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Category: away from home

While we are away visiting family and friends, or off on land adventures

It’s That Time Again

It’s that time again! Peak Hurricane Season has arrived in the Caribbean and that means most of the charter boats have sailed south to Grenada for an end of season break. Peter is now the Service Manager for MultiTech VI in St Thomas. They specialize in warranty and repairs for some of the big name catamarans – Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, Nautitech and Gemini – which means there’s tons of work during the charter season.

While the work has slowed down at home, MultiTech is busier than ever in the Ft Lauderdale and Annapolis locations. They’ve asked him to help out in Annapolis for about a month. Because he’ll be gone for so long (and because i’d rather not be alone on our boat in the middle of hurricane season) Brig and I are taking a little vacation to stay with Peter in the states.

We were all set with plane tickets but his company needed Peter to come up a week earlier instead so he got our hurricane lines set and prepped as much as he could to store the boat for a few months before taking off without us. I spent the last week finishing up the remaining bit of cleaning and storage prep before shutting everything off and locking up our home. I packed us up and loaded everything (including Brig) into a dock cart and headed off to the car. We got a ride to the airport, took two plane rides and now we’re all settled in our new spot for the next month!! I seriously think Brig has been on over 30 flights in his two short years. This was the first time he actually had his own paid seat though! What a relief that was…

I’ve never been to this part of the country before so it’s a nice change of pace. It’s actually been just as hot as it is back home – not what I expected at all this far North. Hopefully we will have a chance to explore soon. Unfortunately Brig is already sick. Maybe from the plane ride, or maybe the airport. It’s just a cold but it breaks my heart to see him not feel good. I’m sure in a few days he will be back to his normal wild boy self.

Peter works out of Pier 7 Marina in Edgewater and we are staying up in the historical part of Annapolis. Where’s all my Annapolis friends? Do you live nearby? Do you have any recommendations of fun things to do here with a 2 year old? Please send me a message and let me know!

After some time in Annapolis, Peter gets to take his vacation at the end of September. If all goes well and there isn’t any hurricane trouble back home we plan to fly out to the West Coast to visit family in Washington State and California. We also hope to pick up our Tahoe that’s parked at my dad’s house and either drive it to Florida (or put it on a truck) and then have it shipped down to St Thomas. It’s in great condition and is super reliable – something that’s hard to come by in the islands. Then, Peter has to fly to the Lagoon Factory in Bordeaux France for a training course at the end of October. Brig and I will not be going on that one – way too expensive for us, especially when Brig has to have his own seat on the plane now. I’m not sure what we will do yet while Peter is in France but we’ll figure it out eventually. We hope to be back home to our boat by the 1st of November just in time for high season in the charter business to kick off again!

Stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook pages for more frequent updates and photos 💙

 

The Best of Intentions

As much as I want to write a new blog post every day, it just never happens. I have such high hopes for my time management. I dream about the times when I used to be able to sit down with my laptop and get lost in my thoughts.  The truth is that Brig gets busier with each passing day and there’s always something more pressing that needs to get done. To be fair, we have literally been on the move for more than a year.  Ever since Hurricane Irma hit, we’ve been traveling and bouncing around from house to house by plane, by car, and by boat almost nonstop.  Unexpected events pop up at every turn. As if a 17 month old baby wasn’t enough to keep me from blogging!

We finally got back to our boat about a month ago after spending some more time in the states for my grandmother’s memorial and to allow us to be out of the Caribbean during Hurricane Season. We began sailing North to get back to St Thomas but weather has kept us longer than planned. We’re still currently stuck in St Kitts for just a couple more days. On Monday we hope we can make the final 24 hour push to get back home and FINALLY get settled. It feels like its been SUCH a long time coming.  We can finally find a routine and nave a little normalcy in our lives.  I think I need it more than anyone.  Brig has been such a trooper through it all and I’m so proud of him.

Peter will go back to work full time for Paradise Yacht Management in St Thomas managing the maintenance on their fleet of charter catamarans.  It’s a great company and Peter really enjoys working with those guys so he’s excited to get back too.  I will be staying home with Brig and I HOPE to get some projects of my own finally taken care of.  There are SO many sewing projects on my list and I have tons of blog content I want to finally get posted. Brig is in the process of transitioning from two naps down to one so I hope I can finally get a solid chunk of time to myself during the day.  Am I just dreaming again? Maybe. We shall see.

