Storm cleanup begins in Hampton Roads

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A major cleanup effort got underway at sunrise Thursday after a powerful burst of wind wrecked portions of Deep Creek Landing Marina.

The powerful winds lasted only a few seconds, but destroyed the boat shelter and damaged several boats, leaving the boat owners and marina workers with a huge mess.

"All these boats were crushed. It was nasty," said boat owner Brian Mishoe, shaking his head at all the mess.

It took several chainsaws, dump trucks, a large crane and an entire day of back-breaking work to haul away all the debris, the broken pieces of wood and ripped up panels of sheet metal.

"Fortunately nobody was hurt or injured or even killed," said Charles Firth, owner of one of the damaged fishing boats.  "The boats can be replaced, that's not a problem."

But it was a "downer" Wednesday for the owner of the sailboat "Sundowner," buried under a pile of rubble.

Thursday though, "Sundowner," along with the other boats, was freed from the tangle of wood and sheet metal.

The owner of "Love and Luck" thinks after this cleanup, they'll all be back to smooth sailing.

"Like the song the boat is named after, 'with a little love and a little luck, we'll get by.' Things are good."