A local family’s dream Caribbean holiday was wrecked by the unexpected arrival of Hurricane Ivan. Long-haul pilot Jerry Girard, wife Gill and children Peter and Lucy arrived in Grenada for a week in a luxury hotel just three days before the full force of it struck on Tuesday.

‘The whole building began to shake and the noise of the wind was incredible. Trees were uprooted, branches were flying around like feathers, there was the constant sound of breaking glass as windows blew out or were broken by flying debris,’ said Mr Girard, who sat out the drama with his family in their hotel room.

‘Water was pouring into the room around the window and doorframes and our balcony door was bending inwards. Looking through the window, the sea state was incredible, with massive waves caused by the storm surge.’

The storm abated by late evening and the following morning the family surveyed the devastation.

‘The scene that met us could have been out of a war movie,’ said Mr Girard.

‘There was debris, water and sand everywhere. The hotel buildings were still standing, but most of the roofs were badly damaged. Very few rooms had windows intact and all were flooded.’

Guests pulled together to help repair the resort. A plumber helped restore the water supply, two electricians got the generator running, a roofer attempted to make the restaurant roof safe from falling debris and guests became cooks, waiters and washing-up assistants.

‘This was a great example of the way Brits get together in time of adversity.’

The next challenge was to get home. Evacuation flights prioritised tourists on package tours. Their first scheduled flight on Thursday was lost to a package tour family. They endured two more nights in the island before being accepted onto a British Airways flight to Barbados on the Friday.

The devastated hotel offered little comfort. The food and water were limited, the rooms were dark and damp and there was no clean bedding.

On top of that, they faced a serious security risk.

‘The island prison had been destroyed and there were looters and escaped prisoners around. As we lay in darkness, my mind kept imagining noises and sounds around the room,’ said Mr Girard.

Within 20 hours of their being called to the airport in Grenada, the Girards were back in Guernsey.

Mr Girard looked back on their adventure with mixed feelings.

‘Being with my family was a huge help and I felt sorry for some of my fellow guests who were visiting alone.

‘I’m also very glad that Ivan did not arrive at night, as that would have made it an even more frightening experience,’ he said.

As a long-haul pilot, he takes a keen interest in world weather. A day before their departure, he noticed the Hurricane Ivan weather system deep in the Atlantic.

At worst, Grenada was forecast to experience some winds and heavy rain for a day of their holiday. The island is situated at the extreme south of the ‘hurricane belt’ and the previous time that it experienced a minor one was in 1955.

‘My wife and I discussed whether we should cancel our plans but, because the vast majority of hurricanes approaching the Caribbean turn towards the north-west, we decided to continue with our long-awaited holiday.

‘It was an amazing experience to witness first-hand the massive force and energy of a category four hurricane, which has been described as the worst for a decade, and I’d love to know why it followed such an unpredictable course.’