The 70 mile-per-hour winds that put Jacksonville Florida and much of the south under a tornado watch from Sunday into Monday tore the roofs off apartment buildings and gas stations, knocked down trees and broke branches, shattered windows throughout the city, overturned cars as well as two tractor-trailers on the Dame Point Bridge, and left 21,000 people without power.
The winds also unfortunately touched down aggressively at the Jacksonville Rowing Club, which stores a large portion of its equipment outdoors. The club had the front wall and gates of the wooden enclosure blown over, electricity knocked out, two eights were thrown from their racks and into two other eights, and two club singles and brand new double were also blown off of their respective racks, according to club member Beth Joyce. A rigger went through a hull, and at least one boat is probably a total loss. The club will be skipping practice this coming week to gather to assess damage and begin cleanup.
Joyce noted that the club boats are insured, a small grace note amidst the wreckage; a particularly tough loss is the club favorite yellow Dirigo 8, dubbed the No Name.
"The No Name appears to be a total loss; this boat has quite a history with a few members of the club and has been primarily used as a "learn to row" eight and is over two decades old," Joyce said. "When I was in high school, this was one of two Varsity 8's and the most prized boat to get a seat in, the No Name probably has the most medals under her belt in our compound and will surely be missed by all."
The club appears to be in good hands with Joyce and fellow members, who are already rallying to clean up the compound and repair boats.
"We are lucky to have many talented members at JRC, and most damage will be repaired and fixed by club members a mix of engineers, boat/fiber glass enthusiasts and hard workers," Joyce said. "One race eight with severe damage will be repaired down the street by Eric Rousseau at his indoor facility."
Tremendous luck to the JRC as they put the pieces back together; you can visit the club Web site here to offer assistance.
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11/19/2014 9:49:10 AM