I know there are many of you that only visit the website and blog but don’t “do” social media. Please remember to check out our Instagram and Facebook pages even if you don’t have accounts there.  You can still see our public photos. I post updates about our adventures on those sites WAY more often than I post here right now so head on over to get your dose of coconuts :)

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When you don’t get to say goodbye

It’s been two weeks since she’s been gone. It doesn’t feel real and it’s taken me this long to find any words at all. There’s already been so many times I’ve thought about calling her and then my heart breaks all over again when I realize she won’t ever pick up the phone again. I always had to call twice because she could never get to the phone in time. She was busy in the garden or taking the dogs out or just waking up. She never called me because she said she didn’t want to bother us if I was trying to get Brig to sleep. 

I just don’t understand why she had to leave us so suddenly and without saying goodbye! There are so many things I wanted to tell her. Like how much I appreciate everything she did for me over the years, and how thoughtful she was, and how glad I am that she could meet my husband and my baby, and how sorry I am for not showing my appreciation nearly enough. I pushed her away so many times. She always had an opinion or advice to give especially when I didn’t ask for it. I think that bothered me because of how she also taught me to always think for myself and have my own opinions. But I know she only did it because she cared about me. When you’re growing up though, you don’t realize that your parents have feelings too. She protected my feelings. I never knew I had to protect hers too. 

It’s just not real. I still feel like she’s just over the mountains at her house, doing what grandmothers do. She was supposed to live forever. She was supposed to hold all of my babies. She was supposed to see my babies grow up. I was going to help her do so many things at her house. “When I come back next time…” I’d always say. I did what I could to help her with computer stuff over the phone but it was always too hard to explain. I always had her make a list of things we were going to do together when I came to visit next time. 

Did she know? Did she know that she would be leaving us so soon? Why didn’t she tell me how bad it was! Why didn’t she tell me to come there sooner! It’s times like these that living out of state or out of the country for that matter is so hard. I’ve been so far away from my family for so many years that you forget that the years are numbered. Time passes by. I know she was proud of me though, for going out into the world and not being afraid of taking chances and living a life of adventure. I know there are more things she was supposed to teach me. She taught me so much already though. I just wish I had let her into my adult life more. I wish I had shared a little more with her. 

She was one of the strongest women I’ve ever known. She was a protector. She never let me know if anything was wrong. Sometimes it felt like I was living in a bubble because she never wanted me to worry about anything. Was it an illusion or was it just Love? One thing I do know is that she loved me very much. She raised me from when I was just a baby and I had a good life growing up. 

There are SO many memories. Like how she taught me how to make oatmeal cookies, and the best pie crust, and how to wrap presents, and how to make believe. I remember the places we used to live. I remember going on the boat in the summertime up to the San Juan Islands and playing on the docks poking at sea anemones on the pilings and catching crabs with my net. I remember going off to school and the lunches she would pack for me. All of the visits from the Tooth Fairy and Easter baskets and Christmas stockings from Santa. The Halloween costumes she made for me. Birthday presents and ‘just because i love you’ surprises. I remember her letting me get black jelly beans every time we went to the grocery store.  The crafts she would make with me. Watching Disney movies. Taking her snorkeling in BVI for the first time, and taking her hiking to the top of Saddle Rock so she could check it off her bucket list. And then there is so much I don’t remember. So many memories I took for granted. I thought she would ALWAYS be there. She wasn’t just a mom or a grandma. She was Bean. She was different. 

I don’t know why Cancer affects so many people. It happened so fast. So suddenly. No one knew what was going to happen or how soon she was going to be taken from us. 

It’s not fair. I’m only 35 and the two people that raised me are both gone. I’m lucky to still be so close with both my mom and my dad but it’s different, it’s just not the same. I lived with my grandparents growing up and now they are both gone. I’m angry and sad and numb and in disbelief all at the same time. 

