The Sarasota Sailing Squadron sits directly on Sarasota Bay. There are some 200 boats on trailers. Several boats not strapped down to the ground were pushed over sideways by the wind. One captain sank his sailboat on purpose to protect it.
Manager Craig Bridges says, like many people he’s breathing a sigh of relief.
"If there's a best possible spot to be, we were in that location", said Bridges. "The winds never really got over - I've heard over a hundred. But there wasn't a big storm surge like they were predicting."
One sailboat broke four mooring lines and crashed onto the rocks on Sarasota’s Bayfront. Owners were salvaging what they could while waiting for the insurance adjuster to declare the boat a total loss.
