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Community Corner

Battening Down the Hatches in Broadneck

Local marinas are busy with boaters and marina workers taking the precautions necessary for Irene.

As Irene churns and bubbles to the south of us, her promise of destruction has become imminent. Though the forecasts remain uncertain as to the exact path, it is clear that we remain within a few longitudinal degrees of an atmospheric skirmish that will at least sweep away our lawn furniture and snap our tomato plants. At worst…well lets not go there.

Fearing destruction and remembering what was left behind by Isabel, local mariners are scurrying to button up their boats and secure their waterfronts for the storm. The degree of preparation seems to vary up and down the shoreline.

At Scott Marine Services in St Margaret’s, the staff spent Friday busily plucking sailboats from their slips and placing them on jack stands far above the water line.

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Owner C.G. Scott said, “We put everything up a foot more than we did the last time because when Isabel hit, the water was higher than expected. We are also focusing on preparing our workshop because last time we ended up with jet skis floating around inside the building.”

In Cape St Claire, was a bevy of activity with boats being pulled out and yachtsmen visiting their boats on cradles to tie down spars and remove valuables. The empty piers illustrated the mass aquatic evacuation, leaving only dock lines and a few stay fenders flogging in the building breeze.

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Boat owner Steve Wagbo said, “I keep my boat someplace up the creek but they couldn’t haul me out. Better safe than sorry, so I brought the boat over here to trailer it home. I was going to leave the boat here but there doesn’t seem to be many space left.”

With that he hopped into his pickup truck and towed away his 27-foot sailboat through the Cape and up to higher ground.

John Sofa offered a simple approach and explanation as he hauled out his Seahawk 24 fishing boat. “If I don’t pull the boat out, my wife will kill me.”

At , I encountered Kirk and Irene Deal as they finished dinner and boarded their 22ft Sailfish to motor home and prep for the surge.

“When Isabel hit, we lost a 40 foot Searay; it floated off the lift and smashed into the dock,” said Kirk Deal. “It was about $18,000 in damage. For this storm we will be putting this boat further up on the lift and strapping it down.”

After a short hike up the river, I met up with the staff of as they cracked open a cold beer in celebration of their hard work. The smell of fresh barnacles hung heavily in the humid evening air as I spoke with manager John Eger.

“This team has earned it, we’ve been working to get ready and now we are finally there,” he said.

Office manager Rachael Cutright agreed. “We’ve pulled 50 boats in two and a half days, and we’ve probably turned away just as many. We’ve also got a dozen on the waiting list.” (Waiting for what? Ferry Point looks like a nautical game of Jenga, with every square foot of available yard space used for boat storage.)

Down on the dock, another 60 or so boats still rest in their slips and a half dozen boat owners double up on bowlines and fenders.

Good luck, hunker down, and if the creek rises, put on a lifevest. Happy Hurricane!

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