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NEWS M an recounts nightm are cruise through bom b cyclone DAVID LEA dlea@oakvillebeaver.com An Oakville man says he and his family are hap­ py to be on solid ground af­ ter the cruise ship they were travelling on was bat­ tered for days by a 'bomb cyclone.' Ishan Byrde, his wife Kelly and children Olivia, 15, and Michael, 12, were among 4,000 passengers who boarded the Norwe­ gian Cruise Lines (NCL) vessel 'Norwegian Break­ away,' which departed New York for the Bahamas on Dec. 29. Byrde had been looking for a relaxing holiday and while that is what he got for much of the trip, things changed during the last ex­ cursion on Jan. 2. "We went to Great Stir­ rup Cay, which is a private island owned by NCL. We got there in the morning and it was a bit windy, but nothing really out of the or­ dinary," said Byrde. "About an hour and a half in you could see the people from NCL come in and start evacuating every­ body." Byrde said everyone re­ turned to the ship safely at which point the ship began the journey back to New York. What Byrde and his family did not realize was the ship was sailing direct­ ly into winter storm Gray­ son, a powerful storm, dubbed a bomb cyclone, that was making its way up the North American East Coast. The first evening after setting sail, Byrde said, wave activity intensified along with the rocking of the 300-metre vessel. "We were at one of the restaurants. The boat was rocking, but then we must have been hit by a massive wave because dishes and everything else came crashing down," said Byrde. "Plates just went flying, chairs toppled over. You could clearly see people having some sense of pan­ ic." More concerning, Byrde claimed, was that the ship tilted about five degrees and did not right itself. Frightened for his chil­ dren, the Oakville man left the restaurant and ran to their cabin. Ishan Byrde photo Top Photos from the Norwegian Breakaway; Left: Towel piled to stop water from coming in from deck of the Norwegian Breakaway. Having no idea what was happening the family stayed in their cabin so the cruise staff could find them in the event the passengers had to be evacuated to the lifeboats. "I slept completely dressed that night. I didn't even take out my contacts," said Byrde. "I was looking out the window and there were 20- foot waves at this point. The wind was howling. I looked at the reality of it and realized there is no way those lifeboats could get off the ship in a safe way." Unable to sleep, Byrde left the cabin to try and get information about the situ­ ation. He says he saw water dripping down the walls and water pouring through the doors to the deck, which could not be closed properly due to the intense wind. He said the ship's crew could be seen laying towels on the floor to soak up the water and piling towels at the doorways to the deck in an effort to keep the water out. Other staff members used mops to try and push the water back toward the doors. The ship's elevators were soon out of commis­ sion, which Byrde said made things difficult for the many elderly passen­ gers. He said other passen­ gers could be seen sleeping in the lobby, apparently afraid to return to their cabins in the inner areas of the ship. With the constant rock­ ing of the ship, seasickness became a problem for many and motion sickness bags became a regular sight throughout the hall­ ways. Byrde's son Michael be­ came ill during the second day of the storm and re­ mained ill until the voyage was over. On Jan. 5, Byrde said he woke up to find calm wa­ ters outside as the Norwe- • See CRUISE page 39 D isabled Benefits?D e n i e d I n j u r e d ? I CAN HELP. My team of experienced lawyers can help you with: - Disability Claims* "Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, CPP - Car Accidents - Slip and Falls - Wrongful Dismissal Y O U D O N ' T P A Y U N L E S S I GET YOU MONEY. | Sam S p a d a fo ra 1*1HAPPY 150™* - INJURY AND EMPLOYMENT LAW - CANADA OFFICES in OAKVILLE and TORONTO For a free consultation call: Oakville: 905.842.2022 Toronto: 41 6.644.3999 email: sspadafora@slspc.ca P allad ino Auto Group B U Y 3 G E T 1 SH U TTLES TO A N D FR O M B RO NTE G O -TRAIN /"TV Oakville Toyota . •̂TOYOTA -vtndshieldwaslter fluic OAKVILLE S B / t y w w w .o a k v i l le to y o ta .c a co | O akville B eaver | Thursday, January 18, 2018 insidehalton.com mailto:dlea@oakvillebeaver.com mailto:sspadafora@slspc.ca http://www.oakvilletoyota.ca /"TV Oakville