On September
6, 2017 the largest recorded hurricane in Atlantic history devastated the
island of St. Maarten with 185 mph sustained winds with gusts to 240 mph. We left our beloved boat, Silent Dream,
securely tied in a marina tucked in a corner of Simpson Bay Lagoon. We took great care to prepare her for any
tropical storms that may occur while we were gone. Our preparedness and so many others were no
match for Hurricane Irma. A local
stranger took a video during the eye of the hurricane and posted on Facebook
and Silent Dream had already been de-masted and possibly sinking. We later found out that over 300 boats were
destroyed in Simpson Bay Lagoon alone and hundreds others around the
island. We had hope that possibly ours
survived while no other boat in the marina did, but the same local stranger
sent us pictures of Silent Dream sunk in her slip, still tied with all the dock
lines and still with fenders attached.
It took over
three months for the salvage company and our insurance company to work together
with the Dutch government to raise Silent Dream from beneath the salt water
that was contaminated with diesel, fuel, battery acid, and other contaminates
leaked by the hundreds of sunken boats in the lagoon. She was raised on December 7, 2017 and the
pictures show the devastating effects of her underwater grave. There was a large hole in her midship starboard
side below the water line. If it wasn’t
for this hole, she most likely would have survived. The hole was patched and Silent Dream was put
back in the water because there is no room on land for any additional destroyed
boats. Many of our friends on the dock
whose boats all sunk were hoping that at least one boat would survive, but it
was not meant to be.
If it were
not for our friends on the island, we would not even have these pictures. In such a devastating event, there is not
enough resources on the island to help and assist everyone with their physical needs,
let alone taking pictures of a boat that is gone. We are forever thankful to all our friends to
care enough to help us in our time of loss.
This was our only home we have known for the last three years. Silent Dream is now waiting to be destroyed
because there is nothing left to salvage.
We are now
planning our new adventure in the next chapter of our life. We are grateful we were not on the island
during the hurricane and pray for the recovery of St. Maarten and our many
friends. Silent Dream has given us some
of the best memories and many new friends that we will cherish forever – these are
the gifts that can never be taken from us!
The support of our family and friends has been overwhelming and
humbling. Thank you everyone, we love
each and every one of you!
This is our final blog post on Silent Dream.
This is our final blog post on Silent Dream.
