Homeowners suffer dock damage from loose sailboat

Owners of one Sarasota home are dealing with boat damage in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, and it isn’t even their own boat.

Michael and Desiree Trahan were away for the summer and were informed by a property watcher that the storm had driven a sailboat into the dock on Sarasota Bay behind their home on South Shore Drive. 

As of earlier this week, the boat was still there, and according to Desiree Trahan, they are hearing it could be months before it is removed.

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The sailboat crashed into the dock, causing enough damage to leave it impassable. How the accident occurred is unknown because power was lost to security cameras during the storm.

“I wish our cameras had been on because I really would have liked to see how it made its way to the rocks, and then made its way into our dock,” said Desiree Trahan.

Because of the condition of the wreckage, the registration number of the vessel is inaccessible. Unable to identify the owner, the Trahans were informed that the Sarasota Police Department will take the lead in having it removed. It’s just a matter of when.

“I posted on social media to three or four different groups I belong to, and on one of the groups they said that the owner knew about it and was trying to find someone to help,” Trahan said. “I said I've already contacted the police and they've told me they're going to remove it as soon as they can. I never got a (personal message) so I don’t know if it's going to be abandoned or not.

“We were hoping the owner would come forward have insurance and fix the dock.”

Although they don’t have an estimate to repair the dock — Desiree Trahan said her husband thinks it could cost about $10,000 based on photos they've seen — they do have a preliminary report.

“Our dock guy was out and said it hit hard and actually moved the dock,” Desiree Trahan said.