Visitors abandon Clearwater Beach for higher ground, some heading to Orlando for the remainder of their vacation while others go home early.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published August 13, 2004
CLEARWATER BEACH - Martijn Minderhoud packed while Burt Ditommaso played in the surf one final time.
Rick Coleman was happy to hear he got an earlier flight out. Brian Gehant was disappointed his family couldn't stay longer.
All across the beach Thursday, people cleared out.
Even the pirate ship ran from the gulf's troubled waters.
"It's our safest bet," said Pam Wozencraft, owner of Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise, a 70-foot-long vessel that patrols Clearwater Beach. The ship made for its offshore dock.
"Let's just pray Charley goes south," Wozencraft said. "If it goes south, we'll be home free."
In anticipation that it won't and with a mandatory evacuation of the barrier islands, tourists scrambled.
Minderhoud, visiting from the Netherlands, made plans to drive his family to Orlando on Thursday afternoon to ride out the storm. The 53-year-old father of three hoped to return to the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on Saturday.
"Wednesday and the day before were fabulous," said Minderhoud, who had planned to stay in Clearwater until late next week. "Today looks great, too. It would be interesting to stay and see it, but I understand we have no choice."
Most guests had abandoned the 80-room Days Inn by Thursday afternoon, said general manager Angelo Markopoulos. The restaurant was empty, and only 10 rooms were still booked.
"Some people just want to try and see it," Markopoulos said.
Lines six or seven deep piled up at the checkout counter at the Hilton on Clearwater Beach as tourists' vacations came to an abrupt end.
Garreth Sherren of London found his family another room at a hotel in Orlando to finish out his weeklong vacation after his tour company called and strongly advised that he evacuate Clearwater Beach.
"It's a shame," said Sherren, 32. "It's nice here. And it wastes a couple days of our holiday."
Burt Ditommaso shortened his vacation upon word that Charley was coming. Hours before he said he and his wife would start their drive back to Ohio, Ditommaso, 48, stood at the base of 3-foot waves, a strong wind already matted his long, gray hair.
"Trying to get the last bit of beach," he said, looking over the sand, which was crowded, considering a hurricane was approaching. "That's what everyone's doing, I guess."
Brian Gehant and his wife, Amy, wanted to take their two sons, Logan and Ben, on one of the pirate ship rides. The family, from Chicago, only got a picture in front of the big red boat before it headed out of port.
The Gehants then headed to Disney World.
"We thought it was going to be okay," said Brian Gehant, 36.
About 3,000 people live on Clearwater Beach and Island Estates, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That doesn't include the city's large tourist population.
A Level A flood zone, the beach needs to be cleared by midday Friday, when Clearwater officials said the drawbridge on Clearwater Memorial Causeway would be locked open. Cleveland Street parking was removed Thursday afternoon to help ease traffic congestion, which has plagued downtown, especially during construction of the new bridge to Clearwater Beach.
That bridge was supposed to be open by now.
Instead, crews from bridge builder PCL Civil Constructors worked to tie down loose construction materials at the job site.
"They're looking for obvious things while the weather's still good," said city Public Services director Gary Johnson.
Crews have also temporarily filled in the gaps between the roadway as an extra precaution.
"The bridge itself is designed for high winds even before an event like this," said PCL vice president Jerry Harder. "It always was designed for winds in excess of 100 mph, even now."
Back on the beach, Rick Coleman laughed while on a cell phone call to a friend. A stock broker from New York, Coleman got a flight home three days early, an abrupt end to his first trip to the Tampa Bay area.
"The last time they had one hit was like 80 years ago," said Coleman, 33, on the phone. "That's my luck."
Times staff writer Robert Farley contributed to this report. Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com
