Charter yacht and marina owners in the Florida Keys are breathing a sigh of relief this morning, since Hurricane Ike has taken an unexpected turn that will shift its course away from the popular charter grounds and out into the Gulf of Mexico.

As you can see in the graphic above (the most recent projection from the U.S. National Hurricane Center), the storm will only graze the westernmost section of the Keys and Dry Tortugas, where there will be tropical storm-force winds as opposed to hurricane-force gales. The upshot is that the marina infrastructure should remain undamaged as the winter charter season approaches.

The report from about 45 minutes ago says Ike has weakened to a category 1 storm and should be entering the Gulf waters in the next 12 hours or so. There is a chance of isolated tornadoes and water spouts in the Keys until then, but here’s hoping that it’s an uneventful (if rainy) afternoon in Southern Florida–and that we can all take a break from worrying about these storms for a while in the popular winter charter grounds.

I just got off the phone with the captain of the 110-foot charter motoryacht Island Time, which is hunkered down at the Atlantis marina (a popular pickup and drop-off location for megayacht charters) in Nassau, Bahamas.

He tells me they’re experiencing rain and 35-mile-per-hour winds, but no major weather or damage from Hurricane Ike, which spared the northern and central Bahamas a direct hit. In general, it seems the marina operators and charter yacht captains in those popular cruising areas are breathing a sigh of relief. “We’ve been lucky,” is how this captain put it.

I would say that charter guests who plan to cruise in the area this coming winter might consider themselves lucky, too, as infrastructure appears to remain in great shape.

Let’s hope the same holds true as Ike heads for the Florida Keys. I’ll keep you posted when I’m able to get some on-the-ground reports from the popular marinas there, as well.

I’m starting to feel a little like the Angel of Death here, reporting first about Tropical Storm Hanna as she drowned the Bahamas in rain, and now on Category 2 Hurricane Ike, whose eye went right over Great Inagua Island in the southern Bahamas and is now on a tear toward the Florida Keys charter grounds.

This morning’s warnings from the U.S. National Hurricane Center target the Keys from Ocean Reef all the way out to the Dry Tortugas, which are about 70 miles west of Key West. These are popular charter grounds, with Ocean Reef welcoming many of the largest and most expensive yachts that visit the region year-round.

I haven’t been able to get through to any of my contacts in the Bahamas so far this morning, but all the reports I’m seeing from the Nassau and Abacos areas to the north, where most charter yachts are based, are saying there has been heavy rain and wind with some flooding. I’m not seeing anything that indicates severe to catastrophic infrastructure damage at marinas. Hopefully, that news will remain the same.

The latest report from the Miami Herald says officials in Florida are concerned that too many people are ignoring the warnings to evacuate the Keys, including liveaboard cruisers who are going to try to ride out the storm in their 40-foot boats. Hopefully, the professional charter yacht captains are smarter than that, and have already moved their boats to safer ground.

As for the marina infrastructure in the Keys, I’ll do my best to keep you posted as the reports come in. A direct hit doesn’t appear likely based on the latest trajectory map (shown above), but Ike’s nastiest, northeastern quadrant looks like it’s going to lash the Keys as the storm passes into the Gulf of Mexico. That could mean big trouble for boats and marinas alike in the next 24 to 36 hours.