SW Florida Jetboaters, Did you make it through

[Evil Sports]

Give us an update on your situation, Pics are great

 

[adrianp89]

Nothing too bad here in Pinellas. One picture is from my primary boat ramp. Some pictures sent by a friend close to the Johns Pass Sandbar.

i have some videos and video from family in Englewood, but can’t upload.

 

[84rzv500r]

All good for me in the Keys.... I went through the eye wall of irma twice... Ian was 80 miles to the west and it was a non event for me... others here not so much lots of low lying flooding

 

[adrianp89]

Still have power here, it’s hit or miss through the city, outages seem to be based on fallen trees or blown transformers. Yard is now a swamp. 252 has sunk an inch or two, had to tighten the straps. 195 anchors are basically useless, ground is just mud, one pulled right out. Not much else to report over than a bunch leaves all over the yard.

No word from my relatives in Englewood. Last I heard cell coverage was going out. They took on 19” of rain plus a potential 12’ surge, then went under a flash flood warning. They live in a mobile home park, last update their neighbors roof was gone. They are bunkered down in his block garage. (he has a 3 stall garage + lift in his park lol). I am prepared to head down that way if needed.

 

[Julian]

Walt's @veedubtek shop took a beating - saw this on FB:

"The boys wanted air conditioning in the shop? They got it. "

 

[djetok]

Walt's @veedubtek shop took a beating - saw this on FB:

"The boys wanted air conditioning in the shop? They got it. "
View attachment 188954

What about @Murf'n'surf

 

[Evil Sports]

Ive been texting Murf, he was fine last night.

 

[Evil Sports]

Pretty much no internet down there right now

 

[zipper]

My parents townhouse in Englewood. The one with both railings dislodged. A sigh of relief. They have something to go to in a few weeks.

 

[Brad_Ct]

We got very lucky where we are, 100+ mph wind gusts with very little rain. Neighbors lost some trees, power has been out since 2pm Wednesday but the creek didn’t flood this time.

 

[Judge]

We live in Cape Coral but are out in Albuquerque for the annual Balloon Fiesta. We took most of the storm head-on and had 3 of the 8 highest wind gusts (140, 122, 108). My brother lives 5 minutes from me and rode it out in his highrise so he was able to check on my place. I’m in a Zone A Flood Zone but by some miracle we didn’t get flooded. We have some roof damage but were luckiers than most. All of the places we frequented have been destroyed. I’m fortunate but I am sick about what has happened. It will take years to rebuild and things will never be the same. Some businesses will never recover… especially after dealing with COVID.

They are saying electricity and water could be out for 3 weeks. Sanibel and Pine Island are being evacuated because all infrastructure hasfailed and most businesses were wiped out. They are telling people there is no timetable as to when people will be able to return to the two islands.

I just got a spot at the marina (Tarpon Point Marina) in our community. I was on the waitlist and signed a contract to have a lift installed…. which was supposed to begin in 2 or 3 weeks. I searched all over the east coast in August trying to find a 275SD. I found one in Rochester, NY and picked it up just before we left and stored it at our property in PA. The plan was to take it down and get it on the lift November 1 when we got back from our RV trip out west.

Fortunately the boat was in PA and not FL but the marina sustained heavy damage. A few boats survived but many were damaged, sunk or are missing. A 68 footer sunk and a 56 footer is missing.

They added several new docks in the past few years. The new docks were concrete with concrete pilings. They did not do well at all with the concrete docks crumbling. The original wooden piling docks where my spot was did better. But the docks are fixed and not floating and some people moored to dock cleats instead of pilings as they should have been for the storm surge.

From the pictures and reports I’m guessing the cleanup and salvage operations will take many months. Then it will take months for the marina to rebuild. I’m not sure what I’ll do now. I can’t store the boat at my home in FL. All marinas in the area were damaged as well as boat ramps. I’ll have to winterize it and keep it on PA but I fear it could be a year… or more until I get my dock space and lift now. I’m even contemplating selling the boat with only 0.5 hours on it.

