Hurricane Ian Recovery Progress Update For Salty Sam's Marina

The mess of docks and boats are starting to be cleared out following Hurricane Ian. You can see progress and more open water now. There are still sunk boats we can't identify and can't touch yet until insurance companies figure out who they belong to. But progress is being made! Hurricane Ian recovery will be a long road but with your help and support we'll get there! Thank you so much.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Thank you for all the support and words of encouragement! If you're feeling generous, give us a Super Thanks! It will help us continue to make more content for you showing you the hurricane recovery. Thank you so much!

[@stephenscherr8893]

Being a former marina owner and still affiliated with the boating industry most people have no idea what a massive and expensive undertaking this is. They are doing a great job and looks methodical and there seems to be a plan of attack. What worries me is rebuilding. Now days it can take years to get a new permit to install a dock and meet city and government codes. This is where Desantis will need to jump in to expedite that process. The recreational boating industry in Florida will need all the help they can get. Love to see the progress in a week or so. Blank canvas.

[@shawnwood9875]

Panama City/Mexico Beach is still rebuilding from Hurricane Michael and it’s been 4+ years so Florida as a whole is still rebuilding. Just this just adds to it. I mean where you do you start in the recovery of these boats?

[@pamelamallory3922]

Prayers to all the loss it's sad 😭 watching these boats totally destroyed 😢😂🙏❤️

[@edmctug8800]

government red tape you should be allowed to rebuild any existing marinas or docks

[@normanharris7333]

How would people know?….😒…

[@granddad-mv5ef]

Even though I no longer live in Ft. Myers Beach, I got a very empty feeling inside watching this.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Yeah, it's pretty sad

[@machinist5828]

Let's hear it for the salvage divers! Can you imagine jumping into that tangled mess of possible death? They earn their money that's for sure!

[@stevemacmillan2116]

One step at a time, slow and steady. These guys are doing an awesome job. Take your time and work safely. Florida Strong!!!!

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Cheers and thank you!

[@angelabeatty6538]

Thank you for taking the time to film and share.

[@shartmann2008]

Thank you for filming and sharing. What an effort, impressive to see the work being done.

[@lakelivingb8409]

In all my year of working disasters, this hurricane per thousands of boats beats all of them as far as utter damage. Unreal. Thanks for share.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Yeah, it's been bad. Long ways to go.

[@jerryfrederick6610]

Great video. The workers were amazing to watch. Great job fellas.

[@vickihaun9709]

I sent a link to my son so he could show his son the Pirate Ship floating out in the marina. He loved the adventure and the crew was so nice to him and his sisters. I hope you rebuild and bring money in quickly to take care of the really nice crew members and staff at the marina.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Pirate ship is in okay shape!

[@sunshinecats7543]

I could watch this process all day thanks and respect to the workers involved in the recovery. I have wanted a boat all my life and it saddened me to see all the boats damaged!

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Definitely sad to seem them like this. And yes, the Kelly Brothers team is doing an amazing job!

[@di4085]

Glad to see that they are starting to clean up the boats. That's so sad to see all that.

[@michaelashcraft8569]

I am sooo glad I never bought that first Yacht in 1973, I'd have been hooked!!!

[@brianmedernach3158]

The white sailboat with the blue canvas is my boat, so sad, it’s like a gut punch. I’ll be down Monday to clean it out.

[@featuretwirlerapp]

I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this. I was down in May and your crew was kind enough to show me your fuel dock management system. I think I see it at 4:19. 😢 Stay safe! What a neat facility, I’ll drop in again! ❤️

[@MW-ty1dv]

We used to love going to Parrot Key for good food, social and Packer's football etc. Been wearing my T- shirts lately to keep them in our thoughts. Hope the marina can reuse some of the pilings and concrete floating docks. Hope Salty Sam's comes back better and stronger. Nice job with this video and Kudos to the guys doing the demo work. Stay safe everyone.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Thank you! We'll be back!

[@randallgayman6639]

Fantastic job

[@cynthiawilliams1555]

Yes!! It is great to see the progress. Thank you for all you are doing.

[@MrRafa52]

This is an excellent video and sad about the losses to so many but this is something some of us in different part of the country never see! Thank you !

[@LeeCountyWalkersFortMyersFL]

Doing a great job filming all that, your experience is very valuable for us too.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Cheers!

[@Beach-Star-Experience-550-YT]

Glad to see the repairs underway. You guys have amazing machines that can help clear the messes and Mrs. DeSantis said 2 million dollars is being split up to help these places get back up and running via donations from the public. Looking forward to seeing Salty Sam's back up and their fun workers doing what they do. Keep up the good work!

