We were on a mooring at BEYC in October 2008 when Hurricane Omar strengthened from a disturbance to a predicted hurricane overnight. We realized this when we checked the posted weather report when we went ashore for breakfast. We called the Moorings base for guidance and were told it was too late to return to base. Keep in mind that the Moorings doesn't have room at the base for all of the boats in the fleet. We were instructed to put our boat on a mooring in Biras Creek, run two lines through the ring on the ball, take the canvas down, get off the boat and take cover. I immediately walked over to the BEYC guest registration and got one of the last available rooms. Many other charterers came ashore later that morning looking for rooms and could not be accommodated.

We did as instructed by the Moorings including dragging our dinghy onto the beach and tying it to a palm tree. Omar continued to strengthen that day and was predicted to make a direct hit on the Virgins as a Cat 4 around midnight. We hunkered down in one of the rooms/huts on the side of the hill and hoped for the best. Around midnight the storm came through like a freight train. Our room shook and felt like it was going to blow off the foundation. Thankfully it didn't and the next morning the sun came out and we went out to survey the damage. Lots of trees down, some building damage, no power but BEYC came through mostly fine. Our dinghy was still there and when we motored over to Biras the boat was undamaged. Omar tracked about 90 miles away from the Virgins and caused only minor damage. We continued our trip without further event. When I look at the damage to BEYC from Irma I realize how lucky we were. The room on the hill we stayed in was completely destroyed by Irma as was the rest of BEYC.

Omar was unusual in that it formed within 24 hours from a disturbance that had been hanging around in the Leewards for several days. There was none of the warnings that are typically issued when a storm tracks across the Atlantic for a week or more slowly gaining strength. I don't think there was anything more that we could have done to protect ourselves under the circumstances.