CAMDEN — An April storm played havoc on the Camden waterfront, lifting the boardwalk off its shelf, moving it “catawampus,” said Harbor Master Steve Pixley. The same storm sent ocean swells into the harbor, and churned enough tidal power over the Steamboat Landing boat launch to chew away at the concrete pavers.Being early spring, there were few boats, floats or even moorings in the harbor, so property damage was minimized.

But Camden Public Works arrived the next day, with large equipment operator Keryn Annis at the helm, to repair the damage.

“The boardwalk was lifted two feet higher than it should have been by the wave motion,” Pixley said.

As it was lifted, enough stones and debris were washed underneath to wedge the timber boardwalk at awkward angles.

At the April 12 meeting of the Camden Select Board, member Leonard Lookner commended the harbor master and the public works department for tending to the waterfront damage.

The repair work coincided with the arrival of Prock Marine at the harbor to install new floats, and begin to construct the new hoist at the Public Landing so fishermen can load bait onto their boats, and unload lobster, and so that commercial boats — or anyone else — can use it to haul and deposit gear onto decks.

The April 11 storm blew from the southeast, and the swells came in from the east-southeast. The wind and rain sent trees into wires, and cut power in many parts of the state for 24 hours or more. Sou’easters are notorious for causing coastal damage, and this storm drove the tide high just before midnight, with waters raging well over their highest markers along waterfronts. Outside harbors, shorelines around the bay were wracked with erosion.

The storm blew out just as quickly as it came, and spring work resumed at the harbor. Besides helping to repair Steamboat Landing and the boardwalk, Camden Public Works also welded new anchors for the harbor channel markers.

Meanwhile, Prock sunk new pilings at the Public Landing, and lowered new floats into the inner harbor.

A hoist with a swing arm has been on the list of harbor improvements in Camden for several years, beginning with the Harbor Committee, which recognized that Camden is the only working harbor in the immediate region without such a resource for its fishermen.

In 2014, Camden identified the hoist as just one of the possible Public Landing improvements, which also included expanding the boardwalk and reconfiguring parking there. The harbor, which is home to approximately 10 commercial fishermen, as well as working schooners, once had a hoist, but it fell into disrepair.

Camden applied for, and received, a Maine Department of Transportation Small Harbor Improvement Program grant of $68,500, which required a matching contribution from the town. Camden approved that expenditure and has been budgeting for the project.

Related stories:

Camden awards fishermen's hoist contract, targets mid-October construction (June 30, 2015)

Camden Select Board approves Phase I of Public Landing improvements (Feb. 18, 2015)

• Penobscot Bay towns score grants — some big — to keep waterfronts, harbors working (Jan. 30, 2014)

• Camden Harbor fishermen’s hoist must be installed before fast approaching deadline (Aug. 12, 2014)