Marinas Prep For Storm

Vehicles with trailers were lining up at the Clinton town ramp Friday morning as boat owners hustled to pull their vessels before Hurricane Irene arrives but, while the pace was busy, it was by no means frantic. The same held true for Shoreline marinas, as employees began to prepare for the storm on Thursday.

At the Boat Center, located on both sides of the Hammonasset River in Madison and Clinton, owner Gary Dobrindt took time off from hauling vessels to discuss a new latch on one boat owner's swim-board. In the marina's headquarters, on the Madison side of the river off the Post Road, staffer Diane Lippold was fielding calls and emails from customers asking whether they should pull in their boats. "We're advising them to do it," she said. "Better safe than sorry."

That is what Dobrindt told a customer who was hesitating about hauling his small Boston whaler. "It probably won't sink but if it really gets rough the engine might be submerged and the bilge pump might kill the battery," he said. "The hull might get beat up, too." The boat owner decided to follow Dobrindt's advice. Another boat owner, and a seasoned waterman, Chip Baumann of Killingworth, decided to wait and see. "I can always take it out later," he said.

Employees on the marina's Clinton side, which has service docks, began hauling boats in the morning, although Richard Schenk, the yardmaster, was working on an outboard for a customer after spending the morning hauling. "We're going to set up blocks and boat stands later, then start hauling for real," he said. With all the supports in place, he added the operation should go smoothly.

Even so, the marina crew had considerable work ahead of them. There are 60 slips on each side of the river, with boats ranging from 13 feet to 47 feet. Asked what was the most difficult part of hauling out, Schenk replied, "We got to put them all back in."

Dobrindt had some advice for customers who decided to leave in their boats. "Tie up with double lines," he said, "and make sure there is plenty of line so it's long enough to handle the dock's movement with the tidal surge."

The Boat Center was also hauling boats from other marinas. One boater called from a marina in Mystic, saying he was going to sail his boat down to the Hammonasset. Michael Shanley of Southington, whose family has a cottage on Clinton's Cedar Island, piloted his 25-foot Sea Ox from another area marina to have it hauled by Dobrindt's crew. He said he thought hauling it out was a good idea "if the storm comes through the way it's forecast."

Several boaters from the Clinton Town Marina were bringing their boats to the nearby and more sheltered Riverside Basin Marina. Indeed, most of the slips at the town dock were empty, whereas the day before boats were chock-ablock there. Sailboats were coming in from moorings that their owners deemed unsafe in wind-whipped seas.

"We have a nice hurricane hole here," said Riverside staffer Dave Yourwith. He said the marina, which has 165 slips with boats up to 40 feet long, was not planning to haul out any of them. He explained that given the location of the marina well off the Hammonasset River, the boats would be safe enough in the water. Some boat owners, however, asked to have their vessels hauled, explained Yourwith as he helped maneuver a sailboat on a sling to a trailer.

Dave LaRocca of Madison was working on his 20-foot Hydra Sport at Riverside Basin. "I put on an extra fender and two more lines," he said. "I verified that both batteries and the bilge pump were in working condition and put all my foam seating in storage. I'm all set for the hurricane."

After Thursday's rain storms, the waters of Clinton Harbor were dead flat Friday morning as a slow but steady parade of sailboats and power boats headed upriver toward safety from the impending storm. Yourwith, however, said that despite expert predictions, he believed the storm would not turn out to be a problem, veering out to sea instead. "I fished the Gulf Stream a few days ago," he said. "The water was 82 degrees out there. It's 72 degrees here. Hurricanes feed off warm water."