Wilma puts West End's lights out
By Cheryl Blackerby
Palm Beach Post Travel Editor
Sunday, October 30, 2005

Hurricane Wilma hit Grand Bahama's West End, the western tip of the 96-mile-long
island, Monday, blowing off roofs, snapping trees and flooding buildings.
It was a replay of hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, which also hit both Grand Bahama and West Palm Beach, only 56 miles apart across the Gulf Stream. West End was without power for two months and without water for one month after Jeanne.
After Wilma, West End's main hotel, the elegant Old Bahama Bay, had water damage to
rooms and the marina and is expected to be closed for at least a month. The inn, a popular stop for boaters from Palm Beach County, was closed for several months after Jeanne and Frances, but its $500 rooms were fully booked last winter.
Many homes on the western end of the island were destroyed by a tidal surge whipped up by Wilma.

Grand Bahama's airport opened to commercial flights Wednesday.
The island's largest resort, Our Lucaya's Westin and Sheraton hotels, had minor damage and opened Thursday in time for the Jazz, Rhythm and Blues Festival with Lou Rawls. The festival will continue through today.

Pelican Bay, a luxury boutique inn, and other Grand Bahama hotels are also open.
Nassau was unaffected by the storm, and the port is getting cruise ships that were
redirected from Cozumel and Cancun, Mexico — cities severely damaged by Wilma.
Other Bahamian islands were safe from Wilma with the exception of South Bimini, where homes and the Bimini Beach Club were severely damaged. North Bimini's hotels had no damage. The Abacos were unharmed.