Santa Cruz Harbor continues to recover one week later

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) -- The Santa Cruz Harbor sits still now having been hit hard with large swell last week. Some people reflecting on what had happened.

Remnants of the chaos show a reminder of the devastation last week.

"It just wouldn’t stop. And I couldn’t believe, like, how other people are holding it together. I'm just like it was traumatic," boat owner Reuben Stubbs said.

"I think watching it was terrifying; hearing it was even worse because you have these big 27 foot boats going clunk like dominos," boat owner Mitchell Sampognaro said.

Docks broke apart in the north harbor among the piles of debris.

“Initial estimates probably exceeds the 2011 tsunami. The docks are badly damaged. Infrastructure is damaged," U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Wally Smith said. "There are a number of boats that are still on the bottom. Some are wedged up under other boats and under the docks."

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is on hand to help with the Harbor Patrol as they continue to assess the damage and clean-up.

Seven boats, once capsized, now sit in the Harbor stagnant. Some of the boats are homes and are now gone.

“That's a major, major situation for these people. This is their home," Smith said. "You just think about the boats that are being lost or have been lost one day in the past. That was somebody's dream. And that's what makes it so, so tragic.”

Others found ways to make sure their boats would be safe from the nearly six hour onslaught tearing off docks and cleats.

"They had nothing to tie to. People had to start getting imaginative, of what they could tie to. He's my neighbor. You know, we got our boats tied together pretty good," Stubbs said.

The wharf collapse has been the focal point in Santa Cruz, but the Harbor certainly saw its share of damage.

“The damage was happening here at the same time. So kind of like the earthquake back in '89. Santa Cruz didn't get the attention, but the marina district of San Francisco did. It was spectacular," Smith said.

People whose boats were not as damaged, like Rueben Stubbs found temporary slips in the south harbor to stay in.