Dodging the Norbert Bullet

Said to have hit later in the season than any previously recorded hurricane, Norbert lashed the Baja Peninsula Saturday with winds up to 105 mph and torrents of rain before marching across the Sea of Cortez to the Mexican mainland. Luckily, the Category 2 storm’s path did not cross any major population centers.

Although mainstream media sources report that 20,000 homes were temporarily without electricity, only one person is believed dead at this writing. The Mexican boating community seems to have dodged the Norbert bullet completely, with little or no damage occurring in major marinas and popular cruiser anchorages — at least according to initial reports.

"There was very little damage in La Paz," says longtime Marina de La Paz operator Mary Shroyer, "except that some of those big ugly signs blew down."

First-hand reports from San Carlos and Mag Bay boaters were similar, with no major damage cited nor loss of life. Those who suffered most may have been the residents of the islands of Margarita and Magdalena, many of whom lost their roofs. In Mexico, however, seasonal hurricanes are accepted as a fact of life. As such, affected residents typically pick up the pieces and get on with their lives. Rather than waiting around for assistance from FEMA-like government agencies, they simply get out their brooms and shovels as soon as the skies clear, and get to work.