Our Plans for Hurricane Irma

Well, the latest update has Irma coming pretty close to the BVI and we are not thrilled with this visit. Where we are located, the winds are predicted to range from 70-90 kts.

We are still working on preparing the boat before flying out Tuesday, as don't want the kids at risk. We have someone who we will pay to watch RoundAbout for us until we fly back, hopefully, on Friday. Still hoping it tracks back north!

On today's agenda is to get our anchor out and set. We will tie RoundAbout into a spiderweb formation tomorrow. I feel so helpless, because of not knowing what to expect or of anything else we should do to prepare. Our neighbors have been super helpful and we have read a ton online. Still, I worry. I can't help it.

Part of me does not want to leave her on her own, to weather out this storm. At the same time, I have to also think of my family and their safety. As I walk around the marina, I see that most of the boats here have done the same as we have. Others, haven't touched their boats at all. The people we talk to are 50/50 as far as preparing or brushing off the threat all together. As of yesterday, no one had put up any plywood on any of the buildings in town, which made me think that it may not hit as bad as predicated. However, yesterday I learned that they would do this closer to the time the storm actually hits because it gets way too hot inside that way, without the ventilation.

And Sunny, our golden pup. She can't fly away as easily as we can, as her surgery is still fresh and she is still in a critical healing period. Thankfully, one of our dear friends is going to take her to her home where they have a concrete safe room. I felt so much relief after she offered to take and watch over Sunny for us.

For the kids sake, Jared and I try to explain the truth about our situation, but that we will be safe and away from the danger. That we will do our best to protect our home and come back to her as soon as possible. We will then jump in to volunteer for our community as needed. It will be good to help out and the kids will learn a lot from this experience. Oh, and homeschooling? Well, we are doing a lighter load than usual because we just don't have the time. After today, they are going to get the rest of the week off. Of course, they don't mind that at all. And I realize they are learning: boat prep for severe weather, how to monitor and track wind speed, vocabulary associated with a hurricane, geography (where we are in relation to the storm), etc. Still, I wish this wasn't the forefront of their educational experience at this point in time.

We will make the best of this and stay positive. We can do this.

Here are a couple of videos of our hurricane preparations:

Starting to prep the boat (video 1)

Prepping continued (video 2)