Now i’ve got a beautiful family of my own – a wonderful husband and a sweet sweet little boy. I know my grandparents were so proud of me. I just wish they could see. I wish they could see they did such a good job and that i’m so thankful for everything they taught me.

This past year has had so many life altering events for me. The birth of my baby, losing our home in Hurricane Irma, the passing of my Grandmother, and so many other monumental things in between. Some days I don’t know how to find the strength to get me through. Some days I forget that there are so many other people in this world that have much greater struggles.  On the other hand some days I can’t be believe how blessed I am. Life is a funny thing. Everyone has a story. “Everyone you meet is afraid of something, has loved something and has lost something” so before you judge anyone, remember they have feelings too. Hug your loved ones tight. Tell them you love them all the time. Don’t take one second for granted. 

Rest In Peace, Bean. I love you. 

You are home now, free of pain and back in the arms of the love of your life. 

 

Jeanne Frostad 

“Bean”

4.4.44 – 7.16.18

Forever, your little one.

A New Year, A New Beginning

Sunday night we rang in the New Year with high hopes for 2018. We are at a point in our lives where the only way to go is forward and we couldn’t be more ready.

I apologize for the recent silence here yet again. Whenever I go silent on the blog it is definitely not because I don’t have anything to write about. Usually I have so much to share that I don’t even know where to begin. (Not to mention how hard it is to find time to write when your baby doesn’t take very good naps!)

The time passes by and the days go on and I feel like there are no words for what is going through my head. This past year has given us some extreme highs and some extreme lows and the shock that comes with each of those moments has been more than overwhelming.

June 13th 2017 was the birth of our first child.

September 6th 2017 ripped our lives apart as Hurricane Irma destroyed our home, our jobs and many of our belongings.

December 16, 2017 marked our first wonderful year of marriage.

We’ve been so fortunate to be able to stay with family and friends during the past four months while we sort everything out and try to figure out where to go from here. It’s been a blessing to be able to let everyone back in the states meet Brig, even under these unfortunate circumstances. A blessing in disguise indeed.

So what have we been up to?? Well…

For the first two weeks after Irma, Peter was still stuck on Tortola. I was going out of my mind with worry and could barely take care of myself while trying to coordinate things for him from afar. Time stood still for me and it felt like we were in a vacuum. I’m so thankful my mom was able to help so much with Brig because I was a total mess.

We finally got Peter out of there and it took awhile to let it all sink in that we had no home to go back to. At 34, I had officially moved back in with with my parents bringing with me my husband, my 3 month old baby, and my dog. I never thought in a million years that I would ever have to move back home. I SO wasn’t prepared for that. I had a family, success and a good life, and it had just never crossed my mind that it could all be flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. The eye of Irma to be exact.

Within a few short weeks we ended up buying a Chevy Tahoe off Craigslist and took off on a road trip for a wedding – and to see Peter’s family (and some friends) – down in Arizona and sunny California. It was a good distraction from the hurricane craziness but it was three more weeks that we weren’t really able to focus on a plan for our future. We headed back up Washington to regroup and come up with a plan.

Luckily our boat was insured. Two years ago I spent a significant amount of time researching the intimidating world of marine insurance and I couldn’t be more relieved that we ended up with some really good coverage. Although insurance is one of those things you hope you never need. we absolutely did end up needing every insurable penny.

A few days after the Hurricane, I got word from Peter that the damage was beyond what he could repair himself and I filed our insurance claim for a total loss. They sent a surveyor out who ended up totaling the boat with exterior damage alone. Damage to the mizzenmast and cracks in the fiberglass were enough to max out the value we had insured so we signed the paperwork and began waiting for the payout.

(our boat shown below still floating, lower left)

During the last four months we’ve talked about a lot of options for what we want to do next. It’s what everyone wants to know. Will we get another boat or will we move back to land? The only thing we can be sure of is that we DEFINITELY want to get another boat and get back down to Where The Coconuts Grow. The islands are where our hearts belong and even though the islands we called home are no where near what they used to be like, it’s where we both want to be.

(It didn’t take long for the hills to start turning green again!)

