Imagine the surprise when I was sitting in the airport on the way to Florida when I saw a news report talking about Hurricane Paloma. Oh My! Cruising with Hurricane Paloma, the second largest hurricane in November history with winds of 145 MPH. Yes, for all you technical geeks it was only a tropical storm by the time we were introduced to the rains from Paloma. Hurricane or Tropical storm they both have wind, waves and rain. Who would have thought the November hurricanes travel east not west. To the Captains credit we were well blessed with acceptable weather even if there were several nights the outside decks were closed because of high winds. On the nights the decks were open there were places on the deck up front where it felt as if your feet were being moved and pushed from under you just by the force of the winds.
When I made the reservations we all teased about my November 2006 
cruise when Seattle was hit with floods, now in 2008 as my November vacation neared it became clear that my vacation would coincide with floods once again. The seriousness of the floods started early too with a horrible accident on the Green River. With local events leading up to my vacation departure I found it extra hard to transition from work to vacation. It was an extra challenge to surrender these thoughts because of vacation is an understatement, the thoughts of the unresolved incident would seep into my daily thoughts for nearly the entire vacation. I knew the critical and hard work the team would be doing while I was gone. Of course the team was fantastic and did the job as true hero's, the work each and everyone doing the seemingly impossible with little recognition for the emotional tolls this work brings to the table with it.
cruise when Seattle was hit with floods, now in 2008 as my November vacation neared it became clear that my vacation would coincide with floods once again. The seriousness of the floods started early too with a horrible accident on the Green River. With local events leading up to my vacation departure I found it extra hard to transition from work to vacation. It was an extra challenge to surrender these thoughts because of vacation is an understatement, the thoughts of the unresolved incident would seep into my daily thoughts for nearly the entire vacation. I knew the critical and hard work the team would be doing while I was gone. Of course the team was fantastic and did the job as true hero's, the work each and everyone doing the seemingly impossible with little recognition for the emotional tolls this work brings to the table with it. 
Enough of that, diving in 82 degree water is always wonderful and the sun burns that go with it are a great treasure to bring home. We dove 4 times on 2 days. Unfortunately we did not get to go out to the wreck dive I had wanted to investigate. However, we were well taken care of and dove on a series of beautiful reefs. Besides the first dive boat would have never made the 30 minute run to the wreck site since it broke down on the way in and needed a little tow to get home. Seems the water pump failed and over heated the motor. The dive operation I selected was not some mass produced mega company that catered to cruise ships but rather a great husband and wife team who are determined to make each dive unique and personal with a great amount of caring, perfect for our needs on this trip. Julia discovered they quit their jobs only a year ago and left the States to become dive operators at Secret Cove. From what I see they are enjoying their choice to leave the rat race back home. The next day in St Maarten we dove the same company as in 2006. It was no surprise when we ended up at the same dive site again. Big Mama's Reef, named after the shark that live there and The Maze Reef a great place with swim through rocks. On this St Maarten dive we were lucky enough to have two professional diver photographers on the tour. Most photo posted today are from the one dive photographer. I am still waiting for my point and shoot photos and the 2nd photographer's photos. The damage to the reef was amazing, caused by the waves of Paloma. Broken coral and sand piled up against the rocks leaving only the hard clay bottom of the ocean exposed. (See dive and other photos)
This would be Big Mama -- she was not home while we were visiting... Remember in 2006 she was, and she had friends too.
Click this Link to see the 2006 photo of Big Mama...
Fun was had on the Fun Ship too. We even found time to dance a little between meals... This was actually the Red Team winning the contest. Seems the other two teams could not compete against Julia's magical dance steps. How incredible to have such a talented and wonderful dance partner. Here is a clip from the weather center on Paloma;
Hurricane Paloma: Second most powerful November storm. Now that it has faded away, Hurricane Paloma will never be forgotten because of its late season assault on the Cayman Islands and Cuba.It will also be remembered for some climatological reasons. It was the second most powerful November hurricane on record, reaching peak sustained winds of 145 mph on Saturday.Only Hurricane Lenny in 1999 was stronger. On Nov. 17 of that year, that system reached a maximum sustained wind speed of 155 mph -- 1 mph shy of Category 5.At the time, Lenny was just south of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fortunately, its strongest winds were over sea, not land. Still, Lenny killed 17 people in the northern Lesser Antilles.In becoming a Category 4 hurricane, Paloma marked the first time on record that a major hurricane (Category 3 or above) developed in five consecutive months during a season. The other major storms this year: Hurricane Bertha in July; Hurricane Gustav in August; Hurricane Ike in September and Hurricane Omar in October. Thanks to Paloma, as well as the other intense hurricanes this year, 2008’s Accumulated Cyclone Energy index, an overall measure of tropical activity, is about double that of 2007, experts say. Last year saw 15 named storms, including six hurricanes. With Paloma, this season has seen 16 named storms. That is the fourth most (tied with 2003) storms since 1944, when aircraft reconnaissance of tropical systems began. Only 1969, 1995 and 2005 saw more storms.
Hurricane Paloma: Second most powerful November storm. Now that it has faded away, Hurricane Paloma will never be forgotten because of its late season assault on the Cayman Islands and Cuba.It will also be remembered for some climatological reasons. It was the second most powerful November hurricane on record, reaching peak sustained winds of 145 mph on Saturday.Only Hurricane Lenny in 1999 was stronger. On Nov. 17 of that year, that system reached a maximum sustained wind speed of 155 mph -- 1 mph shy of Category 5.At the time, Lenny was just south of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fortunately, its strongest winds were over sea, not land. Still, Lenny killed 17 people in the northern Lesser Antilles.In becoming a Category 4 hurricane, Paloma marked the first time on record that a major hurricane (Category 3 or above) developed in five consecutive months during a season. The other major storms this year: Hurricane Bertha in July; Hurricane Gustav in August; Hurricane Ike in September and Hurricane Omar in October. Thanks to Paloma, as well as the other intense hurricanes this year, 2008’s Accumulated Cyclone Energy index, an overall measure of tropical activity, is about double that of 2007, experts say. Last year saw 15 named storms, including six hurricanes. With Paloma, this season has seen 16 named storms. That is the fourth most (tied with 2003) storms since 1944, when aircraft reconnaissance of tropical systems began. Only 1969, 1995 and 2005 saw more storms.
POSTED IN: Powerful November hurricanes (1)
