REPORTS FROM THE RIP: A butt load of rain for our stay in the Turks

In the islands, everyone is family. add to the mix a tropical storm and you really see what a family it is. Through hardships like a storm or birthday parties or what ever, People that live down island have it figured out. They all come together through thick and thin. Again… Everyone here is Family. Belinda Martin seems to be the self prlaimed Queen Bee of the island. The Turks and Caicos are no exception. after arriving here a few days ago, We saw that we were in the path of tropical storm Cristobal. The forecast winds were not to high, so I called the boss and had him push his flight down here, back a bit. No sense in moving the boat north to where the storm has time to get stronger. The storm itself had no strong winds for us. BUT damn did it rain. It started Saturday afternoon and did non stop till monday. 36 of those rainy hours were pure buckets. The entire island flooded. Well the streets did. Few of the storm drains here flow to the sea. The reason for this is to keep the dirty water from contaminating the pristine reefs here. So! once the mangrove swamps and retention areas fill up, the water just ponds on the roads.
Notes to self. I AM NOT A SUBMARINER. Also listen to Belinda Martin when She says " Ed Stay off the roads"!!!!! The jeep I was driving did not agree with the dip in the road filled with water that I figured I could pass thru. I did not hydro it. Water was not that deep. But it shorted the alternator. The water was deep enough however to over flow some of the septic systems on that street. absolutely gross. I showered with bleach.
As I said earlier. the people on islands are not a community, but instead they are a family. I was assisted in towing the jeep out and everyone is so nice about it. The same guy that towed my jeep out had to take a break from helping me so he could drive a few neighbors to work. Belinda Martin and her dad and Mum treated me like family. Thank you to them.
My first day here in the island, I went diving. I never take the time or spend the money to go out on a charter. Belindas friend Barb was going so I decided to go along. It was an awesome experience. Turtle Divers did a great job and were so professional. I highly recommend them to anyone. I was a bit apprehensive about diving with a partner that I had never dove with before, But Barb was a hoot. We did two dives on the west end of Provo. There were many sharks and all kinds of life. The water clarity was perfect. Come to find out, Barb has a little troll doll that she takes everywhere with her. She brought it on the dives and she and I had a blast taking pictures of it all over the reef. Standing only 3 foot 4 inches tall ( Chuckle) Barb does tend to resemble the little troll doll she had along.
Beyond that it was pretty quiet here. Belinda Martin invited me to a birthday party the night before the rains really hit hard. That was fun and I have become great friends with most of the people there. Happy birthday Portia.
The storm was not a windy one for us. It was a rain producer and a rain event like they had not seen here in years. Ive heard 15 inches and Ive heard 18 inches. No mater. It was a butt load of rain.
With the storm pushing off towards Bermuda, the boss will fly in at the end of the week. We will take a few days and work our way north trolling for tuna and marlin.
Here are a few pics of the past week.