Hurricane Damage 2024

As a result of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in late September and early October 2024,  Lemon Bay Crew Club’s boatyard and boats were destroyed.  Our entire fleet of boats, oars, racks, storage sheds and contents (including ergometers and most slings) and fence were caught up in the storm surge that ravaged Florida’s coastline and were lost and/or severely damaged.  As a result, our boat club is rebuilding.  Our boats are broken and our boatyard is broken, but our spirit is NOT broken! 

Sarasota County has been busy removing debris from our boatyard site and we are in the process of replacing our fence and we currently have club committees  working to redesign/rebuild  our boatyard and identify boats that we could purchase to enable us to “get back” on the beautiful waters of Lemon Bay as soon as possible! It will be a gradual process of rebuilding but we are committed to our mission of providing rowing opportunities for our community! 

We are immensely grateful to the many, many donors who have contributed to our efforts to rebuild our club.  It is because of their support that we are able to move forward! THANK YOU! 

Masters Coaching, a national rowing organization, through its founder Mayrene Earle, set up a major fundraising effort  through Go Fund Me immediately after the storms to support our club to rebuild. Masters Coaching has been coming to Lemon Bay since 2006 holding rowing clinics and sharing our passion for rowing. Our rowing friends near and far have generously enabled us to raise thousands of dollars to support our efforts and we are so very appreciative of their contributions and commitment to our rebuild. To donate to the “Donate to Restore Lemon Bay Crew Club’s Boats”, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-restore-lemon-bay-crew-clubs-boats?qid=24b4e26aedd2a642925f0b3b9f9c7f46 

A second fundraising campaign, Give Butter, has been set up by club member, Diane Barghini, and was launched to specifically target efforts to rebuild our boatyard.  You may access the “Donate to Restore Lemon Bay Crew Club’s Boatyard” at https://givebutter.com/c/FdxEsc

Looking into the boatyard before and after.

Panoramic view from inside the boatyard, it's all gone.