Punta Gorda resident attempting to salvage boat after Milton

A Punta Gorda homeowner said he saw damage from Hurricane Milton to his home and his boat.

Joseph Dembinski is that Punta Gorda homeowner. He said his house has been through storms since Hurricane Charley, and he's never seen water like this before.

Dembinski's home is surrounded by debris from the water, and his boat is vertically out of the water. Poles have snapped, and the boat is a loss.

"The way that things were going, the boat might take a beating from the wind and so forth, but I didn't really expect that to happen," said Dembinski. "Of course, we did everything we could to tie the boat down."

Dembinski was just one of the many homeowners whose boats got destroyed by Hurricane Milton.

No amount of rope could have stopped the storm surge from taking his boat from the water and making his backyard his own personal marina during Milton.

Through Hurricane Charley, Ian, Debby, Helene and now Milton, Dembinski said this hasn't ever happened before.

"We have had boats in trouble before but not floating up and over due to just water rise," said Dembinski. "That kind of thing we just haven't experienced, and I know I'm not the only one. I know Gilchrist Park turned into Gilchrist Marina after this storm."

Dembinski said that after what happened during Milton, he has a plan for salvaging his boat.

"The boat has to be recovered," said Dembinski. "It has to be pulled off the bottom. Florida Fish and Wildlife is going to be involved, and it's gotta be removed."

He said for future storms he's going to do things differently.

"Down the road, we are going to be putting in a new dock and a boat lift and try to keep these boats out of the water," said Dembinski. "Keep them up on a lift and tied to the lift and hopefully that will work out better next time."

Dembinski said that everyone in his neighborhood is always watching out for each other, which has helped a lot during this time.