Here are somepics of the marina….

 

[Evil Sports]

Im a bit east in Naples and close to a hospital. We had power during the storm but just got internet back today. No damage out my way but some trees, nothing like Irma. RSW is still closed.

 

[Judge]

Im a bit east in Naples and close to a hospital. We had power during the storm but just got internet back today. No damage out my way but some trees, nothing like Irma. RSW is still closed.

You are lucky..... my cousin lives in Naples close to the beach. There was water up to the windows of cars and a dumpster was floating in his parking lot. He said 5th Ave had a few feet of water and I saw pictures of a Fire Dept there where the water was halfway up the trucks.

We still have no power or water in Cape Coral. There are reports is could be weeks for them both to be restored.

 

[84rzv500r]

Key West and lower keys a little flooding hardly any wind damage, a few sporadic power outages, but overall in good shape... Nothing like Irma. Hurricanes Suck... its the price of living in paradise...

 

[Judge]

Key West and lower keys a little flooding hardly any wind damage, a few sporadic power outages, but overall in good shape... Nothing like Irma. Hurricanes Suck... its the price of living in paradise...

Agreed!

I've lived in Florida since 2010 and it is paradise.... especially compared to November - April in the northeast. I've had to deal with two hurricanes in 12 years now but I'm not leaving.

 

[Russell]

Head check on WERKS.... he lives in Fl. Is he ok? And word on him?

 

[zipper]

Checking out some boat/marina damage. Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda.

Hurricane IAN Imagery

 

[Lpennington]

Wow. At first glance I was thinking that was a 'before' pic. Then I zoomed in and saw the pile of boats. What a mess. I hope folks in SW Florida can start their comeback from Ian soon and with little to no bumps in the process.

 

[Floridaman79]

Here on the east coast we had a lot of rain but not much of a wind event for me. Water level in the lagoon was up by a few feet. Here is a picture from the boat ramp on Saturday morning you can see the fixed docks are all under water.

 

[Judge]

Wow. At first glance I was thinking that was a 'before' pic. Then I zoomed in and saw the pile of boats. What a mess. I hope folks in SW Florida can start their comeback from Ian soon and with little to no bumps in the process.

It is going to take 1 - 2 years to recover and rebuild in most places between Punta Gorda and Bonita.

I heard yesterday that our marina is going to want all boats out so they can start rebuilding. They are having a contractor come in to assess the damage and to come up with a plan to recover sunken boats and remove damaged boats. Based on the pictures from my marina, I think it will take many months to remove the boats that aren't seaworthy and then many months or longer to rebuild. People are already freaking out about where they are going to put their boats while the marina rebuilds since every marina sustained damage. Our marina offers no storage options.

One of the state park beaches on the Gulf (Delnor Wiggins) that we go to was totally wiped out. All of the buildings, vehicles and vegetation are gone. There is 2 - 3' sand on the roads. They are estimating 1 - 2 years until they can reopen.

I've already set my expectation to be that I will have to leave my boat stored in PA for at least a year before I ever get it in the water at our marina. I'm hoping I don't have to keep paying for my slip while they rebuild.... but I may have to depending on what they say. They still have not been able to send out an official communication.

My lift will still have to be installed after the marina rebuilds and I am sure the company that I contracted with will be swamped with dock and lift rebuilding across the area.

I don't think I will sell the '22 275SD since it will cost me more than $10K to replace it given the '23 price increases. Although if I could sell it for more than I paid, maybe I would consider it... especially with paying for insurance for a year while it sits.

The more I think about it..... with a lot of people needing to replace boats, maybe I will advertise it since it only has 1/2 hour from dealer testing on it. I have seen dealers still advertising '22 275SD's for $160K w/o a trailer and I have a new aluminum trailer plus a custom cover for it. if I could get $170K for the entire package, I might let it go and then just order a '23 since I'm not on any hurry to get it now.