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Bluewater Books & Charts, which has been in its new building in the heart of the Marina District on 17th Street for about five months now, received minimal damage from Wilma. A small amount of water came into the back of the building, but no charts or books or instruments were damaged. The store had no electricity for a week, as is the case in most of Broward County, but owners John Mann and Vivien Godfrey agree that things could be much worse.

By Wednesday, John and Vivien had opened the doors for business, even though there was still no power. "People still needed their charts," says Vivien. "And we spoke to many people who were anxious to take their boats elsewhere until conditions improve in the local marinas." On Thursday, John and Vivien were calling orders for electronic charts in to Armchair Sailor, Bluewater’s sister store in Newport, RI. Chips for customers in Ft. Lauderdale were being burned in Newport and shipped by FedEx to Ft. Lauderdale.

Late Saturday night, Oct 29, the power came back on at Bluewater Books & Charts. Both the store on 17^th Street and the warehouse in Dania beach are now fully operational. Even though power outages continue to be a problem throughout the rest of Dade and Broward counties, it’s business as usual for Bluewater.

Many of Bluewater’s employees have faced losses and are still without power at home, but morale is high now that the power is back on at the store. Some employees stayed aboard their boats during the storm, and the experience was harrowing. Nobody thought Wilma was going to be as strong as she was.

Bluewater will be at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which was scheduled to begin October 26 and has been postponed until November 3. Booth location is yet to be determined, but it will be in the Bahia Mar area. Bluewater is also still sharing a booth with British Admiralty Charts and Publications in the Superyacht Tent, and will be burning chips and demonstrating software both at the show and in the store.