"and the restless wind.........."

These are the last boats to be hauled in advance of Irene, the hurricane of August 2011. For 3 straight days, the crew plus others at Ocean Pont Marina hauled boat after boat after boat. They barely slept, I think. But today when I went to look, there were a few big boats out on moorings, but the slips were empty - even the Boat US Towboat was gone.

They hauled Priscilla on the second day. She's comfortably up against one of the big sheds, safe and sound so far. The dinghy is turned over on the wharf, but is somewhat vulnerable to the storm surge expected tonight at high tide. I expect to sleep through it; it occurs at 11 pm. But it is a bit of a worry in that it is an astronomical tide - there is no moon at all now, and will be a 10.6' tide, higher than normal and a challenge to the Post Office, Lobsterman's Wharf, and the Marina. If there is a surge also, this far up the River, it could spell trouble for things at the above places - including dinghies turned over on the wharf.

So here I am in the middle of a hurricane. Actually EBB is on the eastern side Irene, hence we've not had as much rain as Vermont has had, or the rest of the Eastern Seaboard. But we have wind, and wind gusts of up to 75 mph. And we will have surf with wave heights of between 20-30', they say on the Weather Channel. Not good for people living closer to sea level than me, but dramatic if you don't live there. This afternoon, at dead low tide, it was pretty exciting but not close in. The rocks and the seaweed kept the water away. Tomorrow at high tide at noon, it should be quite dramatic.

"And they called the wind,"...Irene?????