I had just moved to the Cayman Islands when Charley boiled up. Initial forecasts were that it was going to blast the Caymans then head into the gulf. Then the forecasts showed it going literally up the mouth of Tampa Bay with the eye crossing the Sunshine Skyway. At the time, 970 WFLA had one of most experienced news staffs anywhere when it comes to covering hurricanes and in retrospect it somewhat amusing to recall that Don Richards, Robert Pankau & Company were in "We're all gonna die!" mode. Of course, it turned at the last moment and blasted Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. Ironically. Charley also took a course that sent directly between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac and we got not much more than a rainstorm. Of course, Ivan came along a couple of months later and laid waste to Grand Cayman Island. 2004 was a bitch of a year when it came to hurricanes for our region. I hope we never get hit like that again.