The next priority was to get Peter back down to our boat and try to salvage any equipment and belongings he could. BVI is slightly more functional (and green) than it was when he left the last time so it wasn’t a totally impossible mission to send him back. The longer we waited the more mold damage there would be so upon returning to Washington after our road trip, we bought him a plane ticket back down to the Virgin Islands. This time, he had a solid plan for what to do with the rest of our belongings, and our boat! More on this later ;)

Two weeks turned into three and Peter still wasn’t back yet. I was basically waiting for more local intel before we could make anymore plans so the waiting game continued. Part of me was hoping he’d return with some super exciting news about a business opportunity in the islands. A few possibilities popped up but nothing in the works yet. Then, I got a call with news that Peter’s step-dad’s father had passed away. Peter flew back up to Washington right away and the three of us made an impromptu flight down to LA and San Diego for a week to be able to attend the memorial service.

Peter had already spent Thanksgiving alone, in the islands and away from us, and Christmas was just around the corner. We got busy again with family so our ideas about the future stalled out again. Brig’s first Christmas was one we will never forget though. It snowed on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, altering our plans yet again. We were literally snowed in because the roads got dangerously icy up at my Dad’s house on Camano Island. We ended up having a slumber party with 10 adults, 1 baby and 3 dogs AND we all had matching Christmas jammies!! So much fun and so in line with how much our plans have been changing.

Time felt like it was standing still yet it was flying by so fast my head is spinning! We have been so busy visiting family and friends all over the place that it’s really kept our minds off of how Irma changed our lives forever.

Our travels don’t end there. Believe it or not, we are now in Georgia! We are visiting our good friends Jack and Nikki and family for the New Year and we’ve been working really hard to finally come up with a plan for the future.

There are a couple of boats we really want to go look at now that our insurance claim is finally settled and we can actually move forward if we find the right one.  There’s one boat I really love, but part of me thinks the one we will end up buying hasn’t even presented itself yet.

From the very start of all of this, all I wanted to do was go home – and I couldn’t. I got on that plane in St Thomas just two days before the hurricane hit thinking I was leaving just in case… and that I’d be back in two weeks. I left with a backpack, a diaper bag and my baby and four months later I still can’t go home.

One thing I know for sure is how grateful we are for all the love and support from ALL OF YOU. As soon as we arrived in the states back in September we started receiving messages of encouragement, emails, cards, baby clothes and toys, clothes for me and Peter, treats and toys for Betsy, food, shelter, gift cards and paypal donations to help get us back on our feet. It’s amazing how much “stuff” you need for just the basic necessities. For those of you that helped us out when we needed it most, you know who you are and we can’t thank you enough. We hope to be able to pay it forward some day in a way as equally profound as was done for us.

I know that many of you also donated to various relief funds and organizations that are helping the people of the islands directly as they also struggle to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Our friends Jen and Mike friends from Three Sheets spent countless hours coordinating relief efforts on the ground between St Croix and Tortola. Our friends Brittany and Scott from Windtraveler and Aristocat Charters raised nearly $170k on their fundraiser in coordination with many other organizations at the same time. You can see how those funds were utilized in the updates published on the site here: BVI Immediate Relief. Scott personally distributed supplies on Tortola to families that needed help and the amount of work they both did to help the locals is immeasurable. If you contributed to these efforts or others, even the smallest amount helped in such a huge way.

For now we are taking things one day at a time. We are so thankful for everyone that has taken us in and opened their homes to us. Our family is safe and that’s always all that really matters. ❤️

Stay tuned as we book even more travel plans within the next few days and get one step closer to finding our new home!

 

 

Surviving Hurricane Irma

Our worst nightmare came true.

Peter, Betsy and our boat were in the BVI, in the path of a historical Category 5 direct hit from Hurricane Irma on September 6th, 2017.

(Islands outlined in purple in the photo above are the USVI. Road Town is the main city on Tortola, part of the British Virgin Islands, Northwest of the eye)

Brig and I had flown off island two days prior “just in case” while Peter stayed behind to secure our boat as well as our employer’s work boats in a mad dash to protect both our home and our livelihood.

