The never-ending project to fill my hole in the ocean while bailing it out

Sailing Season 2011 is on!

Hurricane Irene
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The Salem News
Monday, August 29, 2011

Region spared worst of Irene
'Bust of a storm' topples trees and wires, knocks out power
By Paul Leighton and Ethan Forman

Tropical Storm Irene knocked down trees and knocked out power throughout the North Shore yesterday but for the most part spared local communities the worst of its fury.

Downgraded from a hurricane by the time it reached Massachusetts, the storm lacked the torrential rains that caused serious flooding in the western and central parts of the state.

"It was kind of a bust of a storm," Salem meteorologist Arthur Francis said. "The whole section of it on the eastern side really didn't live up to expectations."

No injuries were reported on the North Shore. As of 2 p.m., only two people had taken advantage of a regional Red Cross shelter at Salem High School, according to American Red Cross of Northeast Massachusetts Executive Director Frederica Doeringer. One person showed up at a shelter at Beverly High School set up by the city's emergency management agency.

High winds, which Francis said topped out at 44 mph, caused most of the damage. Crews spent most of the day responding to calls of downed trees, tree limbs and power wires. More than 14,700 National Grid customers in Essex County lost power, according to the company.

In Ipswich, the building inspector condemned a home at 129 Linebrook Road after a tree crashed through the roof, said police Sgt. Jonathan Hubbard, the town's emergency management director.

Other residents avoided such major damage but were startled by the sounds of snapping limbs and uprooted trees.

"There was a big, big crash noise, then the whole ground shook," Danvers resident Tom Tobyne said after a 50-foot Norway maple tree fell next his home on Autumn Street.

In Swampscott, a total of 10 boats were shaken loose from their moorings and washed up on King's Beach and Fisherman's Beach, said Swampscott resident Arthur Freedman, who helped retrieve the boats. One power boat was destroyed on the rocks at King's Beach. In Beverly, a small sailboat moored off Lynch Park sank.

But harbormasters in Salem and Beverly said most boaters heeded the advice to take their boats out of the water before the storm hit.

Not everyone was so responsible. In Beverly, Assistant Harbormasters John LeClerc, Mike Gelineau and Eric Elso rescued a man who attempted to swim to his boat moored off the Jubilee Yacht Club. Harbormaster Dan McPherson said the man was spoken to by police.

"I don't think he'll do that again," McPherson said.

Many communities beefed up their staff and equipment in an anticipation of a heavy cleanup load. Beverly staged a fleet of vehicles near Beverly Municipal Airport but never had to use them. In Peabody, crews cleaned catch basins in anticipation of possible flooding in Peabody Square, but the relatively small amount of rain alleviated the situation.

"The best part was that we had these little lulls, then the storm drains could catch up," Department of Public Services dispatcher Dan Murphy said. "I think we lucked out."

With the severity of the storm less than expected, many residents flocked to beaches and seaside parks to watch the pounding surf and take pictures. In some cases, the curiosity seekers hampered the cleanup efforts. Beverly Commissioner of Public Services and Engineering Mike Collins said he was slowed down by a man riding his bike.

"Quite a few people were just walking around and observing," Salem Public Services Director Richard Rennard said. "You have to deal with it."

For some, Irene's biggest impact was the loss of power. David Guarino of Salem said his home on Summit Avenue was without electricity for 51/2 hours. Fortunately, it was all during daylight hours. His two boys, 8-year-old Owen and 5-year-old Jake, spent day the playing games and coloring.

"It was getting to the point where we started to worry about the food in the refrigerator," Guarino said. "It wasn't too much of a burden, but we're glad it came back on."

The Daily Lynn Item
Monday, August 29, 2011

Lynn area assesses storm damage
By Chris Stevens, Cyrus Moulton and Thor Jourgensen

LYNN - Tropical Storm Irene tossed more than a dozen boats ashore in Swampscott and a large sailboat on Kings Beach in Lynn, uprooted trees and downed power lines throughout the North Shore, leaving area emergency workers thankful the storm did not bring greater devastation.

Like his counterparts along the United States' East Coast, Lynn Public Works Commissioner Jay Fink dispatched crews on Sunday to clear downed trees and branches.

"All areas of the city were impacted," Fink said.

A tree crushed a garage and a car on Perkins Street and downed trees were reported on Lynnfield Street, Eastern Avenue, Bay View Avenue and other locations.

Firefighters responded to Red Rock at 8 a.m. to a report of a swimmer or surfer in distress. District Fire Chief James McDonald said the individual was safely out of the water by the time emergency workers arrived.

In Peabody, firefighters evacuated six developmentally disabled residents from a 147 Winona St. group home after a tree fell on the building's addition at 1 p.m. The residents were taken to a North Andover facility.

Firefighters also responded to reports of power line fires following tree collapses onto electrical wires.

Nahant Police Sgt. Michael Waters and DPW Superintendent Tim Lowe said Nahant came through the storm virtually unscathed.

"What storm?" joked Waters. "I have more water in my bathtub."

Lowe said not even low-lying Nahant streets such as Willow or Castle roads were closed. DPW crews cruised the streets of the tiny beach town throughout the day clearing catch basins.

"We had two or three branches down," Lowe said. "A sail boat broke loose - but we had no coastal flooding to speak of."

