It’s the unimaginable.
Boats of all sizes broke from pilings in Charlotte Harbor on Wednesday night and Thursday morning during Hurricane Milton.
They landed in front yards, streets, businesses and at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda.
“It’s crazy, boats just picked up and moved throughout the downtown neighborhood,” Punta Gorda City Council member Melissa Lockhart said. “There’s boats at the Military Heritage Museum.”
Punta Gorda Mayor Lynne Matthews spent Thursday watching Prompt Towing remove some of the dozen heavily damaged boats.
The city recorded an estimated 7.1 feet of water at the Shell Creek dam during Hurricane Helene and 9.12 during Hurricane Milton.
“I’ve never see storm surge like this before in the 28 years I’ve lived here,” she said. “We’ve had it twice in two weeks during two hurricanes. A lot of the boats broke loose from Fishermen’s Village. I hope no one stayed on the boats during the hurricane. The water was so high. The winds were very strong.”
Many of those boats are no longer seaworthy after hitting obstacles.