owners and firefighters tried to repair the damage caused by this weekend's major storm.

Three of the ten boats that were moored at the dock on Sunday suffered damage from high winds and waves. Two of the craft were swamped and one was listing at the bow.

The most heavily damaged of the boats was the 17-foot Shetland Rough Rider .

Owned by Mr. Lynn Wilkinson of St. George's, it had been pounded by waves and nearly sunk.

"I have a mooring in Bailey's Bay but I brought it here,'' Mr. Wilkinson said. "I thought it would be safer in a sheltered area.'' Mr. Wilkinson's boat was so filled with water that it required a massive construction crane to haul it out of the small bay.

The crane, which was owned and operated by Island Construction, was about as wide as North Shore Road. The road was closed for more than an hour as it lifted the Rough Rider out of the water and onto the side of the newly constructed sea wall.

The Toy , a smaller vessel that had been wedged underneath the Rough Rider , was also laid alongside the wall.

A third craft, meanwhile, had to have the water that was slowly filling it pumped out by Fire Services.

Shortly after the Rough Rider was airlifted onto North Shore Road, a fire vehicle and five firefighters were summoned to the dock to keep the Just Coolin , whose nose was a few inches above the water line, from slipping further into the bay.

Coincidentally, the boat belonged to one the five firefighters, Mr. Troy Brimmer.

"We were at another incident and got called over here,'' Sgt. Roger Dill said. "It's actually one of the firefighters' boats.'' After lassoing the Just Coolin , Mr. Brimmer and his colleagues pulled the craft alongside the dock and began the task of pumping the boat.

"This is really the only storm-related call we've had today,'' Sgt. Dill said. "Yesterday we had a lot -- mostly downed utility poles.'' North Shore Road was reopened to traffic around 3.00 p.m.

THAT SINKING FEELING -- The 17-foot Rough Rider , which was swamped by high waves during Sunday's storm, is lifted out of the water at Devonshire Dock yesterday.