Fabian Strikes

8am. Didn't sleep too well last night. Got up this morning to a darkened house - having all the shutters closed makes a huge difference to the light. The wind was already strong with white tops in the harbour. Went down to Godet & Young to help Mandy's parents who were selling last minute supplies, then took our car over to their place as it ought to be slightly more sheltered there than in our normal parking spot up at Newstocks. Wind already strong enough to blow the car door out of my hand as I opened it. Picked up some duct tape, hooks and eyes for the shutters and a spare piece of plywood - just in case.

9.30am. Back up at Newstocks, fitting the hooks and eyes to the unsecured shutters. Occasional squally
showers, then dry again. Soon joined by Mandy's parents - we're all going to hang out together up here for the storm. Could have gone to their place but decided we have a better view of the action through the doors to the porch! Filled the bath and various other containers with water.

11am. Blowing much harder. Lots more white tops and actual waves in the harbour, and spray blowing over the dock. Dirt and leaves accumulating on our porch already! Had to put blankets down across the foot of the porch door to stop the water blowing in. With our view out through the channel, the ocean appears white - lots of big waves out there already. Started to hear the low moaning of the wind in the kitchen. Shutters not rattling as much as I thought they might, but I guess there's plenty of time yet. Having some toast and watching some TV (and posting this!) while we still have power. Hurricane force winds are expected to be here by 2pm, with the point of closest approach being 8pm this evening.

12pm. Mandy and her mother are nodding off in front of the TV in the living room, her dad is fast asleep in the bedroom and the cats are dozing under the bed. Well, it's not like anything exciting is happening today, is it? The door to the porch is starting to rattle and I can almost feel the bigger gusts of wind as they buffet the house. Not many signs of life outside although we are still seeing the odd car go by on the road.

1pm. Lights have started to flicker - power outage can't be far off. Latest forecast is saying the storm will pass 20 miles to our west at around 6pm - possibly just close enough for us to get the eye. Putting lunch on before the power goes out - all stuff from the freezer as after the power has gone off the rest will defrost and have to be thrown out. Still cars going by on the road. Fools. Still no sign of any thunderstorms, storm surge or tornadoes. Not that I'm complaining. Finally, the BBC news website has posted a story about us, even if half its facts are wrong (few homes are likely to come off their foundations, Emily wasn't in 1993). About damn time.

2.30pm. Wind very strong now. All you can hear is its roar and the pounding of the rain against the south side of the house. The doors and some of the shutters are really rattling in their frames. A piece of the roof of Penno's wharf below us was flapping in the wind for a while and has just blow completely off. Bobby decided the porch door was indeed bouncing around way too much and has buttressed it against the top of the stairs with the piece of plywood we brought up earlier. A large pool of water and small bits of debris has formed at the far side of our porch - we'll be able to go swimming out there soon. The far side of the harbour has now been almost completely obscured by the spray and rain. Still no obvious major damage outside - no trees down that we can see - which may be why the power is miraculously still on. All the panes of glass around in the door to the porch have started leaking water around their edges.

3pm. Coconuts are falling off the palm trees left, right and centre - we've just watched almost ten of them drop into the road. The waves are breaking right over the dock - soon it looks like it will be completely underwater. The amount of water coming in around the porch door has increased to a steady trickle and we now have a whole host of towels around its base to mop it up. The pool on the porch itself continues to get bigger. Apparantly part of the Causeway has been ripped away and a car is in the water. But yet still people are driving past. One guy even stopped and got out. Crazy Bermudians. The noise in the kitchen and by the back door in particular is terrific, and its shutter really bucking in the wind. We're now taking it in turns to keep a foot on the piece of plywood butressing the porch door.

For more on hurricane Fabian and its aftermath see 'Fabian Strikes, Continued' and 'After The Storm'

Comments

[Stephen Cross on 06.09.03 at 07:43]

Hey guys - hope your power comes back soon. Phil, your site has provided my family and I with the most up to date Fabian news available on the web; thank you so much. I was speaking to my sister in Pembroke last night when her phone went dead, and since then it's all gone quiet.

Nuds and I send our love and hope you, Mandy and Mr. & Mrs. Oatley are all well, relaxed and can sleep now.

Stephen & Nuds (11:45 BST, 6th Sept 2003)

[Jonathan on 07.09.03 at 15:50]

Congratulations! After surviving a hurricane the wedding will be a breeze (please forgive the pun!)

Hope everyone's house survived intact!

[Nick Atkinson on 07.09.03 at 16:11]

Good to hear that everyone managed to survive Fabian and that the cats didn't need to use another of their lives.

Whilst you were getting battered, Jonathan, Carissa, Sunil, Vicky and I were watching Natalie and Dan doing the decent thing and getting married down in Brighton. All in all a good day, even if it was blowing a gale when we got down to the beach. OK, not quite Fabian ... but this is England.

Hope to see everyone soon !

[Richard Thompson on 21.02.04 at 11:46]

I am from Ireland but was on my honeymoon in the Southampton Princess when Fabian struck. Just want to send a big thank you to all the people of Bermuda for all their hand work and safety advice during the storm. Our hotel room roof fell in at 2.30AM so i know what you guys were going through. Hope to visit again soon.

[Erica on 01.07.06 at 13:26]

i was in Hurricane Fabian in Bermuda and when my family and i were living in our condo the temptur of the wind out side was not the same as in our condo so one of our windows almost blew up it was very scarry cuz it was my first time in a hurricane. mostimportantly id like to thank the people of Bermuda for helping clean up the island very fast. Bermuda is just the most beutiful island in the world ( i think)
bye

[Viga Boland on 13.09.06 at 14:27]

Just found your photos from the Sept. 5th hurricane from a link placed by one of our members at Vigaland. Those are really something. Thanks for sharing them with us.