HANDLING
IRMA
By Marcy Shortuse
Photos by Dusty and submitted
On Monday, September 4 a leisurely, humid breeze blew down our island streets, and with it came the news
that Hurricane Irma had wobbled toward the west coast of Florida. For days she was headed toward the
Miami and Fort Lauderdale area, but suddenly her single eye was aimed at an area somewhere near Boca
Grande. The National Hurricane Center’s American and European spaghetti models started to intertwine, leaving
little to the imagination when it came to Hurricane Irma’s path. By Tuesday, Sept. 5 forecasters were touting Irma as
the strongest hurricane of all time in the Atlantic Ocean, with winds up to 190 miles per hour ... and she was coming
here.
The languid summer of 2017 was officially over, as people kicked into gear all around Gasparilla Island. In September
The Gasparilla Inn & Club is normally deserted, but instead the lawns and streets were filled with workers getting the
grand old lady ready for the coming storm. Boats in their slips were cross-tied, trucks and trailered boats were everywhere
on the roadways. The Innlet, owned by The Gasparilla Inn & Club, allowed people to remove their boats from
the water at their ramp, free of charge.