[@saywhat951]

Rumor has it the HOOTER GIRLS have setup a portable Trailer on their now empty building lot, distributing free water & small snacks, now this owner of Hooters knows how to rally the Construction Guys ! Normalcy, it's all we need and any sliver of it helps motivate everyone......

[@maryroche5633]

Amazing. Great job to you all. It's looking real good.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Starting to. Long ways to go still.

[@danieltonini843]

Glad to see the pirate ship made it and is floating. But what a mess otherwise. I hope that your all ok and keeping your spirits up during this difficult time. I wish that I could do more to help.

[@danieltonini843]

I guess that spell check has a weak command of English, as I did type in “you’re” not “your”. But I digress, your concerns are likely more compelling than the trivialities of English composition, given the situation at hand. Much love to you all, and if we can find a decent RV for sale around here, we’ll come down and help out any way that we can. I don’t believe that bringing our boat to an area where dockage is now completely compromised would be the best idea.

[@bobcornwell9073]

Salty Sam's fun place to hang out, did the state days, car show had everything going on there very sad to see this but thanks for sharing

[@johnleonard8311]

Absolutely mind boggling !

[@Michelle-ky8tn]

Thanks for the updates, Where are they taking all the boats? The amount of debris that’s going to be washing up for awhile is crazy. Whenever we go out on our jet ski, I always take a net so I can pull trash out of the water. Glad to see the parking lot again at Sam’s!

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

A clear parking lot was a huge step! Boats get scrapped after insurance has looked at them.

[@mermaydekathryn1695]

I always take bags to collect garbage wherever I am.

[@michaelm3355]

I was also wondering about what they are doing with the boats. Is anyone documenting names and registration numbers? While I understand the need to get this cleaned up these boats also do still belong to someone.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

@@michaelm3355 Of course. We can't move a boat unless the owners insurance company has already inspected it and give approval. Many have been taken away already and we are still working to identify others. Some are sunk and we'll need divers to get boat name and registration. Other boats came from someplace else and finding the owners can be difficult.

[@treashurehunter800]

@@CaribbeanCastaways do you mean with a historical natural disaster of this magnitude are actually going to bow to the insurance company to try to clean up the environment and remove the boats? I don't see that even feasible.

[@iamgabriel5823]

Really fascinating video. Thanks for posting. Looking forward to more.

[@gpslightlock1422]

Happy to see progress.

[@snshyn4240]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@ralphholiman7401]

Salty Sam's has always one of our favorite marinas when we were heading south on our boat.

[@eddunn8794]

Obviously you guys got a mess down there and a lot of uninsured boaters lost their dreams....but at minute 8:55 one thing is apparent the crews doing recovery in part are green as noted by the worker walking under the dock lifted overhead....Be safe

[@christophercraig289]

Good job guys!

[@alicegoodman4544]

And **** told, man" keep the earth " clean " for the fullness there "of".

[@crystaldixon6787]

Thank you for sharing. They are doing such a great job. But it broke my heart to see all the boat half sunken into the water. I hope some of them can be saved. I don't know anything about boats and how badly it has to be damaged before they say it can't be fixed. I hope you and your family were safe from the storm and I hope that your home is still standing. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you and I hope that you and your family have a great Halloween.

[@Rodrigues680]

I do Upholstery work in that marina I just hope to see Captain Oneil around again

[@Bruce-ks7md]

I am in Hopes, that all the people working on the cleanup, are LOCAL Communities and not just a bunch of scavenger people praying on disaster!!!

[@TheSeaangelfmb]

Very interesting, yet sad to watch. I spent many happy days here.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Very sad

[@brandonsmith1198]

Boy that we are building is getting done in time for January 2023

[@arch953]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@sshaw760]

This just brings one to tears, so very sad!

[@randyterwilliger7457]

I can’t imagine how long it will take before someone will be comfortable taking a boat especially a “ go fast “ boat out in those waters . There will be submerged debris floating for years .

[@ilovstodance]

how in earth keep your sanity i have had many tear over all this wish i could wave majic wand and its all new for you folks AMEN

[@hammondwest1]

Speechless.

[@jennifershields2911]

Was wondering when they'd get around to that!! Especially moving the boats off land and back to the water 😳 good job Florida!

[@kaos900]

Talk to everyone about your problem in a year. Right now don,t expect things to be done yesterday. This was massive.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

True

[@everlastingrhetoric8921]

Wow… was just there in May… Sailboats shopping !!! Great work @ Salvage Crews 👍

[@normaallen2809]

This brings back memories of the damage done to Fernandina Harbor Marina in during hurricane Mathew in 2016. That was a 3.5 year rebuilding project.

