Several Boats Take a Beating as a Tornado
Rips Through Ft. Lauderdale

TowBoatU.S. Director of Sales Barney Hauf looks back on a day full of surprises earlier this year “A Tornado Warning shrieked from my smart phone as I was starting my day on February 16th. As I arrived at the office, the incredibly pinpointed devastation began to unfold. The first call was about an 80’ Merritt Sportfish that snapped off pilings at her home dock and careened off other boats and docks as it headed east down the canal with no one on board except an unsuspecting crew member who was abruptly awoken as the tornado came roaring past. Shortly thereafter, we received reports that two boats had been affected by the tornado in Lake Sylvia, just a short distance east of the site where the Merritt broke loose. One boat, a 37’ Catamaran was completely capsized while at anchor. The other was at anchor as well, she was a 34’ Mainship that sunk to the bottom before the owner knew what happened. Thankfully, the people on board both of these boats escaped without injury. The final victim of the storm’s wrath was a 24’ Boston Whaler. This boat was sitting on a boat lift about 1 mile west of the other casualties. The owner reported that the boat was picked up off the lift, flipped upside down and came to rest with her bow perched on a dock piling adjacent to the lift and her stern underwater in the canal below....CRAZY! Tornadoes are a rare event here in South Florida. I was amazed at the fact that the destruction was so great and in such a limited area. At the site of the Boston Whaler recovery, our crew took note that there were lawn chairs on the back patio that never budged during the storm, yet a boat that weighs nearly 6,000 pounds was picked up and tossed around like a toy! My takeaway.... A healthier respect than ever for the power of Mother Nature!”

The salvage crew from TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale spent the next two days doing what they do best. Two of the affected vessels were recovered using a crane barge and one was refloated using lift bags. In the end, each was safely towed to a service facility. The owners of each boat as well as the TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale salvage team had quite a tale to tell their family and friends!