Fay’s Damage Minimal in Florida Keys
Yes, that’s Tropical Storm Fay smothering the state of Florida in a satellite photograph that looks ominous at best. The good news I’m hearing out of the popular Florida Keys charter region, though, is that damage has been minimal, even to the coral reefs trapped beneath the churning seas.
According to the Monroe County Tourism Council, which represents the Keys, tourists actually began returning to the islands yesterday, a day earlier than anticipated, because the region’s infrastructure sustained far less damage than expected. The airports were open yesterday with flights arriving in the Keys as of lunchtime, and most of the on-shore damage was limited to trees, signs, and awnings.
The Council says single-day dive and fishing charter boats are expected to resume operations as early as today in calming seas, with the first cruise ship returning to the port at Key West tomorrow. As best as I can tell based on those and other reports, the marinas that service charter yachts fared well in the storm, too, and the crewed yacht charter business should see no upcoming winter season impact from Fay.
I’ll tell you, that’s really great news–as I have been in places like the Keys and the Bahamas during the late fall, post-hurricane-season months and seen destroyed docks, mangled hotels, brutalized restaurants, and all kinds of other problems that can put many a winter yacht charter vacation at risk. Sometimes, it takes these islands months to rebuild after a powerful storm, so even a mid-August gusher like Fay could have reaped horrible charter industry repercussions well into the Christmas and New Year’s charter season.
The news out of the Florida Keys today is definitely good. Here’s hoping that’s the last storm to wind its way into the popular charter territory during this 2008 hurricane season.