Major hurricane nears Baja peninsula

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico -- Hurricane Juliette veered dangerously close to tourist resorts at the tip of the Baja California peninsula on Thursday, smashing docks into driftwood and killing a U.S. surfer.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm's course would bring "the core of Juliette dangerously close to the southern tip of Baja California."

The storm's outer edges smashed docks at a marina in Cabo San Lucas, downed telephone lines and set power line transformers exploding in showers of sparks.

Boat owners fled the damaged Marina de Baja early Thursday, braving 15-foot waves to reach more sheltered marinas. Bits of shattered dock bobbed drunkenly on the gray-green waves.

"My heart was pounding. It was really scary," said Tomas Doran, a fishing boat captain from Mazatlan. "I didn't sleep at all. The waves were crashing into us all night."

The hurricane's winds fell to 100 mph after reaching 145 mph earlier, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

It was centered about 140 miles south-southwest of the fishing and resort city of Cabo San Lucas, where William Creson, 45, of Denver, Colo., drowned Wednesday while surfing in the 10-foot waves, according to Adolfo Lailson of the Mexican Red Cross.

Other Americans -- among the few at this Baja resort following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- took precautions as the storm approached.

"Being from Texas, we know the damage one of these can cause," said Jim Kelly, 46, a Houston stock broker. However, Kelly said he would stick out the storm in the area, because he's planning to use the time to ask his girlfriend to marry him. "I'll probably ask her at the height of the storm," Kelly said.

Mike Parr, 32, of Cape May, N.J., tied down the 57-foot yacht Hot Pursuit at the San Jose marina in preparation for the hurricane. "As long as the storm keeps heading northwest, that's good news," said Parr. "But I'm still a little nervous. You never know what can happen."

Juliette's movement to the north-northwest at about 8 mph should keep the center of the hurricane off shore. But lashing rains and hurricane-force winds extended as far as 70 miles from the storm's center, and tropical storm force winds were felt 230 miles out.

Schools in Los Cabos, a region that includes Cabo San Lucas, were closed and readied for use as temporary storm shelters.

Shopkeepers taped up their windows as rain pelted this resort city and palm trees flapped in stiffening winds.

The threat of the storm further emptied the nearly deserted Los Cabos resorts, already suffering from a sharp drop in tourism following the attacks.

But the area got some unexpected guests: The Elation, a cruise ship operated by Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines, docked at Cabo San Lucas to avoid the storm, company spokeswoman Irene Lui said Wednesday.

The ship, which left Los Angeles on Sunday, had been scheduled to visit Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan before stopping at Cabo San Lucas on its return voyage.

The Hurricane Center in Miami said computer models showed the storm was likely to turn away from the coast again and to gradually weaken.

"However, any unexpected delay in the northwestward turn could bring hurricane conditions to the southern Baja peninsula," it said.

Heavy rain brought by Juliette flooded more than 200 homes in the southwestern state of Michoacan, and the Mexican army sent transport and rescue aircraft, medical teams and emergency supplies.

A fisherman died near Acapulco when his small open boat capsized in high seas on Monday, the government news agency Notimex reported.