It may be good to have a thread devoted to reports on the recovery from Emily, not just the approach which is now history. I have started a log of this process at our web page www.aldora.com for those who are interested, but this board may be easier. I will start it off.
As of 10 am Cozumel time on July 20th:
The storm impact was not nearly as bad as it might have been. We believe that was so because there was no tidal surge (at least in Cozumel) and the big winds persisted only for a short time. Waves seem to have not been much of a factor, at least not nearly as much as the wind.
The Aldora boats were ready to go diving less than 12 hours after the storm but the civil authorities kept the port closed so as to insure focus on cleanup. We did get the boats in the water on Tuesday the 19th at noon and had some very happy divers. We went no further south than Palancar Bricks and found the visibility to be poor by Cozumel standards but even by our second dive it was improving. On Wednesay the preliminary observation is that the vis is back to normal.
As for damage to the reefs, we found very little deeper than 30 feet, but some of the coral head tops had significant damage to finger coral and lettuce coral. The very good news is that there seemed to be almost no extraordinary sand deposits on the coral.
On land, it seems that the further south or east you went the worse the damage. Given that the eye wall hit Punta Sur that only stands to reason. On the south end on the eastside (other side) we found the Paradise Beach Cafe (aka Raga's) to be gone. Not dmaged...gone! The eastside road was broken and impassable beyong there. We were not able to get there but we understand that the Iberostar will not be reopened for at least 3 months and that probably means next year. We suspect that adjacent hotels like the Allegro and Occidental may have the same situation but don't know for sure at this time. Further north the day beaches where we do our surface intervals fared slightly better. Nachi Cocom and Mr. Sancho's had damage but should be back operating very soon. Play Mia (formerly Playa Sol, with its huge palapa is gone and suffered extensive damage and may be out of operation for quite some time. Nearby San Francisco Beach suffered damage as well but will be operating soon.
Interestingly, the new giant cruise ship pier and facilities at Puerta Maya was severly damaged by wind with its giant palapa now residing somewhere west of Playa Del Carmen. In town many of the newly planted palm trees on the main street has fallen but it may not be too big a deal to replant them.
Electricity is still spotty but the electric company says all areas should be re powered by Thursday.
As best we know there were no boats lost ,nor even any minor injuries. As of now the island is operating and all we are waiting on is visitors.
It is hoped that as others come on line with the internet they could add more complete information here.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
As of 10 am Cozumel time on July 20th:
The storm impact was not nearly as bad as it might have been. We believe that was so because there was no tidal surge (at least in Cozumel) and the big winds persisted only for a short time. Waves seem to have not been much of a factor, at least not nearly as much as the wind.
The Aldora boats were ready to go diving less than 12 hours after the storm but the civil authorities kept the port closed so as to insure focus on cleanup. We did get the boats in the water on Tuesday the 19th at noon and had some very happy divers. We went no further south than Palancar Bricks and found the visibility to be poor by Cozumel standards but even by our second dive it was improving. On Wednesay the preliminary observation is that the vis is back to normal.
As for damage to the reefs, we found very little deeper than 30 feet, but some of the coral head tops had significant damage to finger coral and lettuce coral. The very good news is that there seemed to be almost no extraordinary sand deposits on the coral.
On land, it seems that the further south or east you went the worse the damage. Given that the eye wall hit Punta Sur that only stands to reason. On the south end on the eastside (other side) we found the Paradise Beach Cafe (aka Raga's) to be gone. Not dmaged...gone! The eastside road was broken and impassable beyong there. We were not able to get there but we understand that the Iberostar will not be reopened for at least 3 months and that probably means next year. We suspect that adjacent hotels like the Allegro and Occidental may have the same situation but don't know for sure at this time. Further north the day beaches where we do our surface intervals fared slightly better. Nachi Cocom and Mr. Sancho's had damage but should be back operating very soon. Play Mia (formerly Playa Sol, with its huge palapa is gone and suffered extensive damage and may be out of operation for quite some time. Nearby San Francisco Beach suffered damage as well but will be operating soon.
Interestingly, the new giant cruise ship pier and facilities at Puerta Maya was severly damaged by wind with its giant palapa now residing somewhere west of Playa Del Carmen. In town many of the newly planted palm trees on the main street has fallen but it may not be too big a deal to replant them.
Electricity is still spotty but the electric company says all areas should be re powered by Thursday.
As best we know there were no boats lost ,nor even any minor injuries. As of now the island is operating and all we are waiting on is visitors.
It is hoped that as others come on line with the internet they could add more complete information here.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers
