Southwest Florida High-Performance Marine Community Braces For Hurricane Milton
From Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats and Fountain Powerboats dealer Cortez Cove Marina to ancillary businesses such as Grant’s Signature Racing and Kinetic Animation, Southwest Florida is a hub for the high-performance marine industry. Now, for the second time in less than two weeks, the area is facing another natural disaster in the form of Hurricane Milton. According to The Weather Channel, the Category 5 storm is predicted to make landfall by late-Tuesday or early Wednesday.
The current view inside one of the storage facilities at Cortez Cove Marina.
Reached this morning at Nor-Tech headquarters in Cape Coral, Henrik Margård, the company’s chief operating officer, expressed a common sentiment among all local business-people. “We are prepping for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said.
Cortez-based Cortez Cove Marina, which is owned by Simon Williams and his friend Jon Lynch, also is taking every possible precaution. Hurricane Helene produced a six-foot storm surge that left the dealership with significant damage. Hurricane Milton is forecasted to deliver an even worse rise in seawater level.
“We are expecting eight to 12 feet of storm surge from Milton,” said Williams, whose home was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene. “We have prepped the best we can and have dropped anchors on all the big boats in the marina, including mine.”
Kinetic Animation currently has seven boats inside its Bradenton home-base. Owner Ryan Beckley said he and his crew are currently “buttoning up” the facility.
“We are going to put the big hauler and RVs in front of the three big doors,” he said. “I’m going to board up the windows at the house later today.”
After Hurricane Ian, the team at Nor-Tech gathered necessities for the Cape Coral Caring Center.
Added Grant Bruggemann of Grant’s Signature Racing in Bradenton, “We’re going to secure the doors, board the windows and say a prayer, hunker down and ride it out.”
Following Hurricane Helene, the Powerboat P1-produced St. Pete Powerboat Grand Prix faced cancelation because of damage to the host city. Last Thursday, the organizers announced they had received approval from the City of St. Petersburg to move forward with the event. The impending hurricane puts the final offshore races of the regular season—the Offshore Powerboat Association National and World Championships in Englewood Beach were canceled last Friday because of damage to the area left by Hurricane Helene—in jeopardy again.
But Lucy Nicandri, a four-decade Sarasota resident who is the chief marketing officer for Powerboat P1, currently is concerned with more pressing matters. Serving her community is paramount.
“This one’s got me scared, so say a prayer for us,” said Nicandri, who also is the longtime executive director for Suncoast Charities for Children. “Once the storm passes, I’ll be helping feed about 4,000 power-restoration employees at the Sarasota Fairgrounds.”
A current look inside the Kinetic Animation shop.
The president of Fort Myers Offshore, Tim Hill and his wife, Cyndee, have received evacuation orders but plan to button up their home in Fort Myers and stay put. The nonprofit’s season-opening event is set for Saturday, October 18. Sign-ups for the lunch run to Boca Grande are on hold.
“We are letting our members know that we we’re going to delay opening registration for the season kick-off until we can assess the waterways and the docks,” Hill said.
Added Williams of Cortez Cove Marina, “Whatever happens, we will build back better.”
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