It would return later crowded to capacity with 46 St. Thomas residents escaping the near-total devastation of the island. Government-led missions have also been evacuating people from the islands to Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans often cruise to the American or British Virgin Islands, known interchangeably here as “las islas,” to enjoy their crystalline beaches or for fishing competitions. As displaced islanders began to trickle in to Puerto Rico in the storm’s wake, so did their stories of the wreckage they had fled. Luis Duprey, a business associate of Mr. Leboyer in Puerto Rico, cruised to his friend’s rescue on Friday on a borrowed 33-foot motorboat called the All In.

Source: New York Times September 11, 2017 00:19 UTC