Northern exposure and Mary and I are starting our trip tonight/tomorrow to arrive on Bonaire Sat/Sun. I just heard about tropical storm
shantal (chantal?) and was wondering if we should
worry or just panic.
thanks marshall

Well the hurricane hunters could not find a circular rotation so it is really a tropical wave. It is heading towards Barbados and according to past models, BON and the other ABC's usually don't see much action. Now if you flights go into San Juan or M Bay, they could be impacted but there is time to tell. So, right now, Chantal is not well defined.
Here is a cool URL that tells alot about up to date reports from folks on the islands;

http://stormcarib.com/index.htm#reports

and thanks to Brigite, my NEW fav site of the day:

http://www.meteo.an/meteo2/eng/index.htm

Annie,

Your new fav site of the day is still calling Chantal a tropical storm at 5:30 pm. And at 5 pm the Wunderground site http://www.wunderground.com/auto/HurricaneSite/tropical/tracking/at200104.html shows a stronger forecast for Saturday near Jamaica. Getting to Bonaire can be an adventure!!

Well, it's (Chantal) still technically a tropical storm, though it hasn't grown today and it is still projected to become a hurricane. Further, the most recent forecast track has it skirting the ABC's rather too close for comfort, IMO. Perhaps it was a good thing the Green Parrot wasn't rebuilt for most certainly Bonaire will see some wave action again, lets hope that is no where near the scale Lenny brought.

Oh my gosh..I hope everyone gets to BON this weekend safely. I arrive the 25th.

Why doesnt the storms come that way? Are highs always looming around?

It does look like it could skirt the ABC"s for sure..Annie

Exactly why the coral-supported concrete platforms have been forbidden! We will see how the driven pile-supported piers hold up. Maybe only the decking will go away.

thanks for keeping me updated. I don't want to be a downer, but I would like to mentally prepare myself. Should we expect 2 weeks of terrible diving? I don't have any experience with tropical storms and their direct/lingering effects
so any info regarding vis or anything else we should expect would be appreciated.
thanks again for the time,
marshall

Marshall, I have yet to travel to BON but have been to Aruba several times and have lived in Antigua. In my personal experience, when there was a tropical system in the Caribbean it usually impacted Antigua with some winds and rains but these storms pass very quickly. As you know, the ABC's get little rain and the only prob. that seems to be a possibility is if there is a system, the ABC's will lose their nice trades...that will STINK for me..next week but I am hoping Chantal fizzles and just gives the islands some lovely rain. You ar going to one arid island, buddy..it will be fine. Hugs..Annie

Maybe Annie will take up diving/snorkelling if the east wind fails. Bonaire divers drool for a wind from the west so they dive the east side. 'Virgin' territory. Almost worth a special trip for a few days diving there!!!

I believe most of you are overreacting. In the 7 years of my experience I saw only 2 effects from hurricanes. Brett in early '93 season - Captain Don had written an excellent short story on this hurricane. If you are pretty and ask him to tell it at his slide show, then you're in for a treat. It was coming right at Bonaire and nothing happened....a little rain and very little wind.

Lenny was the second hurricane that effected us, but if I remember, Lenny was to our West and we got his surge with bright sunny skys.

Just before Lenny, I believe in October, there had been two powerful surges, each almost a year apart...but, not from hurricanes, they actually occurred from Gulf of Mexico and Southern Atlantic fronts creating a surge effect.

In my experience, I have never seen any affects from a hurricane going North or being North - and yes, your flights could be affected, but once you get on island - DON'T WORRY, DON'T FRET, JUST ENJOY.

History has shown that hurricanes to our South and West are the ones that most affect Bonaire. I believe in '63 the tail of a hurricane wiped out Town Pier (wooden at the time).

And, yes, those darn things suck the wind right out of our skys and force the hot moist air from South America to be pushed northward. I recall September being the hottest month because of lack of winds.

Well Annie, it's good you got A/C....and as Glen says, you might discover other activities...think positive and maybe you will get to do BOTH - windsurf and discover, best of both worlds, yeah?

I can only agree with Barry - there is a little overreaction going on. The winds of the tropical wave (no Chantal any longer) are just 30 -40 mph. Quite normal for March to June - thats why windsurfers love Bonaire. And as it looks the wind will come more or less from the normal direction - Lenny (who stayed hundreds of miles away from Bonaire) moved "wrong" - came from Mexico first in our direction and than went north and we got enormes surge on a wonderful sunny day.
If this present wave will bring some rain - great - we need it. It has not been raining more than 5 minutes at a time since February (Rincon was a little luckier, got about 15 minutes a few weeks ago)

Well, all of your words are comforting... thank you for calming an overreactor
marshall

Bridgette, Barry,

You take away all the excitement!!! Have to speculate about something exciting in this humdrum, same everyday world!!

