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Boats damaged after being washed ashore at Grand Traverse Bay
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TRAVERSE CITY -- Strong winds and white caps caused some serious havoc in the waters of East and West Grand Traverse Bay Tuesday afternoon.
Around 15 boats anchored just off the shore in Traverse City washed up onto the beaches and even crashed into other boats nearby.
Dozens of people spent their afternoons struggling to secure their boats back in the water and assessing the damage done from the intense weather.
“We had it anchored from the front and from the rear and it had come loose and they start bumping into each other and then all the sudden it's sideways and up on shore halfway so we had to push it back out and straighten it out,” said boat owner Kevin Brinkerhoff.
Many boats crashed into the shore, some hitting each other, others hitting rocks, which caused one boat to sink.
“My advice is for anybody that has a boat down here with the weather the way that it's changing to come down and get their boat out of the water because the waves are getting worse,” said TCPD Sgt. Keith Gillis. “Anytime there’s a north south wind we always have this problem.”
Traverse City Police called the owners asking them to move their boats as soon as the wind shifted north.
And said it's a concern when people leave their boats anchored at shore for long periods of time because weather does often change abruptly.
“With the way the weather changes as soon as we get the wind coming in from the north it just totally escalates the amount of waves and the size of the waves so it's a big concern because obviously for the environment and we want to make sure that everything is safe down here for people enjoying the beach,” said Gillis.
Some owners walked away with barely any damages, while others had thousands of dollars worth.
“This is always a possibility but it's a safe place to keep it normally it's just all the sudden you got, I don't know what the mile per hour wind or what kind of force the wind has, but it happens,” said Brinkerhoff. “You can see what's going on you got three or four feet white caps out there so it's pretty bad.”
Police officers recommend owners move their boats as soon as possible; otherwise they will begin towing the boats to local marinas.
Police said the plan to begin towing Wednesday morning, and the owners will be responsible for all recovery and towing fees.
http://www.upnorthlive.com/m/news/st...421&id=1227285
