from the Siren, but it is from April 6 so it may be old news to many
S/Y Truk Siren - Siren Fleet

S/Y Truk Siren

Latest Update : 6th April, 17:00 UTC + 7

As the clean up continues on Truk after Typhoon Maysak, all our staff and crew are now home, except for Niall, Tom and Andre who are still working hard with on-going relief. We are continuing to work with our insurance assessor and, as always, thinking of future operations. Truk Siren sits firmly on the reef and it is testament to her strength that there is very limited structural damage, however, what happens next is in the hands of the insurance and we can just hope and wait on that front. We will obviously update everyone on future plans when they are in place but for now we are continuing to work with our guests and agents on their new arrangements and this work will go on for some time, so we ask for everyone's patience moving forwards.

There are times when we realise how small we are in comparison to the wider world and this is one of those times, so once again we would like to thank you one and all for your support, with a special mention to all of our out-going guests on the final cruise who went over and above for us: Ladonna Idell, Annette Marie Von Thun, Brian Busuttil, Laura Torres Soto, Jesus Soto Salvador, and Peter Lucas. Particularly Marie, Captain Daeng's angel on the night of Maysak. The humbling images of Typhoon Maysak attached are courtesy of astronaut Sam Cristoforetti (follow on Twitter @Astrosamantha).

Latest Update : 31st March, 17:00 UTC + 7

Typhoon Maysak has now passed Truk completely and the clean-up and recovery operations are now in progress. Partner and CEO Frank van der Linde arrived in Truk this afternoon to oversee operations on the ground and we are now back in reliable contact with our local operations team and so we are in much better position to update a little more clearly. Most importantly Siren Fleet has been very lucky in the sense that all members of our crew are safe and well, our thoughts continue to be with the people of Truk who have suffered injury and loss of life and property. Our thoughts are also with the people of Yap, who are currently in the path of Typhoon Maysak.

Power is mostly restored to Truk and flights are now in operation so our guests who were disembarked prior to the storm are leaving the island today. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them on behalf of everyone here at Siren Fleet for their kindness and support during this time. We would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Blue Lagoon Resort and Truk Stop for their continuing support!!
With regard to Truk Siren, the crew, has been out to visit her and we now know she is currently sat upright on a shallow reef, along with 5 other vessels, and has suffered significant damage from the storm. There is water in the engine room, damage to the prop & masts, and the rudder is missing along with other structural damage which Frank is now assessing with a view to the long term prognosis.

We are also hugely sad to report that though we have received huge support from many people in Truk over the last few days (indeed weeks and months), that we are hugely grateful for, it seems there is always a bad element in any society and there has been massive internal damage caused by looting, something that all the stranded boats have suffered from. Throughout the entire boat, fixtures, fittings, electrical items, furniture and anything that you might be able to think of have been stolen or destroyed beyond repair. There is also wanton destruction with graffiti, smashed windows throughout the boat and much more.
We still cannot say anything concrete about the future of the boat, however, it seems clear to us at this point that bringing in not only the materials required to fix the storm damage to such a remote location, but also all the fixtures and fittings to bring her back up to her previous best is an enormous task.
Worldwide Dive and Sail would like to thank everyone for their support and offers of assistance over the last 24 hours. We will continue to update you all on progress over the coming days and weeks.

 

[mikesbucky]

I may be in Guam in a couple of weeks and was considering going to Chuuk to dive. Given the damage due to the Typhoon, would it be better for the people there for me to come and help the economy of the island or to stay away so as not to be in the way of rescue workers?

 

[Mcarlson]

I had reservations on the Odyssey for June 7-14, but now am attempting to switch to Blue Lagoon Resort. I've gotten two email replies from them, but both were awkward and a bit confused. Does anyone know if their email and reservation system is operating?

I'll be following this thread to note anything helpful to bring.

 

[WetPup]

Guess I'll be seeing you there, I'm staying at Blue Lagoon Resort on some of those dates in June too!

They've been responding to emails, but not really been getting straight forward answers, just "everything's ok", but not really answering the questions I've asked. Keep trying, I expect they're just deluged from so many people trying to rearrange their travel due to the liveaboard situation.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I may be in Guam in a couple of weeks and was considering going to Chuuk to dive. Given the damage due to the Typhoon, would it be better for the people there for me to come and help the economy of the island or to stay away so as not to be in the way of rescue workers?

I had reservations on the Odyssey for June 7-14, but now am attempting to switch to Blue Lagoon Resort. I've gotten two email replies from them, but both were awkward and a bit confused. Does anyone know if their email and reservation system is operating?

I'll be following this thread to note anything helpful to bring.

Try contacting MDA DiveShop and Travel in Guam to see if they have any remaining land based packages with Blue Lagoon Resort or Truk Stop Hotel for your dates of interest.

Aquaquest - Chuuk | MDA

 

[KathyV]

[h=5]Odyssey Adventures, Truk Lagoon
[/h]

Hello, hello, hello! Yes, we are here! Ok, I have been super busy over here, but I just wanted to post to say that they are working away over there. Things are progressing along. Some days are slow, some days are really busy, good ones, some days we just still say a lot of prayers. The boat is mostly dug out. The bow to about room 6 is clear. We are still working on getting the back half out. There is progress still being made and while all that has been going on, the boat ha...s been getting prepped for a return trip to the Philippines. The props are in the Philippines getting fixed as I'm writing this so they can get back to Chuuk, put back on the boat for the trip over to the PI for repairs. The boat is ready for travel once she gets out, props back on and a couple other things. We still have no timeline as of right now, but the shipyard is ready for us so that is a blessing. Kudos to George at Colorado Shipyard!

The donations for the crew and the Adin family are amazing! I am so blown away by the support and love shown by so many of you for our crew and us!

I just got off the phone with Lenny and he discovered something today that neither one of us knew was there. It's a kid's reading center. They have been there for about 2 years. I asked Lenny to get the address for me so I can post it. He said there were about 8 Chuukese girls waiting to go in to read. They are always looking for new reading material. If anyone has any books they would be interested in sending, once I get the address, I will post it so you can send books of all sorts and age ranges over there for the kids.

Thanks to you all for standing by us and supporting us. You all are keeping us going!

 

[nudisusie]

Latest from the owners of the Truk Siren...

Hello all, Frank here with more Truk news.
While back in Ecuador finalizing the last bits and bobs on the GalapagosMaster Liveaboards we received some devastating news over the weekend. I left Truk lagoon last week with our beloved Truk Siren Fleet still on the reef, and we were waiting for the insurance to decide what the next step would be. Apparently the looters didn't have the same idea and decided to destroy all the evidence of the looting and vandalism and "totally senseless" put the boat on fire and burned her down to the ground. You can see on the pictures we received that there is nothing, but really nothing, left of this once so amazing beautiful vessel.
The majority in Chuuk have the same bad taste in their mouth about what happened because tourism in this amazing part of the world is a very important income for the locals, so with this in mind it is not an excuse for us to throw the towel.
We are fortunate to still have an amazing yacht that has been used for many years as a private luxury vessel and, although not a Siren, she is definitely as nice in her own style. We are now working hard on how and when we can be back to serve all of you and show you the wonders that Truk has to offer. My saying has always been "if it doesnt kill you it only makes you stronger" and with this in mind we hope to be back soon, i keep you posted.
Frank.










This is so awful its untrue, not only was the boat damaged in the storm and then heavily looted and vandalised, some locals have taken it upon themselves to now burn the boat down completely. She was a stunning boat, run by an excellent team and I hope that a new boat, if brought into the region, will never suffer the same fate. RIP Truk Siren