By Carol McCracken (Post # 570)
The owners of Portland Yacht Services and the boat owners docked there are taking Hurrican Earl seriously. All of the boats there are being hauled out of the water in order to avoid damage to boats from Earl’s strong winds and high waves.
PYS staff started hauling boats out of the water yesterday afternoon and continued until into the early evening. They were back at it at 6 am this morning. All told they hauled out about 40 boats by early afternoon today. They had to wait for the tide to come in before resuming work this afternoon. They expect to haul out another 20 or so boats this afternoon.
Aschanti IV, from the Cayman Islands, was docked at PYS earlier this summer (Pls. see post # 514, dated July 6th.) for repairs. An 115 ft. stay sail schooner, she’s back in Portland for more repairs. Her first mate said today that she plans on going out to sea for the duration of the storm rather than sit it out tied up to a dock.
As the sign indicates, Earl is being tracked carefully by PYS staff. Earl is expected to hit Maine east of Portland; perhaps around Eastport. Staff expects the weather in Portland to take a downturn tomorrow around 3 pm.
