Towns on the shoreline preparing for Hurricane Lee impacts

WFSB

By Eliza Kruczynski

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    STONINGTON, Connecticut (WFSB) — Shoreline towns are gearing up for Hurricane Lee.

While the path could still change, Channel 3′s First Alert meteorologists said it’s likely we’ll see some rough waters and gusty winds.

Howard Gray Park IV has spent 50 years on the water, and he knows what storms look like when they come into Stonington Harbor.

“When it’s high tide in here, the tides have definitely risen,” Park said. “There is going to be a surge in here, there is going to be some serious waves in here and that break water right there doesn’t really protect the surges.”

While Hurricane Lee’s path could still change, Park is trying to decide if he should get one last sail in before the winds pick up.

“The only way to be prepared is to get out on your own boat, take the sails off it and that’s kind of what we do now,” said Park.

He said the anchor systems on the moorings are much more secure these days and the harbor is very well protected.

“They’re not really a mushroom anchor anymore, it’s sort of like a big, huge, that gets hydro locked into the mud, they’re very sturdy,” Park said.

Those visiting like Jack Markey and his wife are heading home to New Jersey Friday, the day Connecticut is expected to feel the impacts.

“See what the forecast is. Don’t think that will cause us to go anytime early,” Markey said.

They are not worried about traveling home.

“We’ve driven in it before. We’ve been to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, drove home through a tropical storm which wasn’t a whole lot of fun but we’ll just tough it out,” said Markey.

If you do have a boat in the water, the Coast Guard recommends you remove it or secure it sooner than later.

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