Boat Owners Optimistic for Dry Docking Solutions Ahead of Hurricane Season | St. Michael, Barbados

Some boat owners whose vessels were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl last year are hopeful that there will be adequate spaces to dry dock during the upcoming hurricane season.

They shared that desire recently as they continued to repair their boats at Bico’s parking lot and at Kensington Mall’s parking lot, both on Harbour Road, St Michael.

Fisherman and boat owner Harvey Corbin, whose boat Lady Muriel was extensively damaged, was one of the individuals who made that point.

“If we had someplace to dry dock the boats, we could have saved a lot of the boats.

“In June, half of the boats will be on land when the bad weather comes, so wherever they open or put in place, it should be safe,” Corbin said.

Edwin Holder, whose boat Sea Crystal was also significantly damaged, made similar comments.

“This boat get damaged at the Fisheries [Complex]. It was a lot of work but if I had known it was that bad, I would’ve left it in the water.

“Every year since I had this boat, whenever I stopped flying fishing, I would take it out of the water and take it to the Shallow Draught . . . and if that place down there didn’t close down, my boat would have been out of the water.

“So I would hope that they would have someplace to put them,” Holder said.

Both men shared those sentiments as they spoke about how challenging it has been since July 2024 when the Category 1 hurricane battered the coast. Over 200 boats were damaged during the system.

Lady Muriel was too expensive to repair, so Corbin bought a new fibreglass hull which he is in the process of building out.

“It was $250 000 in damage. It was ripped up. So to [repair] that it would be too expensive; it was not worth it.

“So I got this fibreglass hull that I had to work on to make sure it was correct. Thankfully my old boat did not sink. It was broken up, so I can transfer the equipment.

“I’m working on the inside to put back in the engine, the propeller, shaft and the rudder,” Corbin said.

After the storm last year, it was revealed that some boat owners did not have insurance.

Corbin said: “I used to insure years ago but they didn’t treat me good. I was losing out because fish does not catch like before and it became a waste of time,” he said.

After this new boat is completed, he said he will be seeking insurance.

“I think that is the best move because I can’t afford to lose this kind of money. This takes everything from you,” Corbin added.

Holder made similar comments about the insurance issue.

“I couldn’t afford to insure it because it didn’t make any money. To insure it would have been about $8 000 [a year] but it only fished for about six months,” he said.

Last month while leading off the debate on the Sustainable Fisheries Management Bill, 2024 in the House of Assembly, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Adrian Forde revealed that Government spent almost $7.5 million to rescue, rebuild and restore the maritime sector in the wake of destruction caused last year by Beryl.