On April 21, a downburst of wind made a direct hit on the town of Colonial Beach. The Boathouse Marina seemed to take the brunt of the damage. It was without power for six weeks. The storm tore down two main workshops and the large covered boat shed with boats trapped under the collapsed roof, as well as causing extensive damage to two of the docks. No one was injured, and no boats sank. In addition to the marina, the town suffered extensive damage. There were trees lying on houses and power lines in the street and on cars.
The marina, originally Stanford Marine Railway, was purchased in 1945 by Clarence and Mary Virginia Stanford. In June of 2013, Bill Bowman bought the Marina from Stanford’s widow, Mary Virginia Stanford. Bill was a retired businessman from Richmond, VA, and was enjoying life on the water in Colonial Beach. The Boathouse Marina has grown to a full-service marina. Sometimes it feels like work, but to Bill, he is doing what he loves: working on boats, sharing stories with fellow boaters, and enjoying the sun sets and life on the water. Bill and his crew had made a lot of changes to the marina in the past few years. His goal was to make the marina a more boater friendly, happy, warm place where you could relax and enjoy your time on the water in Colonial Beach. Bill had just begun a remodeling project for the workshops and new floating docks. It was starting to become the vision he had for the marina.
After the April 21 storm and all the damage, Bill squared his shoulders and shook his head. He said, “On the bright side no one was killed. (There was) only one injury in the town, and only four boats were totaled. We can fix this and come back stronger than ever.” Determined as ever, Bill had the Boathouse Marina up and back in business within three months. After dealing with demolition crews, builders, adjusters and insurance companies, employees, and boat owners, he never stopped until the marina was back in business again.
The Boathouse Marina now has 55 slips and six transient slips up and running, as are the store, office, and service center. While there is still more work to be done, his staff is well on its way. The construction of the buildings that were destroyed will continue over the next year. Just one thing to say is “Thank God. It could have been worse.”
Learn more at theboathousemarina-va.com.
by Cyndi Gleason