Hurricane Irene - Up the East Coast

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I usually never pay attention to what I consider the never-ending, over-the-top, over-dramatization of the weather. So, when I began hearing reports about hurricane Irene over the last two days or so, I rolled my eyes and shook my head with appropriate measures of dismissal and derision.

This changed 20 minutes ago.

I just received a call from my marina advising that they have been advised, by I suspect some marine authority, to pull all boats out of the water, which they are commencing immediately. I won’t have access to my boat again until possibly Tuesday. Wow.

Any other boaters out there get a call like this?

Suddenly, for the first time ever, I’m a little nervous about the weather.

Anyone have any good intel other than weather.com on where the storm is likely to track and its intensity?

2

Weather Underground’s Hurricane Irene coverage. OD on data to your heart’s content.

ETA: I am totally addicted to the live streaming Wundermap.

3

Our marina is in Solomons, MD, within the mouth of the Patuxent River on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay - roughly halfway between the north and the south ends of the bay. Our boat is an Islander 36 sloop - a reasonably stout vessel. We got an email from our marina manager telling us to come out and double up our lines, disconnect power, remove dodgers/biminis/awnings/all loose stuff, and add fenders as necessary. We’ll also tie the sailcover down - I just made that thing and I don’t want it torn to shreds - and we’ll have to tie the pedestal cover on also. Because of the expected wind direction (east, then northeast) they aren’t expecting a storm surge, but we’ve got floating docks anyway, so a higher than usual tide isn’t that huge a deal. I expect we’ll head over tomorrow afternoon or first thing Saturday morning.

We lived in Florida for 18 years, owning a boat most of that time, so we’re well-versed in prepping a boat for a storm. In Maryland, our biggest fear would be every other boater around us! :eek: OK, that’s an exaggeration, but in 12 years and 5 different marinas, we’ve seen more than our share of idiots who don’t know how to secure their vessels under normal circumstances, let alone for major storms.

Last biggie that came thru, we were at a different, older marina that was popular with the very frugal. Not only did they like the cheaper slip fees, some of them used clotheslines as docklines. :eek: OK, that’s also an exaggeration, but for that last storm, when we went to secure our boat, we noticed a 40-footer with 3/8" bow lines. Seriously. And by that time, it was pretty rough, and that boat was already beating on its neighbor. Between my husband, the manager, and one other boat owner, they managed to get some real dock lines in place. After it was all done, did the owner thank anyone? Nope - he bitched at the manager about other people being allowed on *his *boat! Which he didn’t bother to come check!! And it’s not that anyone cared about his boat - they were concerned about the havoc it was about to unleash. I was so glad when we left that marina.

Here’s where I like to get my hurricane info. And over the last day or so, the track has stopped moving east and has shifted a wee bit west. So I’m thinking we’ll be hit harder than we’d originally thought. But the boat is insured and I’ll try to remember to take photos of how we secure it, just in case…

4

I am in Jersey, have never experienced a hurricane before and am pissing my pants with fear. Please tell me it will be okay.

5

Can’t you just stow all of that stuff?

6

**olives **- Preparation is the key. Bring in or secure everything you have outside. Make sure you have decent flashlights with fresh batteries, as well as a battery-powered radio, just in case you lose power. Also have foods that don’t require cooking, especially if you have an electric stove. It won’t hurt to fill some bottles and pitchers with water - in fact, if you have the space, it’s a good idea to put an almost-full gallon jug of water into the freezer now. As a big block of ice, it’ll help keep your food cold longer if power goes, and as it melts, you have drinking water.

If you have pets, keep them indoors and prepared for them to maybe stress a bit. You know your critters. Make sure your car(s) is/are full of gas. If you have choices of where to park, avoid parking under trees or overhanging branches as much as possible. And if you are extremely low on required meds, you might consider a refill now.

We’re an all electric house, including the well pump, so I’ll be filling the bathtubs with water so we can flush if we lose power. I’ll also have some drinking water set aside.

Most of all, don’t freak out. If you’re really that scared, secure your house the best you can and head inland to stay with friends, family, or in a nice hotel. The storm will do what it’ll do whether you’re home or not. If it’s less stressful to escape, do it.

7

**tdn **- we don’t want to take the sail off, and keeping the sail cover tied on, works just fine. As for the pedestal - it needs to be covered to keep the weather off all our instruments. The little slip-on plastic covers come off if you breathe heavily at them - the pedestal cover is a fitted canvas with a zipper. Tying it down is extra insurance - if the little inner covers pop off, they’ll be contained in the larger cover.

8

Wait, how seriously do those of us in Jersey need to take this? I thought we were just going to catch some fall out.

