Hurricane Charley, an Owners Perspective

In the Aftermath of Hurricane Charley

By Dick Judy, an Owner at Ocean’s Reach

In the days just before August 13, 2004, like thousands of other Sanibel residents, condo owners and vacationers, Joanne and I followed the ominous television weather reports emanating from Florida.

Hurricane season was at its peak in the Caribbean, and radar reports showed the latest storm heading toward Florida’s Gulf coast. Strengthening rapidly from a tropical storm to hurricane force, it was dubbed “Charley.” The National Hurricane Center in Miami tracked the storm center as it moved erratically past Cuba, bypassing the Keys, then sweeping around toward the mainland, heading in the final hours before landfall almost directly toward Sanibel-Captiva.

At home in Michigan, we watched the TV hurricane reports helplessly as the bright red center of the radar map and the telltale arrows showed the Category 5 hurricane slamming into our beloved barrier islands. We couldn’t tell exactly where Charley struck the islands, but winds of 140-150 miles per hour were sure to do serious damage, possibly to our condominium at Ocean’s Reach.

Sanibel, of course, had been almost completely evacuated. Only a few daring souls, though warned to leave, remained on the island.

Then, the waiting began. Although there was no communication with Ocean’s Reach, our association president, Judy Jaastad, was in telephone contact with Manager Bill Herrmann. Only sketchy information was available at first. Ocean’s Reach was still standing, no serious damage. An aerial view taken soon after Charley swept through showed some roof damage and carport destruction.

Not until Bill and his wife, Casey, were permitted to return to the island on August 17 did we have a reliable damage report. Severe wind damage to the roof, including a number of air conditioning condensers blown off. About half of the carports wiped out. Gulf-front windows and sliders intact, except for one broken window, probably struck by flying debris. All palm trees still standing.

At home, we were optimistic. No serious water damage at Ocean’s Reach reported. But, electric power was off throughout most of Lee County. No hard-line telephone service, either. Sanibel’s water supply was shut down. Hardly any businesses were open. Elsewhere on the island, there was severe wind damage. Fallen and broken trees (mostly Australian pines) were down all along Periwinkle Way and for the length of Captiva’s one main road. Power lines were down everywhere.

It appeared that Ocean’s Reach, though wounded, had survived Charley’s wrath. Crews already were hard at work trying to restore utilities. We still didn’t know the full extent of damage to our second-floor unit.

On August 26, 13 days after Charley, I flew to Ft. Myers to see for myself what we faced. With many displaced families and power crews from throughout the Southeast crowding Ft. Myers , I was lucky to find a hotel room. Sanibel’s temporary city hall in the Holiday Inn provided me with credentials to access the island over the drawbridge and causeway. (No bridge toll during the emergency!)

Periwinkle Way had been cleared but it looked like a World War I battlefield scene. Ocean’s Reach was not much better. Carport aluminum was scattered around the grounds; the tennis courts were in ruins. The condo buildings appeared to be undamaged. When I first stepped into our unit, I was surprised. Kitchen and living/dining area appeared to be in pristine condition. Even the carpet felt dry to the touch. But the bathroom ceilings were wet and sagging slightly, there was water on the bathroom floors and some of the bedroom carpet was soggy. Of course, there was no power or a.c. It was hot and muggy. I salvaged nothing; why should I? It appeared that we’d dodged the bullet … at least the interior of our unit seemed to be readily repairable. Little did I know!

On September 6, only 24 days after Charley had ripped much of the roof from Ocean’s Reach, Hurricane “Frances” swept across Florida . While Charley had packed 150-mph winds but neither flood surge nor heavy rain, Frances brought a widespread torrential downpour, at the same time tearing away about half of the temporary roof on Ocean’s Reach. With many of the roof-top a.c. units previously blown to the ground or tumbled onto carports, rainwater gushed down the chases into units on every floor. Water and, in the tropics, its crippling aftermath dealt Ocean’s Reach and many other properties on Sanibel and Captiva yet another deadly blow.

Later in September, after receiving disturbing reports of water damage, Joanne and I returned to Sanibel for a further inspection. Mountains of debris – carpeting, appliances, furniture, tree limbs, palm fronds – were stacked along many of the Sanibel streets. At Ocean’s Reach, all carpet was gone … to the dumpster. Kitchen utensils, dishes, etc. had been removed, carefully packed, labeled and stored in giant steel pods on site. Furniture was stacked in the center of the unit; most of it – especially anything soft -- was subsequently scrapped. Appliances, too, were deemed unusable. To prevent further mold, all wood cabinets and all dry-wall were removed and scrapped. Actually, the apartment was later gutted to the cement block walls, as were all 64 units at Ocean’s Reach.

Critical to the complete renovation and restoration was a new temporary roof, then an all-new roof, firmly anchored to the structure and designed to withstand hurricane force winds in the future.

Throughout the demolition and reconstruction period, the Ocean’s Reach staff performed magnificently. In August and September, with neither elevators nor air conditioning, Bill and Casey, Andy Boyle and Charlie Knight worked long days and some nights to clean out apartments, scrap the ruined, pack and store the salvageable, clean up the debris and protect the property. Their herculean efforts and attention to detail ably supported Restoration Management Partners, the general contractor whose on-site manager, Fred Lyons, coordinated the work of sub-contractors.

Charley was a costly tragedy. We, for example, made a total of seven trips to Sanibel during the restoration, made dozens of construction decisions, replaced furniture and accessories and, of course, were out of business, so to speak, for 16 months.

But with the disaster came opportunity. Charley enabled us to modernize and redecorate our unit. We are extremely proud of the effect. The post-hurricane Ocean’s Reach has a new face, new innards and a new aura that sparkles in the gulf sunlight.

But let’s not go through it again!