Whether they couldn't afford to refloat their boats, decided instead to seek insurance payments, or simply walked away, the owners of about 50 vessels that sank or ran aground at Hurricane Hole, Leinster Bay, Mary Creek and Hassel Island at Virgin Islands National Park during last September's hurricanes are going to be bystanders as the boats are hauled off for salvage beginning August 7.

Beryl, once a hurricane but now little more than a disturbance, brought heavy rains and gusting winds to the Caribbean, prompting closure Monday of all units of the National Park System there.

Caneel Bay Resort, which was heavily damaged by last fall's hurricanes and is hoping Congress grants it a 60-year lease to continue operating at Virgin Islands National Park, is renting out some rooms for $285 a night, according to local reports.

U.S. Rep. Stacey Plaskett has written her constituents to defend her support of extending the lease of Virgin Islands National Park's Caneel Bay Resort for 60 years, long after Laurance S. Rockefeller had intended for it to be turned over to the National Park Service, but questions into why a concessions lease hasn't been hashed out the past eight years remain unanswered. Park Service personnel spent years trying to reach agreement, according to the agency's former concessions chief.