9

It’ll be fiiiiine. I remember Gloria. Don’t go driving anywhere, don’t put things under trees. Yeah, do what FCM said, just in case, but it’ll be fiiiine.

10

My husband got a text from the state government saying to expect a Category III on Saturday.

11

I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but the most recent forecasting track has Irene retaining hurricane status all the way up to Long Island. And it looks like it’s either going to hit New Jersey, or brush its coast. Still, after making landfall in North Carolina, it’ll be much weaker than it is now.

12

On saturday it will be in North Carolina though. On sunday, it is predicted to strike Southern NJ as a Cat 2.

5 day storm tracker.

Don’t feel bad, I felt the same way about my first tornado, in Ann Arbor. Totally shitting myself.

13

I was confused. The text didn’t say what category to expect. It just said Hurricane Irene was a dangerous storm projected to hit late Saturday. And the ever-ominous ‘‘prepare now.’’ See, I am totally psyching myself out. But I figure if we need to evacuate, they’ll tell us, right?

14

A chainsaw and extra gasoline is a must, but do not wait until you have to cut up fallen trees to learn how to use one safely. Make sure you bring in or secure anything that can be blown away or fall over in the wind. If possible check with your nearest neighbors to make sure they are doing the same. Locate a secure room or area of your home that you can move to if the winds get very high. It should be as close to the center of the dwelling as possible, preferably on the first floor in a windowless room. Keep your flashlights, batteries, radio, extra drinking water and other food and supplies in that room. Finally, know where the nearest shelter is, what their rules are for accepting pets (a lot of them don’t), and have a plan to get there if your vehicle is unusable.

–RRE, veteran of Hugo, Fran, and Floyd, among others

15

A chainsaw and extra gasoline is a must, but do not wait until you have to cut up fallen trees to learn how to use one safely.
As already mentioned, fill milk jugs and buckets with extra water for flushing and washing.
Make sure you bring in or secure anything that can be blown away or fall over in the wind. If possible, check with your nearest neighbors to make sure they are doing the same.
Locate a secure room or area of your home that you can move to if the winds get very high. It should be as close to the center of the dwelling as possible, preferably on the first floor in a windowless room. Keep your flashlights, batteries, radio, extra drinking water and other food and supplies in that room.
Finally, know where the nearest shelter is, what their rules are for accepting pets (a lot of them don’t), and have a plan to get there if your vehicle is unusable. If you are concerned about your safety (you live in a low-lying area or have lots of big trees around), go ahead and evacuate as soon as the shelters are open. Once the winds and rain really get going, it will be too late to leave safely and in many cases, Emergency Services will not come and get you.

–RRE, veteran of Hugo, Fran, and Floyd, among others

P.S. Apologies for the double post. Don’t know how that happened.

16

I’ll change out the aquarium water, fill the top shelf of the freezer with water-filled ziplock bags and do the same for the chest freezer. They each already have a layer of gel-packs that’s good for about 4.5 hours without power.

I’ll also stop by the store tonight and stock up on canned soup and spring water. I’m already set for bread, tuna and fresh fruit.

The night of - I’ll move a foam mattress to the kitchen floor (Away from windows/glass) and cuddle up with Celtling 'cause storms scare her.

I’m already set for candles and lanterns and propane. I’m gonna miss my grill if it’s a really big one. Maybe I’ll grab some charcoal too just in case.

Now that I’ve thought of it, I’ll make a big pitcher of iced coffee too.

17

Olives: check the website for your local city & county. Figure out now where to find evac and impact predictions for wherever you are.

Within 2 miles of the coast or at the bottom of a ravine will have very different hazards from 30 miles inland on high ground. So exactly *where *you are matters a bunch.

The right amount & manner of prep also depends a lot on *who *you are. Two healthy young people with 3 cases of bottled water can deal without running water or electricity and with a holed roof for several days in August with no more than minor inconveneince. Two unprepared elderly folks in the same circumstances could be killed.

If you’re at all in doubt, by far the simplest thing to do is get in the car early, take an unscheduled week long vacation 200+ miles inland, & hope for the best back at the homestead. That may not be practical in your circumstances.

18

If you live in Capemay off exit 9, you will most likely be with out power for a few days. If you can leave, leave. If you need to stay that’s ok but do your shopping today before the mad rush of panic tomorrow.

19

I’m in NJ too. My boat is on the Delaware River. My wife just called me from our marina; they request at least one owner be available when they pull a boat. They’re taking this very seriously. Their three huge travellifts are going non stop. They’re queuing up the boats for haul out, and they’re doing all of this in the rain! My wife’s fascinated. I wish I were there to see it. :frowning:

20

I was away for college for Gloria but my parents in Southern Connecticut lost power for a week. I think they visited a friend a few miles away to use their showers and get water.