Cape Royale Marina Recovery from Hurricane Ike Nears CompletionBy Bobby HughesApril 20, 2009When Hurricane Ike raged through southeast Texas on September 13, 2008, it really did a number on the Cape Royale Marina. Prior to the storm, the marina was configured with eight floating piers, all of which were attached to the bottom of the lake by long telescoping pipes, called "spuds." Spuds are designed to stabilize the piers by keeping them in place, regardless of water level and wind conditions.
When Hurricane Ike arrived, seven of the piers (A-G) were lined up along the north bulkhead on north-south orientations. The eighth pier (Pier J) ran perpendicular to the others with an east-west orientation. By the time the storm had passed, Piers A through F were jammed together toward the far west end of the marina, where destructive winds from the east had deposited them. Only two of the eight piers were not totally relocated by the storm. Pier G, the easternmost pier in the marina, had severe damage but was shifted only a short distance westward of its pre-storm location. Being the only fully uncovered pier in the marina during the storm apparently spared it. It offered less resistance to the wind than the six covered piers that were situated just west of it. Pier J, although covered on its south side, incurred less damage than any of the other piers. It remained virtually where it was before the storm, apparently spared by its east-west orientation, which allowed the raging winds to sweep past it from end to end rather than broad-siding it as they did the other piers. Numerous boats, including sailboats, pontoon boats, and other power boats were damaged during the hurricane and so was the Marina Office. Many of them were trapped inside the slips of the piers that were jammed together by the strong winds. Some of the boat owners who could maneuver their boats from the slips chose to remove them from the marina soon after the storm passed. Hurricane Ike Pictures: It was readily apparent to all that several months of work would be needed to restore the marina to a serviceable condition. The marina office with its gasoline pumps was on an extension of Pier C and, therefore, blown into the west-end jam. Of course, the lines connecting the gasoline pumps to the storage tanks on shore were severed. Fortunately, the emergency cut-off valves between the tanks and pumps were closed prior to Ike’s arrival, as required by the Marina Operations Manual. Consequently, gasoline spillage was minimized. When key members of the Cape Royale Property Owners Association assessed the extensive damage, they concluded that two of the damaged piers (A & C) would have to be replaced with new piers. Also, the covered half of Pier F was beyond repair; so a decision was reached to restore only its uncovered half. The covered half would be replaced by another new pier. So, once the full restoration project is completed, the marina will have three brand new piers, and all repaired piers will be in better shape structurally than before the storm came through. In addition, a brand new marina office will reside on a platform attached to the south end of the new Pier C.
Although some of the work may not be completed for at least another month, the official reopening of the restored marina is set for Saturday, April 25. The unfinished work includes construction of the new marina office. To help celebrate the marina’s reopening, the Cape Royale Boating Association (CRBA) has planned their annual marina clean-up project for that morning and their annual spring picnic for 5:30 that afternoon. Among other things, CRBA members will install and present the marina with paved walkways connecting the pier gangways to the sidewalk. The CRBA will also present and install four new benches at various locations along the marina bulkheads. CRBA members are clearly excited about the reopening of the marina and the prospect of having things back to normal before spring is over. After all the destruction and related turmoil, it's evident that the Cape Royale Marina is coming out of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike better than it was before the storm. Once more it will be regarded by those who frequent it as the grandest marina on Lake Livingston and one of the best inland marinas in all of southeast Texas. This recovery didn’t just happen though. A lot of gratitude goes to so many for the outstanding manner in which the restoration project was handled. Among those who contributed most to this effort were several members of the Cape Royale Property Owners Association, particularly the Marina Committee, the Marina Manager, several members of the Cape Royale Boating Association and, perhaps most importantly, the contractors who did the restoration work during some of the coldest months of the year. Update CRBA and the Cape Royale Property Owners Association celebrated the marina re-opening with a work day and Spring Picnic on April 25, 2009. Work continued into the summer with completing removal of damaged docks, completion of the Marina office and store, and re-floating some of the existing docks. Many thanks to the POA's members, Board and Marina Committee for their dedication and commitment to maintaining our marina as the premier boating facility on Lake Livingston! Pictures - Marina work starting, in progress:
Copyright 2009 Cape Royale Boating Association/bh
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