Hurricane watch

LENNY LEAVES ITS MARK
Hurricane Lenny, which tore across the Caribbean last November, damaged many dive centres on Bonaire, writes John Liddiard, who visited the scene of destruction.
Bonaire and its neighbour Curaçao are well below the hurricane belt, but the effects of Lenny were unusually far-reaching.
An unusual track from west to east meant that boat docks, piers and buildings along Bonaire's usually sheltered west coast were hit by large waves which they were never designed to resist. Damage to buildings more than 100 years old demonstrated the rarity of the conditions.
Dive centres had to close for a while, but it was soon business as usual while permanent repairs were tackled. The same applied on nearby Curaçao (see feature in Diver, February), where some dive centres also sustained damage.
The storm came just days after the Bonaire Marine Park had received full National Park status form the Dutch government, providing political support for protection management of Bonaire's entire coastline to a depth of 60m. Some reefs are reported to have suffered damage, while others survived unscathed.