Straight-Line Wind Rips Through Fort Gibson Marina Causing Major Damage

Owners of the Long Bay Marina are cleaning up after straight-line winds caused major damage to the docks and boats at Fort Gibson Lake.

The waves are calm but there's a lot more water at the Long Bay Marina for Chris Sinor to search.

"That takes a lot to do that,” said Long Bay Marina Owner Chris Sinor.

The aftermath of strong winds has kept him busy.

"Wind came through and flipped the docks upside down,” said Sinor. “The boats the boat lifts and docks themselves all the way over. approximately 50 tons of weight."

Sinor has never seen anything like it at his docks.

He blames the 80 to 90 mph winds for ripping apart the docks, damaging the boats and jet skis.

"Trying to salvage what we can salvage and throwing the rest away,” he said.

While there's a lot of chaos, he's thankful.

In 2005, a tornado damaged several buildings on the property; this time it was just wind. Two docks survived and the damaged dock is the newest one.

So, all the boat stalls hadn't been rented out, meaning fewer boats on the water.

“The docks were here like those but facing this way, and they just flipped over,” said Sinor as he pointed out the damage. “Most people can't wrap their heads around it."

The Marina, when it isn't flooding leads all the way down to the docks. The family has done a lot of cleaning up but the real work begins when the water goes down in a few weeks.

"A lot of work, a lot of time to recover lost income for the next three of four years,” stated Sinor. “How do we re-design so it doesn’t' ever happen again."

It's at least a plan, but he knows too well that Mother Nature could change that.

The good news is since the boat stalls are typically rented for a year, the owners only expect to see a minor financial blow.