[@scottbarber6628]

Awesome video

[@jameshicks914]

Great job Y'all!!

[@patbroadway5097]

Thank you loved watching

[@glennh.2573]

It's amazing how nasty those boats get just sitting in the water for just that short period of time

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

The water is very nasty and mucked up right now, but they do get bad fast.

[@rodgerjohnson3375]

I haven't made it to the beach since the storm. I'm accustomed to a few beers in and around Times Square 4-5 days a week.

[@edwardsullivan5481]

Nice working weather.

[@michaelwutka9714]

Are there any figures on the number of vessels that are estimated to be salvaged after Hurricane Ian. And thank you for providing viewers with a glimpse into what entails retrieving sunken dock's, and water craft, from the manpower involved in that process does reveal that for certain will take a long time.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

We do have the records yes.

[@mikeglynn5824]

Great vid ty could watch that for 3 hours!

[@jeffmurphy1610]

The offshore wrecks are going to be fire in 5 years 😂😂😂. Good to see Saltys using a local company /customer of theirs

[@fishydubsfishing6516]

Why isn't there any containment around the area to catch the fuel and the oils that are running out of these boats as they're lifting them

[@stevewolff7187]

OK Karen

[@di4085]

There's a company here in PA called new Pig that sells items needed to contain oil spills.

[@edmctug8800]

thats the fly in the ointment, not being able to grab every thing in reach and have a clean sweep...

[@scottbaker9066]

looks like i can finally get that boat of my dreams!!! one owner low hours, ready for conversion to electric!

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

No low ball offers, I know what I have! Lol

[@Ridgid1951]

Have a better application of what’s involved

[@celiajane4250]

It looks nice, but i can't even tell what they r doing, or why!! Explain, speechless person !!

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

We have to take the broken docks apart to free up trapped and damaged boats. All bent pilings have to be removed. Once all the boats and docks are gone only then can they rebuild docks.

[@Beach-Star-Experience-550-YT]

Destruction before construction. Building 101. Take out the old, unsafe OSHA mess and rebuild. Takes time, effort, money and patience. Florida's got this.

[@celiajane4250]

@@CaribbeanCastaways thanks for replying. Where are the owners of all these boats? Have they registered with the city or county? I can see a few people not being able to get there, but boats are expensive, and there are SO many boats ALL OVER.

[@terrylarkin690]

Interesting

[@edwinbest9256]

Are the insurance companies selling some of these for salvage? As a lifelong boater who has lost a boat to a hurricane, it is extremely painful to see these trashed!

[@zeke5491]

Southwest Florida is awash in money, investors from around the world are flocking there to get a piece of the salt life . In 2 years you’ll never know a hurricane came through

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

True

[@feversol]

When it comes to those stacks of boats, how are they dismantled? I was thinking it’d be too dangerous for a man to climb up there to attach a cable. If none of them are worth saving, do you just grab something on the edge and pull until the whole pile falls and is retrieved?

[@alanmumford8806]

This is heartbreaking. I know it's 'first-world problems' and all that, but most of these are not millionaires boats. They are the crushed dreams of folks lifetime hopes and ambitions.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Very true. We lost our boat in the storm. Only had it for 3 months.

[@mlgauss60435]

They are doing an amazing job. Just SO hard to watch...sad.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

We're getting there. Still a long ways to go.

[@MrVincehannah]

Are there any structural/materials improvements to be implemented or put into building codes? I'd imagine there has been a great deal of learning over the last decade or so. Also, as far as salvage goes, how is fiberglass dealt with? shredded and repurposed or landfill?

[@HondaGoldwingGL1800]

Gonna be a butt-load of used boats on the market next spring.

[@jefferykirk2322]

First step in a remodeling!😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

[@illalwaystaketheb-side4336]

So much fuel in the water too.

[@patrickpeterson500]

As soon as they get everything out what's gone destroyed they can rebuild make it back look better looking and better nice looking as well nobody was ready for this one It's sad to see there are yachts there are motor yachts their own pleasure crafts boots as well And their houses Wednesday hunted for many years they put had memories on it and memories on it keep the kittens memories memories I know pleasure crafts your yachts You never could lose a memory ever good times bad times whatever it is Met your 1st husband or your boyfriend on one

[@davidbarnsley8486]

What a mess and so much damage to boats and infrastructure 😢😢

[@waynehogue2499]

Might be a dumb question but how is all that loose debris not just floating away with every tide change? I never see any retention walls up.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Not a dumb question, it's hard to keep it all containing with work being done.

[@maryoleary3877]

Not exactly a beehive of activity. That's the problem with rebuilding in Margaritaville.