It wasn’t until last minute that it was even an option for Brig and I to leave. Technically, Brig could not enter the U.S. without a passport. Since he was born in BVI and does not qualify for a BVI passport, we needed to wait until the US Consulate from Barbados came to visit in BVI to apply for his US passport.  This only happens twice a year and we still had several weeks before the next scheduled visit. Given our circumstances with an impending life threatening storm headed for us, the US Customs and Boarder Protection at the St Thomas airport granted me special permission to let us travel with just a birth certificate for him instead. The day after we arrived in the states we applied for Brig’s passport in person and have since resolved the issue. If it wasn’t for this ridiculousness of not being able to get Brig a passport immediately after he was born, we would have either hauled our boat out of the water like we did last hurricane season and flew up to the states to visit family, or we would have sailed down to Grenada where statistically fewer hurricanes ever hit. This year, we made the best hurricane plan we could with the circumstances we were given.

Irma was only a Cat-3 when I left and we had no idea it would strengthen as much as it did. Not only did it grow to become a major Category 5 hurricane, “Irma sustained 185 mph (295 km/h) winds for 37 hours, becoming the only tropical cyclone worldwide to have had winds that speed for that long, breaking the previous record of 24 hours set by Typhoon Haiyan of 2013″ according to Wikipedia.

I watched the news on TV as the eye passed over the entire country of BVI with wind gusts reached a frightening 220 mph. When wind increases, the force is not just incremental, it’s exponential. I can’t even comprehend that… I’m so thankful I have the support of my family – but especially during those awful hours when my communication with Peter was cut off. I couldn’t even take care of myself, let alone my baby. It was absolutely torture for me to know what had just happened to St Martin hours before and that Peter was now going through the same unspeakable disaster. I was terrified for my husband’s life. Thanks to Scott and Brittany’s satellite phone, he was able to call me as soon as the storm calmed down enough for him to go outside.

During the storm, Peter and a few others hid inside a well-built home up in the Belmont neighborhood on the West End of Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The house they thought would act as a fortress ended up with blown out windows behind hurricane shutters and was stripped of it’s roof. Debris blocking the roads to the lower part of the island caused them to hike by foot over the wreckage in order to go anywhere. They had the satellite phone which they used to relay messages for me to post on our facebook page in the early days following Hurricane Irma, and they were also able to reach other survivors to let them make calls to their family and loved ones. With great effort, Peter and others that wish to remain anonymous helped facilitate several medical emergency rescues as well.

Our boat was tucked away inside one of the well known hurricane holes and it took days for Peter to get back down there to check on her. At first glance he saw she was still floating! Hopes were high that our boat might have been one of the very few boats to survive. A closer look, however, revealed that our home had been destroyed. Peter did everything he could but no amount of preparation could have saved our boat or prevented any of the widespread destruction caused by Irma. Cleats and winches were completely ripped off. The mizzenmast was detached and tangled in the rigging of a nearby boat. The hull deck joints were severely cracked, and the vessel was bringing on water below the waterline from an unknown origin. Stanchions and chainplates ripped out of the decks.  Bow pulpit crushed. Bulkheads smashed. Most of the electrical system nonoperational. Mud, dirt and debris inside the boat. Water damage and mold everywhere. She was simply battered beyond repair.  What really salts our wounds is that while the boat was left clinging to the sides of other boats that had been tied to the mangroves, a family of rats had taken up residence in our absence of just a few short days and had been chewing, pooping and peeing on everything inside our boat. If there was ever a hope of salvaging any of our personal belongings, it was now completely gone.

It feels like it took a lifetime to gather the few items we brought with us when we moved aboard our boat four years ago. We couldn’t fit much in our 42′ sailboat but the things we did have in our tiny floating home meant the world to us. Every tool had multiple purposes. Everything that wasn’t a tool had a specific purpose or sentimental value. Friends and family had sent us all we would ever need for the first two years of Brig’s life. We had everything we would ever need for our whole family and we lost it all.

