Yachting community not worried about warning

In what seemed to be an ironic situation, Newsday yesterday visited the Chaguaramas yachting community to find out what precautions were being taken in light of the Tropical Storm warning. Ironic, because as the warning was being issued, the mid-afternoon sun shone brilliantly on the area. At  Peake’s Yacht Services, there was not much activity. When Newsday spoke to the administration at Peakes, Teresa Medina said regular precautions were being observed, such as the blocking of windows, and the placing of sandbags at doors.

There were, however, a few yachties around who were seeking to secure their vessels. Peter De Silva of the Hopscotch said he had been waiting for his vessel to be removed since nine o’ clock yesterday morning. He added that not many other vessel owners were seeking to secure their boats. Field assistants at Peake’s were however, hard at work since 8 am yesterday, trying to secure vessels on the requests of owners. According to assistant, Fitzgerald Blugh, it was an exercise that could continue well into last night.

While the mood at Peake’s was not one of urgency, not much more was being done than at CrewsInn, where boat owners relaxed on their vessels, apparently not worried about the storm warning. One person said there was not enough cause for him to worry, and the most he would probably do in light of the warning, was to secure his boat with spring lines. In the Carenage area, many people seemed oblivious to the tropical storm warning as they even enjoyed an afternoon swim. Gas stations also seemed to be conducting business as usual. There were no long lines waiting to fill their tanks, but the supermarkets told a different tale.