Tropical Storm Debby impacts City Island

By Alex Mahadevan
| 4:00 a.m. June 28, 2012

A sailboat rocks back and forth close to the shore at Island Park.

Sarasota
News

Tropical Storm Debby’s slow movement in the Gulf of Mexico this week turned Bayfront Island Park upside down — literally, in the case of one sea grape plant.

Collateral bands of heavy rain and forceful winds from the storm had the manager of O’Leary’s Tiki Bar and Grill, which sits on the edge of the park, gathering pieces of the restaurant’s dock Monday, June 25. Four boats larger than 15 feet long, some skiffs, a kayak and five life vests washed ashore attracting onlookers, some of which were tourists who took the opportunity to pose with the wreckage.

“The waves are very violent,” said Adrian Chavez, a 13-year-old visiting Sarasota from Miami. “(The boat) is scary,” he said about a 15-foot sailboat resting on some rocks on the shore.

One of the boats, a 35-foot Laguna fishing boat, was grounded for the third time in the last month, according to Steve Brown, who takes frequent morning walks around the park.

Jim and Donna Schubert stopped to look at the damage, but had already personally experienced Debby’s wrath. The couple fell into a flooded hole on Lido Beach they said was like a sinkhole. Jim Schubert sunk into the crevice past his waist.

“I just got a fresh knee and I have a bad back,” Jim Schubert said.

Park flora was rocked by the high winds, which flung branches about and uprooted a roughly 20-foot-tall tree. The tree’s roots lifted the concrete slab holding a park bench off of the ground, proving the infrastructure did not escape the storm unscathed.

The sea wall and adjacent sidewalk on the eastern tip of the park cracked during the storm and slouched into the surf, and a nearby no-wake marker was set askew.

Government officials hope that the effects of Tropical Storm Debby, which were minimal compared to what a hurricane would bring if it struck Sarasota, will put preparedness back into residents’ minds.

“I noticed people aren’t taking small precautions,” said Sarasota County Administrator Randall Reid. “Hopefully this will get people back to reality.”