Hundreds of sunken and grounded yachts are being salvaged in a huge clean-up operation following the landing of Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas.

Fisherman Cliff Rodrigue’s offshore fishing boat is still tied to the same dock where he left it before Hurricane Ike roared ashore. But now, the dock and Rodrigue’s boat, Hot Sauce, are resting on the shoulder of Interstate 45, yards away from the
marina.

Across the island, salvage crews are trying to move hundreds of boats from
their new resting places, where they were pushed inland by Ike’s tidal
surge. There are boats in roads, in yards, in parking lots, in medians and
on the base of the causeway. Working to clear the paths for rescue crews,
debris removal crews unceremoniously shoved landlocked boats, worth more
money than some homes, into piles along roads.

Boat salvage crews, when they were finally allowed back on the island,
hastily recovered what was left. Boats docked at Payco Marina in Galveston
washed ashore at the base of the causeway, dragging with them pieces of
pilings and piers. State authorities told salvage crews they had until
Monday to clear the wreckage before they demolished what was left, said
Chris Cotter of Land and Sea Services, a boat salvage company based in La
Marque.