Over the summer of 2014, my father and I visited my Uncle who lives on a boat in St. Martin/ St. Maarten. After living on the boat for a week, we learned the importance of understanding and respecting nature. On October 13, 2014, Hurricane Gonzalo made a sudden turn towards the North, heading straight for St. Martin and St. Barth, leaving the people of St. Martin only a few hours to prepare for the category one hurricane. Many individuals, such as my uncle, stayed on their boats during the hurricane. With such sudden warning, very few people had time to remove the sails, and prepare the boat for 60-65 knot winds. My Uncle survived the hurricane, but suffered costly damages to his vessel.
Humans like to be in control of their surroundings, and we have almost completely succeeded. One of the few things that we have no control over is the weather. In an attempt to control the weather, we personify storms by giving them names, such as Gonzalo, Sandy, and Katrina. Sadly, this attempt is worthless. No matter how hard we try, we can never, and will never, be able to control the weather. We are up to the mercy of the storm, and all we can do is prepare for the worst.
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