X21RV6A
Member
I am sorry to report that the out island of the Bahamas to include San Salvador, Crooked, Rum Cay, Long Cay and the Acklins are in very bad condition. I was part of a 2 ship flight out of Palm Beach Sunday bound for Crooked Island with 2,000 lbs of Food, Water and First Aid. I loaded up 3 cases of MRE's and First Aid into the RV6 and headed to South FL to join my great friends that fly an Airvan and Aztec.
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Our first stop to drop supplies was at Pittstown and I hardly recognized the place as complete destruction of the lodge.
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Colonel Hill Airport was partly flooded on Saturday, but we were able to get in on Sunday afternoon and drop additional supplies as did several other private pilots that donated their aircraft, fuel, time and many purchased food and water with money from their pockets.
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The good news about Crooked Island is that all residents have been accounted for and from what we understand no fatalities as a result of the hurricane. It will take them a couple of years to rebuild and ongoing support will be needed.
A command post has been setup by Pathfinder at Georgetown (Exuma) that is coordinating relief efforts. Exuma is 100 miles North East of Crooked and although they had high winds they escaped any serious damage.
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Stella Maris was pumping fuel yesterday and the runway was in good shape. Cat Island had heavy wind, but just some shingles blown off so they are OK.
We heard that Rum Cay, San Salvador, Long Cay and the Acklins took the brunt and like Crooked have wide spread destruction.
We met the Coast Guard crew that picked up the life ring from the El Faro on Saturday. They are also operating out of Georgetown but based in Clearwater FL.
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Our 2nd plane (Aztec) flew North and East of Crooked yesterday and found a portion of the debris field to include floating containers and an oil slick believed to be from the El Faro. We relayed lat/Lon via the Guard Channel back to Exuma and the Coast Guard launched to investigate. Sadly it doesn't look good for the crew of 30.
I am humbled and and at the same time amazed at the generosity of our private pilot community that are coming together to help out friends, and in many cases complete strangers. The first responders have not been government officials, but private pilots that want to assist and are making a difference.
Our first stop to drop supplies was at Pittstown and I hardly recognized the place as complete destruction of the lodge.
Colonel Hill Airport was partly flooded on Saturday, but we were able to get in on Sunday afternoon and drop additional supplies as did several other private pilots that donated their aircraft, fuel, time and many purchased food and water with money from their pockets.
The good news about Crooked Island is that all residents have been accounted for and from what we understand no fatalities as a result of the hurricane. It will take them a couple of years to rebuild and ongoing support will be needed.
A command post has been setup by Pathfinder at Georgetown (Exuma) that is coordinating relief efforts. Exuma is 100 miles North East of Crooked and although they had high winds they escaped any serious damage.
Stella Maris was pumping fuel yesterday and the runway was in good shape. Cat Island had heavy wind, but just some shingles blown off so they are OK.
We heard that Rum Cay, San Salvador, Long Cay and the Acklins took the brunt and like Crooked have wide spread destruction.
We met the Coast Guard crew that picked up the life ring from the El Faro on Saturday. They are also operating out of Georgetown but based in Clearwater FL.
Our 2nd plane (Aztec) flew North and East of Crooked yesterday and found a portion of the debris field to include floating containers and an oil slick believed to be from the El Faro. We relayed lat/Lon via the Guard Channel back to Exuma and the Coast Guard launched to investigate. Sadly it doesn't look good for the crew of 30.
I am humbled and and at the same time amazed at the generosity of our private pilot community that are coming together to help out friends, and in many cases complete strangers. The first responders have not been government officials, but private pilots that want to assist and are making a difference.