Bertha turns her back on us. Whew! Lindsay McRory July 9, 1996 The majority of boats in Luperon pulled up hard into the mangroves to keep out of harm's way. Throughout the night, everyone had their ears to both single-side-band radio and VHF radio for updates on Hurricane Bertha's latest position and activity. Monday's 5 p.m. National Weather Service forecast was the worst. It predicted that Bertha would pass just a few miles to the north of us by the next afternoon, bringing 90-knot winds. Some time between midnight and 5 a.m. Bertha swung hard to the north, the first time she had deviated from her straight-line course in 1,200 miles. It was a last-minute blessing for all of us here. We never saw a breath of wind. Luck was with us. To find a place that is safer than our Luperon hideaway you'd have to head way south to Venezuela or far up the U.S. coast. We are waiting until tomorrow to leave the mangroves, just in case Bertha decides to do an about-face. The only downside to being tied into the mangroves are the little pests that come out of these thickets. Big, big, stinkin' rats, actually. They crawl up the ropes and make themselves at home. They have already found their way aboard two sailboats already. So far, we think we've been lucky, but it will take a few days to find out. Tomorrow it's back to our regular life and time to start exploring this fascinating town.