Sad Day For Saxon Harbor, Wisconsin

[brecksmart]

Saxon Harbor Wisconsin suffered major damage Monday Night after torrential rain and high winds caused nearly all boats in the new basin to be damaged or lost. A number of boats are still missing, presumed sunk, in Lake Superior. Oronto Creek next to the harbor, burst it's banks and took out most of the floating docks in the New (South ) Basin, out into Lake Superior. One man died and the US Coast Guard evacuated people who were stranded at the harbor because of washed out roads.
Governor Scott Walker declared a disaster area for Iron County, Wisconsin and the surrounding counties.
http://www.yourdailyglobe.com/story/201 ... /6914.html

Here's part of a letter from Iron County Forestry Department :

“….We all suffered a huge loss on the night of July 11, 2016. Our beloved Saxon Harbor marina and campground was destroyed by torrential rainfall. Many of you lost boats, equipment and the place you call ‘home’ during summer. That being said, we have been forced to completely close Saxon Harbor and the campground until we are able to rebuild. This includes the closure of the boat ramps. Restoring the ramps and their docks are a top priority for our department. Our initial goal is for at least one of these to be operational by late Spring 2017. Unfortunately, we do not foresee a harbor or campground next summer.

STORM

The south basin is completely destroyed. All of the docks, sidewalks, pedestals, etc were swept away into the basin and lake. Oronto Creek has made a new path through the south basin, wiping out Cty Hwy A. The parking lot between the basins is destroyed and littered with woody debris. The bathroom/shower building is a total loss. Many of the docks on the south side of the north basin are compromised with some missing. The north part of the north basin faired the best. Most of those boats received little or no damage. The west boat launch dock is unaccounted for as is the east launch dock. The remainder of the east side of the harbor infrastructure received little damage but the Parker Creek shoreline is severally eroded.

RECOVERY

The morning after the storm, once access to the Harbor was restored via Harbor Drive, numerous Saxon Harbor Boating Club members immediately began recovery of vessels floating out to sea and caught up along the shore. The US Coast Guard has been on site since July 13, 2016. They have been tasked with locating and recovery of sunken vessels in order to mitigate pollution. The WDNR has helped with locating sunken vessels with the help of side scan sonar. Nelson Construction was on site beginning Friday, July 15. One vessel was too heavy for the equipment, therefore, another contractor, TNT Marine Salvage from Roseville, MI, was mobilized and on site Wednesday, July 20. At this point, that vessel has been recovered with one boat, two vehicles, and a camper trailer still unaccounted for.

Reports of camper debris have been reported all the way from Presque Isle, MI to Graveyard Creek. A capsized boat was reported and recovered from Ontonagon, MI. Docks and woody vegetation litter the shorelines. Today, the Forestry work boat was located 11 miles off the Keweenaw Peninsula. It has not yet been recovered. Diving efforts will continue through Thursday to locate those vessels and vehicles still missing.

Internally, we have been working very closely with the USCG. We have been busy meeting with officials from our County Board all the way to the Governor to ensure they are all aware what this devastation means to Iron County and Northern Wisconsin. We have been in contact with U.S. Legislatures, the Army Corps of Engineers, WDNR, the Counties insurance company and many other agencies regarding what it will take to rebuild Saxon Harbor. As of right now, Federal funding is going to be the key in order to rebuild, as we are looking at a loss well in excess of $10 million. FEMA is coming to the area next week to assess the damage across Northern Wisconsin.

CLEAN UP

In the meantime, clean up efforts will continue. The Forestry Department crew began recovering docks from the shoreline. Larger equipment will come in next week to retrieve more docks and large debris. We are asking any boaters to report the location of any docks not along the shore between Saxon Harbor and Marble Point to us so they can be retrieved. Salvage operations and clean up of the Harbor and Campground will begin pending all agency investigations and permissions to proceed.

BOATERS

The boats that remain in the Harbor basin, in the staging area along the north side, and campers or vehicles, can be removed beginning Friday afternoon or when the Coast Guard is not under operation. Insurance adjusters are welcome for inspection at any time. As Harbor Dr will remain the only access to and from Saxon Harbor for some time to come, we are asking that any boats towed up the hill on Harbor Dr be done so with Gilbertson’s tractor in order to protect the integrity of the road base. We thank Henry and Neil for their generosity. To be sure someone is available, contact a SHBC member to make arrangements prior to your arrival. If you need a contact name or number, call the Forestry office. NOTE: All vessels need to be out of the water by August 1, 2016.

Boats that are on staged on the east side and can be floated, you may contact the SHBC regarding use of the boat lift to splash your boat and utilize the west ramp to remove it. For vessels that are not sea worthy, our plan is to construct an access road to the east side once Cty Hwy A is open from the south. Cty Hwy A access to Harbor Lights is anticipated to be open August 19. We will keep you posted when we are able to construct access to the east side.

Within the next 2 weeks, you will receive a check for 80% of your 2016 boat slip fee as we are unable to provide a Harbor for the remainder of the season.

Eventually we will have a deadline for all other vessels to be removed from the property as we expect Saxon Harbor to be closed for at least 2 years and we will need all space for reconstruction. ......"

A huge deal up here. Hope they can restore it soon.

[Max Entropy]

That's pretty awful - I guess they might well be exposed to North winds there - but this seems extreme.

[brecksmart]

Some pictures of the harbor
https://1drv.ms/a/s!Ap6Jm0016WKH3FI0QvNRJvqtseoN

[Obelix]

Looks like the in these pics survived without serious damage. Hope you're OK.

Obelix

[brecksmart]

Some damage to outboard and both rudders are broken. Could be a lot worse. Some people stil don't know where their boat is. One of the pictures shows a mast sticking out of the water in the harbor.(it's hard to make out).
I asked one guy if his boat was ok. He said "there's the deck over there. I don't know where the rest is. In Lake Superior, I assume"

[Catigale]

New lower housing cowl, good to go.

[brecksmart]

Saxon Harbor, Wisconsin is now open for business after almost 4 years of reconstruction. The flood of 2016 demolished the harbor. Before and after images attached (hopefully!) A question. I just finished applying barrier coat to my 26M, QBIII. The boat was on the trailer when I did this. So, there are places on the hull I could not get too. What is the forums recommendations for painting those places. I plan on launching in a few days, and not worrying about the unpainted areas until I retrieve the boat in the fall. Do you think the easiest way is to not crank the winch all the way when I put boat on trailer, thereby accessing the unpainted part? Any thoughts? Thanks. I know the subject is probably covered in past posts, but sometimes it's just easier to ask!

[NiceAft]

Question.

After all evaluations were done, where did they place the fault for all of the damage?

You can’t blame the storm for doing what nature does, but someone did some miscalculations. With the extent of damage to vast area’s of the marina, where was the fault placed? I don’t expect the attitude to be “Hey, s%#t happens”.

[Russ]

That's some scary stuff. People don't realize how dangerous flash flooding can be
A few years back our marina was hit by one. Nowhere near as bad as this. Mud was flowing through the marina store.

As for your question, can you use the trailer jack? lower it all the way, block the transom and raise it so the boat comes off the rear bunks. Reverse process for the forward bunks.

From that flood in 2016

[brecksmart]

Thanks for that. I'll try it in the fall