A marina on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula lost part of its pier’s roof, causing damage to several boats and another roof. Wind is suspected to be the cause, and repairs are expected to take several days.
It happened in the overnight hours Saturday into Sunday. The National Weather Service Wakefield, VA had issued a special weather statement for the area from Gloucester to Hartfield, Virginia until 3 a.m. It warned of 40 mile per hour winds, advising people to “seek shelter in a sturdy structure”.
At Regatta Point Yachting Center on Broad Creek, a roof section blew off one pier and landed on the roof of another pier. The Deltaville and Hartfield fire departments responded to find structural collapse on the two affected piers.
The Deltaville Fire Department calls the incident “an apparent wind event” and says several boat owners were aboard their vessels on the two piers affected by the collapse.
One boat owner needed to be evacuated from their boat by a small inflatable vessel, the fire department says. They report there were thankfully no injuries, and the damage was limited to the two piers.
But salvage and repairs will take more than a week, blocking some of the channel in Broad Creek, according to the Coast Guard. In an advisory to mariners, U.S. Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic writes, “Salvage and cleanup are underway with a crane and deck barge in the vicinity, limiting the red side of the channel near Broad Creek channel marker #10 to 15 feet width.”
The work is estimated to finish by Sept. 19. In the meantime, the Coast Guard says boaters can arrange passage in the blocked area by contacting the salvage manager at callsign “SEAWARD 17” via VHF radio. The agency warns boaters to use extreme caution traveling in the area.
Deltaville Fire Department said in a Facebook post after everyone was safely rescued from the scene, “Strong work by the responders, Regatta Point management and boat owners.”
-Meg Walburn Viviano
