HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — All across the country, this Memorial Day weekend, boat owners will walk to their boat slips as lake season unofficially begins. But it's a walk Scott Giles feared would never happen again.
In December 2023, a tornado tore directly through the middle of Anchor High Marina in Hendersonville. "There was a loud roar," remembered Giles, who rode out the storm from a tornado shelter on the property. "The dock itself came up out of the water, and the only thing that kept it from blowing away was the ropes holding the boats. The boats kept the marina from blowing up and blowing away."
The owner of the marina, Mitch Miller, knew at the time it would take at least a year to rebuild. He was terrified that most of their loyal tenants would never come back. "We’ve got close to 200 boats, and we’re going to lose all of them to other marinas," Miller told us in 2023.
"We were guaranteeing Mitch from day one that we were coming back," said Giles.
Giles had to find another temporary marina on Old Hickory Lake to tie his houseboat up to. After all, it takes a long time when you pretty much have to rebuild a marina from scratch. "They replaced everything, it took a year and a half," said Giles.
Finally, in April, all the boat owners got word they could officially come back. "I cried. I did. My girlfriend was driving the boat at the time, and between taking pictures and wiping tears out of your eyes, it was just surreal," said Giles.
Giles is now urging other boating enthusiasts to stop by and spend time here, too. "This is family. It feels like home away from home," he told us.
He also promises he'll never take the walk to his boat slip for granted, ever again. "As long as I own a boat, I don’t want to be anywhere else," said Giles.
Rainy weather may impede plans to spend time out on Old Hickory Lake this weekend, but Giles wants to remind everyone that the Rudder, the marina's on site restaurant, will serve good food and drinks whether it's rain or shine.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
Happy Birthday to the YMCA of Middle TN. They just celebrated their 150th anniversary! A lot has changed with the Y over the years. I have personally seen some of that firsthand when I was a long-time board member at the Northwest Family Y and part of their Black Achievers Program. Forrest Sanders has a look back.
- Lelan Statom
