NBC2 spoke with storm chasers who documented Hurricane Charley in real-time twenty years ago, sharing how they helped a local bar rebuild from the devastating damage.
"Charley was an intense category four hurricane that was documented during daylight hours, with six different cameras," Storm chaser Jeff Gammons said.
You have likely seen the damage, but unless you live in Punta Gorda - you probably haven't seen what it was like to experience Hurricane Charley firsthand.
NBC2's Samantha Serbin spoke with storm chasers who sat outside of the Celtic Ray as the small but mighty storm barreled through.
"I always remember crossing the bridge there on 41 from Port Charlotte south into Punta Gorda. And as we were crossing it, the winds were starting to increase," Gammons said.
That's where it all began for Gammons and five other storm chasers.
"I think Mark Rackley was in front of the Celtic Ray on foot, laying on his belly for the majority of this," Gammons added.
The storm chasers converged in Punta Gorda, ready to record a once-in-a-lifetime storm.
In a moment you could only call fate, they ran into the Doyle family who owns the Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda.
The storm chasers were invited to shack up inside their bar to ride out the storm.
"Well, if anybody went through that and says they weren't terrified, the lying, it was just harrowing. never again," Celtic Ray owner Kevin Doyle said.
As winds howled and rain pelted their bodies, the storm chasers documented as much as they could. It was more than what they planned for when they set out.
"Charley is probably one of the most, rapidly intensifying storms that we went from, you know, 20, 30 mile an hourwinds to just hard to imagine type of sounds because Punta Gorda was not ready," Gammons said.
Despite the massive damage, the roof was gone and debris littering the sidewalk - it wasn't the end for the Celtic Ray.
When peace returned to the Peace River, everyone converged on the street corner outside of the Celtic Ray.
"We couldn't believe it was just like Punta Gorda like a bomb went off, there was debris everywhere," Gammons said.
And the rest is history.
The Storm Chasing Six turned their videos into a DVD and began selling it on street corners and donating nearly half the profits to the famous Irish pub.
"We made $64,000. which was enough to do the roof and build up the windows and repair the brickwork," Doyle said.
With memories mounted on the wall, the Celtic Ray is still standing to this day serving Punta Gorda.