A Wind of Change
IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE IRMA, WINDSTAR CRUISES AND PORTHOLE DO OUR PART.
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, Windstar Cruises and Porthole do our part.
Only foundations and memories remained.
FROM THE LARGE, RECTANGULAR WINDOWS OF THE BRIDGE, it’s easy to look right past Barbuda to the horizon beyond. Captain Pedro Pinto of Windstar Cruises’ Wind Surf and his dutiful team dropped anchor a few hundred yards off the coast of what has to be the flattest island in all the Caribbean. Peering out along the vast expanse of sand and shrub, the devastation is still evident. Nearly two years after Hurricane Irma — a freight train of wind and rain that tore the island asunder — Barbuda is just now “recovered.” We’re here for pleasure, but for so much more as well.
The fraternal-twin islands — Barbuda and her sister, Antigua — make up a lesser section of the Leeward Islands in the northeast Caribbean Sea. Antigua resembles your traditional Caribbean island: mountains rising high from pristine white beaches with water of the utmost aquamarine. Barbuda, compared with the volcanic, sun-kissed peaks of other islands in the vicinity, appears more as a rolled-out piece of dough.
When Irma made landfall on the islands in early September 2017, Antigua was left mostly unscathed but Barbuda wasn’t nearly as lucky. The damage from 185 mph winds and crushing surf was catastrophic. Electricity, potable water, and even the roof overhead were gone in the blink of an eye. An island of nearly 1,800 people saw 95 percent of their buildings and infrastructure wiped from the face of the earth. Only foundations and memories remained.
Then everyone left.
Codrington, Barbuda’s largest settlement, sat empty for the first time since 1685 when wealthy English colonialist Christopher Codrington and his brother John leased the whole island from King James II.
But this isn’t a story to remember the past — rather, it’s to look towards the future. Windstar Cruises President John Delaney and his fleet of small cruising ships were the first to return to the island after 14 months, and they came with a commitment to serve. Windstar, through an art auction held in collaboration with Porthole Cruise Magazine and artist Marc Lipp, had raised more than $5,000. Delaney hand-delivered the funds to The New Holy Trinity Primary School in Barbuda. Money for books, supplies, desks, windows — the school needed it all.
“It is humbling and admirable that our guests rose to the occasion to give back to the people of this small but significant Caribbean island,” Delaney explained. “While our ships are small and Barbuda is a little island, people working together to contribute to the success of culture is of big importance.”
Barbuda and her people are resilient, brave, and still in need of help. The island is beautiful once again, its sapphire waters lapping gently against soft sand, but with just the basics for survival. Windstar’s commitment to Barbuda and its continued resurgence is evident with bi-weekly sailings to the island on many of their Caribbean itineraries. Each one of the cruise line’s ships that sails to her shores brings guests lusting for paradise and the opportunity to rebuild an island from which everything was taken.