Fourteen boats reportedly washed ashore in Swampscott, while on land several large trees were uprooted.

State Police towed what a trooper described as "numerous" vehicles off Lynn Shore Drive during the storm after the Department of Conservation and Recreation imposed a midnight Saturday parking ban on the oceanfront roadway.

While the storm may have lacked a hurricane-strength wallop - locally sustained winds were in excess of 50 mph - it did not disappoint those who turned out to watch and experience the ocean's roar.

Marblehead resident Matt Allen said he and his fellow windsurfers had been anticipating Irene's arrival all week.

"We definitely look for storms like this," he said.

By mid-morning Allen had already been in the surf along Long Beach near the Tide's Restaurant but said conditions weren't quite right. Despite a wind that was driving intermittent bands of heavy showers almost sideways, Allen said the wind wasn't yet strong enough to get the windsurfers out past the break line. Closer to shore, Allen explained, waves break one after another making it difficult to stay upright and catch a good ride; the goal is to get to the bigger waves beyond the break point.

As Allen leaned against the seawall chatting with a half dozen other windsurfers, ignoring the rain and waiting for the wind to build, he said, "We'll ride out the storm as long as we can. This is the kind of storm we look for."

At East Point the Gillman/Bigler family also ignored the driving rain as they stood watching the surf crash along Canoe Beach like it was any other day at the shore.

"My nana was named Irene," said Jeff Bigler, "and she was a bit of a hurricane herself so we decided to come out and see her."

Nancy Gillman said she, Bigler and their two daughters, 7-year-old Laura and 11-year-old Margret, walked to the top of East Point to get a full view of the force of the storm. Despite town officials' characterization of Irene as the hurricane that wasn't, Laura Bigler thought it was "awesome."

"It was pretty cool," added her sister Margret.

Gillman said she knew it sounded a little crazy to take the kids out in a hurricane, "but we weren't the only ones up there ... and it was amazing."

The tropical storm and high tide also brought curious onlookers out to Goldthwait Beach in Marblehead as police monitored the few brave drivers traveling the causeway connecting the mainland and Marblehead Neck.

The Marblehead Light Department said crews were out all over town Sunday afternoon responding to reports of downed power lines, but reported no widespread outages. The police said there were no injuries or medical aid calls as of early afternoon. Leaves and limbs - both large and small - littered the streets due to the high winds.

Fink asked residents to be patient today and throughout the week as city crews clear away trees and branches beginning with ones blocking streets and sidewalks.

Yesterday morning the wind was still gusting over 30 mph, a high surf advisory was posted, and the Mid-Harbor launches weren't going to be running until the afternoon. I called the Salem harbormaster and got approval to leave Chip Ahoy parked on Winter Island for another day.

This morning Michael Sullivan and I met at my house then drove over to Winter Island. We loaded the two batteries, the battery charger, the full gas tank, and a twelve-pack of Coke aboard, hooked up the trailer, and headed for the launch ramp.

As I took the fork in the road into the ramp parking lot one of the tourist shuttle busses headed toward us. I pulled Chip Ahoy to the side of the road and — CRASH — down came a large tree limb from overhead! I'd thought there was enough room to pull over and still clear it, but was obviously wrong.

After we pulled the branch away from the boat and trailer I pulled into the parking lot and inspected for damage. Except for a bunch of small branches, twigs and leaves the boat looked free of damage — except for the roller-furler's extrusion/foil, the leading edge which apparently caught the branch. It had a bend in it above the spreaders, maybe enough to keep the genoa from sliding up. There was no way of trying to straighten it without taking down the mast.

Then I spotted a guy working on the old Coast Guard seaplane hanger, from a lift! Ah hah, maybe I can get him to assist, lift me up there. After speaking with him briefly he quickly agreed, drove it over.

I asked if I could go up with him, do the adjusting myself. He agreed, as long as I used the spare safety harness. I grabbed it from behind the building, put it on, and we were soon up at the problem area. Bending the foil perfectly was impossible, but I did the best I could to straighten it. I think it's good enough to get the sail through and up, until I take down the mast for the winter and can get better leverage on it.

After thanking the lift operator, Michael and I got Chip Ahoy back into the harbor without further event. The recharged batteries kicked the starter motor right over. As I headed for the mooring, the large coal freighter off-loading at the power plant blasted its horn, preparing to depart. I made it to the mooring and tied off before it pulled away from its dock and headed out.

Everything's now almost back to normal. I've still got to re-rig the boat, mount the boom and get the sails up. It's a chaos of clutter below in the cabin, but will just take time to get everything back to where it belongs, prepared to sail. I'm hoping to be ready again by this weekend. (Aug. 30, 2011)

Today I went out and re-rigged Chip Ahoy for sailing on Labor Day Weekend, coming up. Starting from scratch was good; it gave me a chance to make a few adjustments that have come to my attention over the summer. Otherwise, I'd have lived with them until next season. One of those was hanging the boom a nudge lower on the mast.

The genoa slid up through the now slightly bent roller-furler foil smoothly. Chip Ahoy is again ready to sail, just in time to take Jeff Jacoby's family out on Sunday for our annual outing. I know son Caleb is looking forward to it. With another month-plus of season ahead it was worth the effort.  (Sep. 1, 2011)