Just for the record, the hurricanesite.com history back to 1886 shows at least two Cat 2 hurricane tracks passing within a few kilometers of Bonaire, '#6' in 1886 and '#7' in 1892, both with 100 mph wind passing Bonaire. Otherwise 6 TS category at Bonaire. So it did happen once upon a time. Someday perhaps.... As Bridgette says, bow now before the rain gods!

I am a weather addict everyone after being a windsurf addict. If there was a 12 step program, my friends and family would have an intervention for sure. I know BON is prob. safe from harm, thank God for all of you and yes, rain would be LOVELY..but I think Marshall and I are selfishly worried about our Air Jamaica connections..right, Marshall. Anyway, cannot control this one, Annie so breathe..

LOL

See ya in a week..YAHHHOOOOOOO...

And FIE on you Glenn..wind shift indeed...



(I DO LOVE to snorkel and explore so no worries..)

Thanks for that bit about the hurricane hits, Glen.

You know, they're going to be on island for 2 weeks. That's plenty of time for a Cat 2 or more to develop out of Africa and hit the island.

Whadda ya think....at least possible, yeah?
The island is overdue for its 100 year hurricane hit.....it was only the tail of one in '63.

How's that for excitement and worry? Time to panic yet or what?

YAHHH, so long as I am already there and NOT sitting in Montego Bay..

Barry, u r meannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Check this one out..click on Bonaire and voila!
http://stormcarib.com/mysat.htm

Have you checked the satellite image on Ann's website this morning? Looks like Bonaire is going to get slammed with a lot of rain. I'm on a JA flight tomorrow AM from BWI via MB. This could get REEEEEAAALLL interesting!!!

I see the same thing but the cam looks nice and sunny..I can see the shadow of Jake's tree and nice puffy clouds..HECK, if I were there, I would go surfing today..betcha the swell is amazing..Hope you get out tomorrow ok...let us know..HUGS

Annie

The Harbourmaster has advised everyone to keep on an eye on Chantel starting today. We might have south and southeasterly winds and swells Saturday and Sunday. We might see some westerly swells after the storm has passed. Don't you love how precise weather is "maybe", "might", "if", etc.

The storm should pass 200-250 nautical miles north of us. The Harbourmaster gave out the weather websites that you all have been talking about.

Thanks Linda, I was wondering when the Harbormaster would speak...Doesn't sound like overaction to me...

Another interesting web site that shows the acutal movement in satellite loop is www.nhc.noaa.gov. Plus they have the surge/wave predictions. Looks like the more intense rain will hit a little north of Bonaire.

Barry,.. you know there is always a possibility of a Tsumani..

Especially if Venezula slides into the sea!!!

Let's not forget volcano's ....

That' right!! Bonaire et al are of volcanic origin. Now...

Don't forget E~A~R~T~H~Q~U~A~K~E~S

Us left coasters are familar with them.

Tsumani? Earthquake? Volcanos? What about mud slides? Nahhhh, no dirt ?

It would make for an interesting movie...

as the Northern Venezuala coast dropped off a hugh wave headed toward Bonaire and in it's wake the turtles were surfing and the fish were happy to get to the island paradise, away from all the garbage...

just as the wave is about hit the salt flats, the southern half of the island experiences a long shake and splits off - giving Jake and Linda a corner lot on the sea. The large chunk of island, deflects the water up the East coast, and thus extinguishing the lava emerging from Lac Bay volcano that suddenly erupted from the depths...

aftermath: Bonaire gets double good whammy, no dead, no injured...because of Bonairetalk, the local islanders had enough warning for ALL to go to the Park for the day and gather where they did for the total eclipse or to climb Brandaris to watch the remaking of their island...

six months later - Bonaire, tourist attraction of the world...three islands of paradise (Bonaire North, Bonaire South, Klein Bonaire), three times the pleasure and thrice the fun.

Catastrophic elements that began with Chantel (had to keep with the subject of the thread ) create a new paradise for fish, turtles, sharks and tourists. The once quiet community is still hidden away although BT members have a way of being there without being seen - so it is crowded, but not known.

The rest of you can cast the stars...

Barry- Thanks, I just woke my family up laughing so hard.

Ummm...he's kidding right?