[@Roadtrip53]

Could not many of these boats be trailered out or motored out of harms way before the storm. Do insurance companies require that?

[@michaelstaylor2844]

Did some of these boats get blown onto shore? If I were a boat owner I would be down there identifying my boat and dealing with it. If your boat is not there can't we presume it sank? Why leave this to insurance companies not owners to identify their boats? Who would know bettere? Am I missing something? Thanks!

[@bobgil3464]

That one guy with the yellow shirt and hardhat looks like Governor Desantis. Thanks Governor.

[@ralph9987]

Tried spicing it up with a time-lapse?

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Thanks

[@chadbauer5250]

Would you not take your boat out of the water when you get the first hurricane warning a week before the hurricane actually hits???

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Hard to do if you don't live in the area, when the storm changed course the day before, and you don't know where to take it.

[@jeffmentzer6550]

how much do these boats go for at auction? I'm referring to the ones that really arent damaged much, do they evern get totaled?

[@stevenheinrich3999]

A pleasure boat is just a hole in the ocean in which to throw your money into. And now everyone gets to pay for the boating industry. Ian made that perfectly clear..

[@debraadamcxak7078]

Wow

[@tyleredwards5643]

Why is only one boat working to clean up the marina? Others say this is amazing, and while that single crew is indeed amazing, where’s the help??

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

There are two now and it's super expensive to do get this work done.

[@dodgeguyz]

Are some of those boats undamaged or at least still useable! A few look perfect or pretty close!

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Absolutely. Many can be fixed and refloated.

[@bobparker3215]

It looks like not all the boats were lost. I see the Pieces of Eight charter anchored out not looking too bad. Anyone know if the houseboat Infinity survived? I can't imagine it taking on the surge well; it used to be docked along shore at the edge of the Salty Sam's

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Pirate ship did pretty well. The Airbnb house boat ended up across the street in the trailer park. Not a pretty scene.

[@bobparker3215]

That's really unfortunate. I loved stayed on that boat and was looking forward to another stay. Hopefully no one was onboard.

[@dbdors]

Where will all the salvaged boats go? Are there dedicated boat salvage yards?

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Yes, insurance companies take them away and they either part them out or shred them.

[@sarahsunshine7248]

What will be done to upgrade, to prepare for future surges?

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

I'm not sure what the will do dock wise, but I know the stores are using brick 3 getting off the ground. With a storm like this though, nothing would have mattered.

[@peterlanum]

I've stayed at Salty Sam's before. Sad to see this. Our boat was in dry storage and got some damage still not sure how bad.

[@1968madmike]

What about all the pollution from oil and fuel spillage?

[@honda200twinstar3]

i was in to wondering this as iv been wondering how they will attend to the boats but i found it a bit annoying as the editor of this video or the filmier dint show what they did with the 2 boats that the cairn had lifted .like where there turned somehow right side up then put back in the water ? or were they placed on a trailer to be dry duct?

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

If the won't float they are put on the barge. If they can float on their own they will be towed out.

[@honda200twinstar3]

@@CaribbeanCastaways hey thanks..but that what i was waiting to see how the boat was turned so it could be sat down back in the water .and if it wasnt put back in the water where did they put it ..but ok that help ..lol

[@chrisblore6385]

Leave the music out please.. Just the crews working would be great

[@kennyrichard2971]

As silly as it sounds people should be buying up Dawn dish detergent and dumping it in the water around the oil and gas film on the water Dawn detergent will make fuel film disappear

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

I saw a diver do that before he got in.

[@jimmydnada7735]

Very sad watching this!

[@jamesa9lpiopatton419]

Anyone need help let me know I have a small tractor looking to help people out have a grapple and bucket let me know where to go

[@richardreimer]

Love the video but the "clicky-clack thumpin'" music is not needed.

[@jamesstuart3346]

Seriously complicated and dangerous work. Boats filled with gasoline, invisible junk under water, mangled fittings, and every opportunity to damage more property. Only skilled workers need apply

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Yeah, it's tough work. We're causing the Kelly Brothers team, they've been amazing!

[@magyar20101]

Who pays for all this work? Do the boat owners who left their boats in harms way have the liability? The docks may not have been damaged if all the boats were removed before the storm.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Insurance companies.

[@brandonsmith1198]

Are those new boats

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

No

[@laurieclark2456]

My son did that type of work. Not to many company’s do that. I think he’s being waisted. Up in the cell towers.

[@CaribbeanCastaways]

Definitely hard work, but this Kelly Brother's crew has been amazing.

[@sailingsolo5290]

What a mess.