Let It Rain

There I was in beautiful Bermuda last week at the annual captive conference. Was I out in the sunshine? No, I was in my hotel room, with plenty of work to do, watching the pouring rain and pitch-dark skies for the second straight day. While it was tempting to complain (and plenty of hotel guests, kids in tow, were seen in the lobby doing just that), I became increasingly aware of how important the rain was to Bermudians, who told me they'd had eight weeks of drought.

Since Bermudians collect the rainwater that falls on their houses, storing it in cisterns below, they depend on regular rain, several locals told me. Once their private stores run out, some can tap into underground well water, others must buy water until their tanks are replenished by rain.

The funny thing is that we've been seeing rainy, cool weather in the New York area for quite a while—with only a few real summer days so far. Bermuda, I hoped, would provide a nice break. Not to be. But while we New Yorkers were accused of bringing the rain with us, I saw slight smiles on the faces of Bermudians. Those I spoke to were happy, as they had seven inches of rainfall in a very short time. Their reserves were overflowing. Depending on the size of the house and the amount of water used, they said a tank can last two weeks or more.

Meanwhile, as the end of the conference grew closer, attendees were wondering what would happen with the closing night gala, which was scheduled to take place outside under a canopy, like last year. While it wasn't raining on the final day, the clouds were threatening. Then we were told about Plan-B. We would be transported to a nearby restaurant—the same one that would have catered the event at the other location.

No sooner had everyone gathered at the restaurant than the bottom dropped out of the sky. And it poured. Yes, the conference organizers had used their risk management skills and thought of everything. It all went smoothly and it turned out to be a lovely evening. Which goes to show that even in a beautiful, mostly sunny locale like Bermuda, a Plan-B is a definite necessity.