ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NY -
Atlantic Highlands is a small Victorian town on the New Jersey shore
overlooking lower New York Bay, where at night, the twinkling lights of the
Manhattan skyline can be seen in the distance. It's also one of dozens of New
Jersey shore towns that felt the brunt of Hurricane Sandy, which pushed a
record 13-foot-plus high wall of storm surge through the community severely
damaging the municipal marina, home to over 400 boats. Put another way, the
water level rose about eight-feet above the average high-tide line. And it is
here where the BoatUS Catastrophe Team - insurance
surveyors, damage appraisal and salvage experts and transportation teams - has
made a stand to do their part to help this town get back on its feet.
Just one day after the storm, Mike McCook, the salvage coordinator for the BoatUS Catastrophe Team and storm veteran with over 30
years of hurricane recovery experience, was on the debris-laden and boat-strewn
waterfront. Every single one of the municipal facility's 425+ boats had to be
salvaged or recovered. Many were BoatUS customers.
Teaming up with Capt. Harold Smith of TowBoatUS Sandy
Hook, the BoatUS team presented a salvage master plan
for the facility to the City Council to recover all of the marina's boats,
which was quickly approved just four days after landfall. McCook's
team now reports that just three weeks after the storm, every single boat has
been recovered and safely blocked ashore, and they are now moving into the
damage appraisal process.
"While some boats are complete losses, many simply floated away and
initially appear to have sustained only minor damage," said McCook.
"We've got the best team in the field and our friends in the local boating
community are really pulling out the stops to help us. Their support has been
great."
"So many people's lives were affected," said BoatUS
Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs Scott Croft. "We want our BoatUS customers focusing on their most important needs
right now, such as their home and family - while we take away the hassle of
getting their boat recovered and into the repair pipeline."
BoatUS reports there are still some pockets in the
New Jersey barrier islands that have not been made available to insurance teams
due to public safety concerns. "But we are checking with authorities daily
and as soon as we are allowed in we'll move forward to address these
boats." BoatUS estimates that 65,000 boats have
been damaged or lost as a result of Hurricane Sandy - 25,000 in New Jersey
alone. "We've also had boats to recover in protected wetlands, which
require an extra level of care, but we understand the process and are working
with the authorities to get access to these boats," added Croft.
"I'm proud to say that as of today, while we still have a significant
clean-up effort at hand, every BoatUS Insurance
program customer who has reported a claim to date has heard from us, whether by
mail or phone, and while there are still boats that need to be salvaged, the
process is going well," said Croft. "In every storm there are some
property owners who are reluctant to give access to remove boats that have
floated onto their land, but we are working with them for an amenable
solution."
About BoatUS:
BoatUS is the nation's leading advocate for
recreational boaters providing its over half million members with government
representation, helpful services such as on-the-water boat towing, roadside
assistance and specialized boat insurance programs, boating safety, damage
avoidance, clean water and consumer advocacy efforts as well as money-saving
benefits such as fuel discounts and a fishing tournament incentive program for
anglers.
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