Community rallies to help storm-damaged businesses

Members of the Cayman Islands community have been rallying to assist dive operators and restaurateurs whose business premises were damaged in this week’s destructive nor’wester.

High seas with 15-foot waves, driven by gale-force winds of up to 35 knots per hour, smashed into waterfront structures, wrecking docks and inundating some buildings along the seashore overnight on Monday/Tuesday.

Divers and diners have been contacting businesses to see how they can help.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Vivo in West Bay, which was destroyed in the storm. Regulars at Sunset House in George Town have been offering their assistance to clear debris from and rebuild the bar.

And divers on WhatsApp groups have been coordinating to give their dive business to the shore dive operations, like Indepth Watersports at Macabuca, Eden Rock and Don Foster’s Dive, that were damaged.

‘Best customers ever’

Nat Robb, owner of Indepth Watersports, said the dive shop, which is undergoing repairs after being badly flooded by crashing sea surges, is closed, but he is operating out of a temporary tent in the car park.

He says he’ll be open for business on Saturday morning.

Robb said his regulars have been reaching out to offer any support they can. “I have the best customers ever,” he told the Compass.

Macabuca, next door, is currently closed, as demolition and reconstruction work was being carried out there on Friday, to remove structures that were seriously damaged by the rough seas that smashed over the building, which also houses the Cracked Conch restaurant.

Divers at Indepth need to walk through the bar area to get to the dive ladder to access the water. A path has been cleared through the construction area for the divers, Robb said.

Work to repair Macabuca will be going on 24/7 until it’s ready to reopen, Todd Shipster, the waterside bar’s manager told the Compass Friday.

The tiki roof at the bar and entrance have been removed, as well as the damaged second-floor decking of the Cracked Conch restaurant. While work on reopening Macabuca is under way, the plan is to serve food from its kitchen on the repaired Cracked Conch patio, Shipster said.

He said the local community, and overseas customers, have been keeping abreast of the repairs, and he’s been getting messages from all over the world.

“Videos that I’ve put up on social media over the last three days have had 60,000 to 70,000 views,” he said.

“We’ve had people reaching out on social media saying, if we need anything, they’ll be here next week, or asking if we need them to fly down now and help out. The response has been overwhelming.

“My fingers on social media have been burning as I’m trying to respond to everyone individually.”

The majority of those checking in have been from off island, he added.

He’s planning a reopening party once the bar is up and running again and urged people to check out the bar’s social media for updates.

Lighthouse Point, where Vivo restaurant and Divetech are situated, was hit hard by the storm. Apartments on the ground floor of the building next door, Lighthouse Point Residences, were also wrecked when sea surge broke through doors and windows.

Customers of both Lighthouse Point businesses have been reaching out to offer their help.

Divetech at Lighthouse is closed until further notice, its owner Joanna Mikutowicz, said. However, Divetech’s Cobalt Coast site, which had suffered dock damage, will reopen for shore diving on Sunday, she said.

‘Flooded with messages’

Franck Bottero, owner of Vivo, said he’d been flooded with messages and calls from people offering their support.

“The community has been amazing,” he said. “I really want to thank them. I received so many messages from people, to ask if they could come and pull up their sleeves and help.

“I don’t really need help like that because we have enough staff to clean all this. But all the messages I received, it’s ridiculous. I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. … I knew that people liked us, but this much? That’s really impressive.”

The restaurant was gutted by the force of the waves, and all its furniture, appliances and electrical equipment was destroyed.

A GoFundMe page (in euros) and a PayPal account (in US dollars) have been opened to help support Vivo. There is also an option to donate to a local bank account – for details on that, email [email protected].

Sunset House rebuilding

In George Town, My Bar at Sunset House was badly damaged, with the flooring ripped up by the crashing waves and the tiki structure at the back corner of the bar, frequented by dominos players, swept away.

Anne Briggs, general manager at Sunset House, said she hoped the bar would reopen next week, but in the meantime, its Seaharvest Restaurant, which has an indoor dining room as well as an outdoor patio, is currently open to customers.

“There was a lot of damage, but we’re rebuilding,” Briggs said. “We’ve done it before.

“We knew it was coming. We were pretty well prepared, though there was some stuff we couldn’t prepare for.”

The biggest loss was of coolers and electrical equipment, she said, which were damaged by the sea water.

The swimming pool was also impacted, as sand and debris landed in it as the high waves crashed into the site.

New floor tiles and landscaping at the bar area, that had been put in place just a few months ago, were ripped up in the nor’wester and are being replaced, Briggs said, though she added that other flooring that was damaged was scheduled to be replaced soon anyway.

The support from the bar’s locals has been much appreciated, she said. “Some of our regulars have been in and working gratis… For a lot of our regulars, this is like a second home, so for our locals, the sooner we can open, the better.”

George Town businesses bouncing back

Mario Blanchette, the manager at Eden Rock, which also suffered damage, says he hopes to reopen the shop for shore diving on Saturday, if the entry ladder is fixed in time.

The dive shop was not breached by the crashing waves, he said, so none of the equipment or tanks inside were damaged, though the exterior area was impacted and looked “pretty horrific” when he returned to the shop on Tuesday.

He said he’d also been getting offers from people to help clean up the area.

At Don Foster’s Dive, owner Sergio Coni said the support from the community had been “amazing”, as he and staff members have been busy cleaning up and making temporary repairs.

Shore diving at the site will be closed for a few more days, “as we are not set with ladders to exit the water”, he said. However, he will be running dive boats at 9am every morning.

Cayman Cabana restaurant on the waterfront in George Town is usually badly hit in storms, and this one was no different. But, it has bounced back, and is open for business.

Christina Moxam, of Cayman Cabana, said the lower deck had sustained damage, but she expects repairs on that portion of the deck to be completed by Sunday.

“Our other three dining decks are open for business and we have our lobster fest on, and Valentine’s next week,” she said.

Rackam’s, on the waterfront in George Town, is another bar and restaurant that often gets battered by sea surges. It was also temporarily closed while it repaired damage, but it reopened on Thursday afternoon and is back to business as usual.

On its Facebook page Thursday, it stated, “Thanks to our staff and contractors for all their hard work the past two days getting us back up and running after this weeks nor’wester.”

Grand Old House on South Church Street was another victim of the storm, having lost its outdoor patio decking to the high winds and waves.

Elizabeth Yanes, a hostess at the restaurant, said it was hoped the decking would be replaced over the weekend and it would be business as usual next week.

In the meantime, she said, reservations were available for indoor dining, though one area of the deck was expected to be open in time for Saturday night’s Breast Cancer Gala Dinner.