So GLAD to hear that the public pier in downtown Hampton, VA is fully back up and in business. Boy, the tornado described below must have been truly SCARY!

Hi Claiborne,
Chesapeake Bay thunderstorms are legendary. But we’re not sure anyone ever expected a tornado to hit Downtown Hampton!
On June 1st, a tornado touched down at the Downtown Hampton Public Piers, churning winds of 98 miles per hour. It was a Friday evening’”and the start of the Blackbeard Pirate Festival’”with the event tents up and docks full of visitors.
Charlene Clark and the band were playing and Ron on bass (and camera) caught it all!
Miraculously, no one was hurt as everyone took shelter inside the hotel. But the downtown marina and nearby Hampton Yacht Club were damaged.
I’ve included a couple pictures and a screenshot of the tornado’s track. The first picture shows piling and dock repair and replacement, the second a safe m/v Semi-Local tucked into the adjacent keyhole basin, know as “The Cove.”
Fortunately, the marina is back to full capacity thanks to speedy repairs. And DHPP is truly a great place to stop this fall and stage for a southbound ICW migration.
We visited there recently and met up with the new and excellent dockmaster, Jake.
As usual, the facility was a pleasure with its across-the-street access to waterfront Hampton. If you’re looking to rent a car, Enterprise has an office right next door. Or, if you want to explore locally, you can borrow one of the marina’s courtesy bikes and head over to Fort Monroe’s beaches, now open to the public as a National Park.
Best and see you On the Water,
Captains Mark & Diana Doyle
http://www.OnTheWaterChartGuides.com