It took two weeks to finally get Peter and Betsy out of there. Thanks to our friends at Three Sheets Sailing, they were able to get on a relief boat in Tortola that was returning to St Croix where they could then take a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, then Houston, and finally arriving to Seattle, Washington late Sunday night. Although the Royal Navy had imposed martial law with territory-wide curfews, Peter still didn’t feel safe staying on Tortola. Everyone left there is just surviving. With such a significant lack of infrastructure it will be awhile before island life can continue as normal. Although the states doesn’t feel like home for us, we are all glad that our little family is together and safe.

(The above photo shows how Betsy had to ride on the plane from St Croix to Puerto Rico as there was no room for her by Peter’s feet.)

Part of me actually feels guilty that I wasn’t there and will never know what Peter went through. I will never understand the sheer terror he experienced. He literally survived a direct hit from one of the strongest category-5 hurricanes on record on earth. I know the most important thing is that he and Betsy are safe and our little family is whole again, but the grief and emotions surrounding the loss of our home and the shattering of our dreams are overwhelming. I recently read a post by Charlotte Kaufman about what she learned from Losing Rebel Heart and her words explain it best.

Before he left BVI, Peter did the best he could to re-secure our boat back on the dock with all the lines he had left. He sealed up all the cracks he was able to, cleared out the bilge and hooked up a solar panel in hopes that there will be enough power to run the bilge at all. Even if he could’ve salvaged anything off of our boat, there was nowhere safe and dry on island to store any of it. With Hurricane Maria on the way, the best thing Peter could do for our family was to get out of there. Hurricane Maria didn’t end up being a direct hit for BVI but it passed just south of the Virgin Islands and was the second Category-5 hurricane to devastate the Caribbean within a period of two weeks. At this point we have no idea if our boat is still floating or if she incurred any further damage. Hopefully our boat will still be accessible, floating, and not looted by the time any insurance surveyors ever come to inspect her.

We’ve filed a claim with our insurance company but I was told that it will take a very, very long time for it to be processed, if they ever make good on it. The volume of destruction that the BVI sustained is unimaginable. These islands that so many people love and cherish have been completely decimated. Everyone that survived this historical disaster are forever changed.

Basically there is nothing left for us to go back to right now. We are homeless and unemployed along with so many others that lived in the islands. There are very few structures for anyone to shelter in and not even a hotel for us to stay at. It will be a long time before power and water is restored and basic necessities are available to everyone.

BVI is where Brig was born and where our hearts will always belong. Our home, our jobs, and all our belongings are gone and our cherished islands have been practically leveled, but Peter and I would still love to go back. We would love to help the islands rebuild and help uncover the magic buried beneath the rubble that so many of us found there in a time before Irma and Maria. With enough support from those that feel the same way, it will happen. The islands will rebuild and start over.

To see many photos of the devastation, visit our facebook page where I’ve shared tons of photos that others have posted.

How You Can Help:

Individual Families:

Many of you have reached out asking how you can help *us* during this difficult time. You know who you are and we can’t thank you enough. Your kind words and generosity means more to us than you will ever know. If there is anyone else interested in how to help us directly, here are a few ways:

  • Donate via the PayPal donate button at the bottom of our website (Donations made directly from one paypal account to another incur no fees. Donations made via paypal  with a credit card incur a standard fee of 2.9% + $0.30 deducted before reaching us).
  • Donate via the YouCaring fundraiser that Stacy Najar set up to help us to get back on our feet. (Donations made via YouCaring with a credit card incur a standard fee of 2.9% + $0.30 deducted before reaching us. YouCaring has zero additional platform fees unlike sites such as Gofundme). www.youcaring.com/wherethecoconutsgrow
  • Use our Amazon Affiliate link at the bottom of our website! This is no additional cost to you but means a lot to us. If you click our link before making a purchase on Amazon, we get a small commission. Just save our website as a favorite in your web browser and it’s only one extra click to use our link before doing your regular Amazon shopping.

-ALSO-

The Soeters Family – Very good friends of ours Darcy, Luuck, Stormer and Rio of the Sunkissed Soeters lost their boat and all of their belongings when Hurricane Irma made a direct hit on Sint Maarten, and unfortunately they were not insured.  Like us, they are now staying with family back in the states until we can all figure out what to do next and how to get back to doing what makes us happy.

