Fellow members,
In the aftermath of hurricane Dorian, our dear friends in the Abacos need our help. Your first impression might be to go there in person but I would strongly recommend against that. There will be time for direct help but that time is a ways in the future. Below is a message from the Association of Bahamas Marinas which addresses this directly.
Notice from the Association of Bahamas Marinas
We have been receiving reports of people from the US trying to boat to the Abacos to help with relief efforts. Private vessels should not try and reach the islands at this time. The current US and Bahamian government efforts are to get people OUT of the impacted areas of the Abacos and Grand Bahama. There is tons of debris floating and under the water, there is nowhere to tie up, there is are no warehousing facilities for goods delivered, roads on the islands are NOT passable and communications with the islands are still at a bare minimum.
We understand there is a strong desire to take action and help these communities and the offers of assistance and support have been overwhelming. Our goal is to consolidate as many efforts under the smallest number of umbrella organizations as possible in order to increase buying power and decrease the number of vessels heading to the islands with supplies. Right now we are recommending funneling as much of the relief effort through the Bahamas Red Cross Society as possible.
The Bahamas government has set up a website page as a resource center to help aide those in need. We will continue to update this page with the most relevant information needed so we can continue to provide the necessary assistance to persons and business who are willing to lend a helping hand. Please check this page frequently while we review and approve a list of additional trusted partners. https://www.bahamas.com/hurricane-relief
I would ask that our members heed this advise. Donating money will be the best way to help the people of the Abacos and those organizations that will have boots on the ground in the impacted areas. There are many organizations looking for donations with Go Fund Me pages etc. Some of these will turn out to be outright bogus or otherwise not using all of the donations for the stated purpose. I urge you to donate your hard earned money with reputable organizations. Below is a list of organizations that I would feel comfortable donating my own money. This is by no means a complete list. There are many, many other worthy organizations as well.
If every member of the RMHYC makes a donation, it will make a difference. As soon as I find out about an organized rebuilding effort requiring extra hands or extra boats I will make that information available. Until then, we should stay out of the way of the first responders.
Bahamas Red Cross
Link through https://www.bahamas.com/hurricane-relief
National Association of the Bahamas
Link through https://www.bahamas.com/hurricane-relief
Hope Town fire and Rescue
http://htvfr.org/index.html
Patrick Davis and the Songwriters in Paradise crew have started a Go Fund Me page. The contributions will be distributed to all the affected areas, not just Hope Town.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Hope4HopeTown?rcid=r01-156738420115-e6f9a441ae7e4620&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w
Kirk of the Pines Presbyterian Church in Marsh Harbor has set up a relief fund that will be used for for Abaco and Grand Bahama Island dispersed through their two EPC churches.
https://epc.org/donate/emergencyrelief/
Best Regards,
Scott Coles
Commodore
Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club
