ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The past weekend’s nor’easter washed away a significant amount of beach in St. Johns County.
The wind and rains made it hard for boaters docked in marinas and in St. Augustine. One man told News4Jax he lost everything in the storm.
Casey Kienel said his sailboat got loose and crashed into the seawall near the Bridge of Lions -- where it remains today.
“I bought this boat roughly ten days ago,” Kienel told News4Jax. “It seemed like an affordable opportunity to anchor the boat, take care of my father, take care of myself and put money into my startup that I’ve been working on for several years.”
Gallery: Photos show erosion, damage to St. Johns County oceanfront homes
The boat now sits waterlogged. Kienel said he is trying to raise thousands of dollars to get the boat removed. He has set up a GoFundMe account.
Further up the coast, the storm eroded already vulnerable dunes.
“We’ve probably lost 25 feet of sand,” Elaine Ashourian, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident, said.
Crews continued work to replenish lost dunes in south Ponte Vedra Beach on Monday.
Ashourian said the beaches further north need a renourishment program as well.
State Representative Cyndi Stevenson, who used to serve as St. Johns County Commissioner, said she is also struck by the destabilization of Ponte Vedra Beach in recent years.
“It’s really unfortunate to see that we’ve lost so much just with this one nor’easter,” Stevenson said.
Related: Ponte Vedra Beach residents survey damage left behind from weekend nor’easter
She said the government is studying how to address the issue.
St. Johns County Emergency Management officials are assessing the damage from the nor’easter along all 42 miles of its coasts.