October 1999 Table of Contents

Abaco continued to ride its lucky streak, the eye of Hurricane Dennis staying some 40 mile off the east coast. That said, however, Dennis was a definite menace. The top of the Jib Room in Marsh Harbour was destroyed and one of Dive Abaco's boat sank by the dock at Conch Inn Marina. Only the roof was (occasionally) above water. One of the docks in the Conch Inn complex was pulled free and a tree landed (quite gently) on the guest rooms. The floating restaurant Tiki Hut also sustained damage. All through Marsh Harbour, trees were down and the power pole outside Royal Canadian Bank snapped near the top. Dozens of garbage cans floated in the water by Mangoes, collected by Dennis and driven into a watery cul-de-sac. Damage was light in Dundas Town, Murphy Town and Spring City.

Fox Town was reported as cut off for a while due to falling trees and it was there that the greatest amount of damage occurred. A storm surge flooded much of Little Abaco and several fishing vessels were lost. It was generally agreed by those who toured the island after Dennis that Fox Town had been hit the worst. There were no reports of injuries from Dennis.

In Treasure Cay there was light damage. Trees were brought down, one of them denting the roof of Abaco Journal correspondent Jean Buchanan's car. We heard, too, that Brian Sheehe and Bruce Barth both suffered deck damage from falling trees. Power was off from 8 pm Friday to 10 pm Saturday because of trees falling on the lines. Residents commented on what a good job the repair crews did. Telephone service was uninterrupted. Boats in Treasure Cay Marina were undamaged, but there were reports of damage to a dock in Brigantine Bay canal. A plane was flipped over at Treasure Cay Airport and several attractive trees that greet visitors with that special tropical ambience were laid low.

Reports from Green Turtle Cay said there was little structural damage to residences, but the sea walls and roadside on the South Side of New Plymouth had been washed away and docks destroyed. Three boats went aground, one in Black Sound and two in White Sound. Hurricane Dennis had definitely affected Green Turtle Cay more than predecessors Erin and Bertha.

South of Marsh Harbour there was little structural damage but the banana plantations of Big Bird and Pepper Por farms were seriously affected. Pepper Pot lost about 95% of its current crop according to Jill Wells. Big Bird lost about 60% of its crop. The local piggery was, perhaps, a beneficiary as damaged bananas could be healthily consumed by porcines who will be our future Sunday roasts.

Winds were measured at 115 mph according to CNN and there was a degree of water invasion as Dennis moved in near to high tide on the day after a full moon. Dennis was a very gusty hurricane. Rather than maintaining a steadily-growing wind speed, Dennis kept gusting from moderate wind speed to very high. The strongest winds were experienced after the eye of Dennis had passed north. Most people experienced northerly winds to begin with, then an adjustment to southerly winds. Trees that had withstood the northerly assault succumbed to south winds. Storm winds were recorded from early afternoon on Friday 27th August until early Sunday morning.

A delegation from Nassau led by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Minister of Works Tommy Turnquest inspected the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis. Mr Ingraham indicated that financial aid might become available for fishermen who had lost their boats. A stand-by generator was recommended for Little Abaco so that water press