USVI “Adopt a Family”

Communities as a whole:

So many relief funds have been created in support of the islands affected by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. Here are just a few of the links dedicated to supporting the devastated communities as a whole:

BVI:

BVI RELIEF – Links for multiple options for donating money and donating supplies, news, resources and a gallery

Convoy of Hope – First responders to disasters all over the world

BVI Immediate Relief – Set up by our good friends Brittany and Scott for immediate relief on the ground in BVI

BVI Hurricane Irma Relief – Yacht Sea Boss providing relief supplies to BVI

BVI Meals 4 Kids – Al Broderick and The Lunch Box feeding hot meals to children in Tortola

#BVISTRONG Gear Shop Remember the Adventure’s #BVISTRONG gear shop where 100% of the proceeds go to VISAR’S BVI Relief Fund

VISAR BVI Relief Fund Virgin Islands Search and Rescue directing funds to those most in need in BVI

BVI Community Support Appeal – Fund for long term reconstruction of BVI, Virgin Unite’s overhead costs are covered 100% by Richard Branson & the Virgin Group

BVI Medical Supplies – Medical Supplies requested for the hospital in Tortola

Virgin Gorda Relief Fund – Community aid for the residents and infrastructure of Virgin Gorda

Jost Van Dyke Humanitarian Aid – Basic life saving needs and community recovery for Jost Van Dyke

 

Most importantly, the BVI SAFETY CHECK website was created just for people to search for loved ones and mark people as safe.

PLEASE know that BVI is not the only area that needs help. The US media coverage has primarily focused on Florida but Barbuda, St Barts, Anguilla, St. Martin, USVI, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, Bahamas and Florida have ALL incurred apocalyptic damage from both Irma and Maria and left an unimaginable amount of people homeless and left with nothing. What makes it even worse is thinking of the combined damage from #Harvey#Irma#Jose#Katia, #Maria#mexicoearthquake#wildfires and so many other worldwide disasters all happening in such a short period of time. The fact that looting and civil unrest quickly spiraled out of control after these events is just heartbreaking when our world is hurting so much. Luckily most of it is now back under control. Everyone needs to come together NOW more than ever. Do what you can, however you can, to help somehow.

 

Caribbean in General:

Sailors Helping – Info on how to support several islands in the Caribbean that have been devastated

International Rescue Group – Disaster relief and humanitarian aid

 

USVI:

USVI Irma & Maria Relief Fund – For USVI residents in need

St John Rescue – For the St. John Community

St John Community Foundation – Resources for the St. John Community

Love for Love City – Kenny Chesney’s fundraising campaign for Disaster Relief in USVI and BVI

Tim Duncan VI Relief – Relief fund matching every dollar for the USVI up to $1 million

Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands – Relief for short term and long term critical needs in USVI

Irma Relief for our Sister Islands – Relief for St. Thomas and St. John coordinated from St. Croix

Art for Love City – Proceeds go to Love for Love City relief fund

United Way USVI – United Way Relief fund for USVI

USVI Amazon Wish List – USVI and surrounding islands delivered by relief crews

ReVIve the VI – St. Thomas community relief

 

St Martin / Sint Maarten:

St Maarten Hurricane Irma Relief – Funds will go to families affected by Irma

Rebuild SXM – Foundation set up to help rebuild St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba

Dutch Sister Islands Fund – Dutch Sint Maarten relief

French St. Martin – French St. Martin relief

 

Dominica:

Fund Directive – Emergency relief for Dominica

The Dominica Red Cross – Local nonprofit relief

 

Turks and Caicos:

Turks and Caicos Hurricane Relief – Helping families, churches and the community rebuild

Turks & Caicos Relief Fund – Helping all those affected in T&C by Hurricane Irma

Turks & Caicos Just Giving – Relief efforts in T&C

 

Barbuda:

Halo Foundation – Barbuda Relief Efforts

Barbuda Hurricane Irma Relief – Senator Freeland’s relief team

Barbuda Recovery and Conservation Trust Fund – International Community Foundation’s page for Barbuda Relief

 

Bahamas:

Bahamas Humane Society

Bahamas – You Caring

 

 

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