Several boats were driven aground in Mangrove Bay, Somerset as heavy winds from Hurricane Igor hammered the harbour.

Some waterfront homes in Sandys and Southampton were also flooded.

According to Denis Owen, of Atlantic Mooring Maintenance Ltd., Mangrove Bay may have been the worst hit body of water on the Island.

Mr. Owen, who spent the hurricane on a 70-foot catamaran called UberVida in Elys Harbour, surveyed damage around the Island yesterday after the hurricane had calmed.

He said: "Mangrove Bay was the worse we saw. From what I saw the wind came from the north-east and came straight down to Mangrove Bay.

"It is not as protected from certain directions and a lot of people up there do their own moorings, so sometimes it pays to have a professional company take care of your moorings for you," he said, adding his company was responsible for 1,800 local vessels.

Residents in the Mangrove Bay area watched as some boats were devastated by high winds and waves.

A 40-foot yacht's mast broke and a fishing boat also sunk while still attached to its moorings on Saturday afternoon.

Trees and debris could be seen strewn along the roadside and there was some minor structural damage including a wall which collapsed near Lefroy House in Sandys.

Maintenance staff with the West End Development Company (Wedco) were yesterday working to get broken branches out of the walkways and clear debris in Dockyard.

One worker said the clearing could take until the end of the week, but told this paper the hurricane wasn't as severe as he imagined. "I thought it was going to be worse but I prayed for it to be as simple as it could possibly get."

While damage in Dockyard was minimal, the Maritime Museum did experience some structural damage to its roof.

According to Christine Mihelcic, manager at Dolphin Quest, its seven dolphins were doing great yesterday afternoon. Eight staff and some interns watched over the dolphins during the storm and they were largely unaffected by the harsh conditions.

"The dolphins did tend to stay close together (during the hurricane) and they were up in front of our area, but surprisingly the fort has been a great buffer. The water was quite still compared to what the outside was experiencing."

Some of the west end hotels including Cambridge Beaches and Nine Beaches in Sandys and Fairmont Hotel in Southampton were scarcely to moderately impacted by the hurricane.

Michael Winfield, CEO and President of Cambridge Beaches said a floating dock was destroyed and the lining edge of a ramp and dock on the property was severely damaged.

"Our problem was not that the winds were that strong it was that they came for so long and we took a beating for at least 12 hours."

Guest Michael Quinn and wife Alice, from Washington D.C., were celebrating their 25th Anniversary at the hotel during the weekend. Mr. Quinn said the hurricane did not put a damper on their trip and the couple enjoyed activities like a 'Dark and Stormy' party, movies and indoor putting.

"I have been to a lot of places in the world and I couldn't think of a place I would rather be than here if I had to be in a hurricane. The staff were unbelievably friendly, they had a job to do to keep us safe and kept us informed."

Robin Gilbert, manager of Nine Beaches, said there was little to no structural damage on the property. Other than losing three patio coverings and some of the Velcro sidings of the cabanas peeling off, there was only debris and vegetation to clean.

"We had no broken windows, no damage to any roofs on the main buildings and I do not think we had any beach erosions, so for us we were very lucky with this."