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Waves measuring up to 20 feet crashed over the deck Thursday and Friday, loosening 500-pound sections of the deck which was designed to break away during strong storm conditions and crumbling concrete fire beams near the 48x31-foot platform.
"She did what she was designed to do," said pier manager Faye Cotner. "Now we just have to put the jigsaw puzzle back together."
The t-shaped end of the pier, over the deepest water, sustained the most significant damage with the force of the water bending metal handicapped signs and washing away an entire portion of the railing on the pier's north side.
"It is not a function of the wind but rather a function of wave height," said contractor Van Hogan of Ed Waters & Sons who constructed the pier. "When the water comes up near the pier the sections are designed to pop out rather than splinter."
Several sections of the deck blew off the middle of the pier, about two thirds of the way from the shoreline east to the badly damaged end. The water lines along the pier were damaged as the sections came apart. Cotner said water service was restored Sunday but there is still no electricity available, prompting the pier to close at 7 p.m. until the lines are repaired.
Cotner said sections of the deck must be pieced back together. The individual boards are not numbered but Hogan said the pieces will be "fit in as best they can."
Hogan said the damaged concrete pieces are fire beams that were installed as a requirement by the fire marshall. The fire breaks are designed to keep fire from spreading to other sections of the pier.
"The fire marshall felt it was a safety issue," he said. "There was some debate over whether those were necessary."
The former fishing pier at 6th Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach was demolished after it was engulfed by an arson fire. It was closed at the time of the fire because of damage sustained during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Hogan said the concrete breaks on the upper portion of the pier did not impact the overall structural safety but will require a more extensive damage assessment and lengthy repair time.
"The important thing to remember is that the structure of the thing is in great shape. That is why it was designed the way it was," he said. "We may sacrifice some of the deck panels but otherwise we are not doing any major repairs. It is relatively minor in the scheme of things."
Many of the lost sections of decking were recovered, some as far north as Hanna Park in Atlantic Beach, but Hogan said some of the areas will have to be rebuilt.
"Anything can get torn up in the ocean," Hogan said, "Water is a pretty powerful thing."
Although the pier was constructed to withstand a category three hurricane with wind speeds between 111-130 mph and storm surges nine to 12 feet above normal, Cotner said she attributes the damage to Fay's prolonged assault as the near stationary storm hovered over the city.
"A hurricane usually comes and goes," she said. "Fay lasted for two to three days."
When Tropical Storm Fay finally left the Beaches last weekend, it took with it any hope of angling for kingfish from the end of the pier until next season. Even so, Cotner said fishermen were catching some small reds, drum and whiting.
"It's Labor Day weekend but that's okay. The fishing is still good," she said. "We'll make it through."
Hogan said he is in preliminary talks with the city of Jacksonville which owns the pier to determine how much the repairs are going to cost and how long the work is estimated to take.
"I'm not sure how the city wants to proceed," he said. "We haven't gotten that far. We still have a little ways to go."
Jacksonville City Councilman Art Graham Tuesday said the city's engineers have indicated that the pier is safe enough to operate at half capacity until the damage is repaired.
"The damage was minimal with no serious structural damage," Graham said. "It is still a sound pier. It's just a matter of putting it back together."