I think we are using the word "hit" somewhat loosely, and perhaps we give it different meanings. What I meant to say, more accurately, is the following: Grand Cayman was hit (or battered) by hurricane-force winds from Hurricane Gustav. Both I and the National Hurricane Center (
www.nhc.noaa.gov) are in agreement on this.
I was also curious as to the glossary that the NHC uses. Among them are the terms "direct hit," "indirect hit," and "strike." The definitions for direct hit and strike are rather technical, but the definition for indirect hit is much easier to understand: "Generally refers to locations that do not experience a direct hit from a tropical cyclone, but do experience hurricane force winds (either sustained or gusts) or tides at least 4 feet above normal."
I can personally attest to the fact that Grand Cayman did, indeed experience hurricane force winds the night of Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. No, I did not go out and measure the speed of the wind, but Dutch, the very capable manager of Morritts kept us apprised of the situation by meetings and handing printouts of the bulletins issued by the National Hurricane Center. I had kept them as souvenirs, but finally decided to recycle them. However, they can be found here:
www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2008/, if anybody is interested.
While it is true that Gustav did not wreak the devastation that Ivan did, there was no way to know that beforehand, and hurricane preparations were made all over the island. We were strongly encouraged to leave. (The Reef had actually closed.) Cayman Airways was offering to fly people to Miami for $250 a head, and many people did that. We were supposed to leave on Saturday. We tried to change our flight to Friday but our flight was cancelled, and the airport closed down at noon. Dutch strongly encouraged people to go to shelters, and some people did. He moved the people who had been at the Grand to Morritts Tortuga, away from the ocean, and supplied us with flashlights--a good thing, because the power went out at 10PM, after which all hell--I mean Gustav--broke loose. The building was shaking. Let me tell you, it really puts a crimp in your holiday, sitting in the dark, being buffeted by hurricane force winds and hoping that the building can withstand it! Morritt's Tortuga is comprised of rather rickety wooden structures. And many of us know what happened to those oceanfront rickety wooden structures when Ivan came calling ... Luckily the damage was slight: the roof of one building had peeled open like a sardine can, and one tree was uprooted.
In my original post I said that I can go on and on, and it seems that I just have ... Such fun to re-live those vacations! And actually I should be an old hand at Caribbean hurricanes, because we go to the Caribbean at the beginning of hurricane season and also in August (which I consider the real start of hurricane season). We have been to 20+ islands, most of them more than once This particular time was our third in the Grand Cayman. (And no, we are not hurricane magnets! Our vacations are dictated by my husband's schedule.) Frankly, I'm surprised that we haven't experienced more hurricanes. We'll be pressing our luck again: Barbados in June, and two weeks in St. Maarten in August.
On the other hand, one does not have to be in the Caribbean (or Florida, or other hurricane prone areas) to experience a hurricane. Last August we were in Antigua. Our flight was delayed because of a tropical storm. That tropical storm followed us up the coast, turned into Hurricane Irene and caused damage to our house.