Boats Removed from Third Beach Moorings

The evacuation of boats from Middletown's Third Beach Mooring Cove was well underway Thursday by late afternoon, with most boats trailered and hauled away in anticipation of a Hurricane Earl storm surge and severe winds expected to arrive beginning Friday afternoon and peak around midnight.

As local forecasts for storm system Earl teetered between predicting hurricane force winds to less severe but still-powerful tropical storm conditions to arrive on Middletown shores beginning Friday afternoon and lasting into Saturday morning, many locals around town are not taking the storm lightly.

Michael Martin and sons Chase, 15, and Brennan, 13, removed the family's 21-foot Bluefin Cuttyhunk Thursday afternoon with the ramp all to themselves, missing the day's earlier rush of SUVs, Jeeps and trailers that patiently waited their turn at the ramp.

Martin said he wasn't too concerned about the storm itself because the family lives inland, but didn't want to take chances with the family boat. "I just planned on doing this to err on the side of caution. We'll keep the boat in our yard over the weekend. But this isn't it for us for the season though. We hope to be back on the water as soon as we can, for more fishing and some of the water sports the boys enjoy."

Shortly after dawn, boat owners began removing roughly 30 small motor boat and sailing vessels that anchor about 300 yards off Middletown's Third Beach moorings for the summer. By mid-afternoon, about 10 boats remained on the water, anchored by 30-foot chains.

Harbor Patrol Master Stephen Pontes said he and his assistant began reaching out to all cove tenants early Thursday morning by email and phone to order them to remove their boats as soon as possible, before waves would begin to arrive, making it more difficult to remove boats at the ramp.

Those boats that do remain anchored in the harbor stand a very good chance of washing ashore or getting severely damaged, said Pontes.

"Most of those boats have a 30-foot chain anchoring them there, and if you have a storm surge of four to six feet, that means these boats are going to be lifting up and dropping down beyond their anchor chain by four to six feet," explained Pontes, who also works as principal at the Forest Avenue Elementary School. "If they leave it up to their anchor chain and that has a weak link somewhere, it's going to get loose."

Morgan Helme, 18, whose family owns Brewer Street Boatworks, said business has been booming in the last 24 hours, with eight new boats arriving for temporary storage Wednesday and a comparable number coming in Thursday. Most boaters will likely put their boats right back in the water as soon as the storm passes, he said, rather than hold them for winter right now. "This summer has been great and people can get at least another month out there on the water," he said.

Town officials said there's little they can do to force people to remove their boats, except strongly encourage them and suggest other inexpensive solutions if they're unable to remove their boats by trailer.

Those boats that do wrest free from their anchor lines and wind up washed ashore tend to rack up very expensive bills from boat salvage companies, both Pontes and Helme noted.

"See that big blue sailboat out there," said Helme, pointing to the largest of the deep-hulled sailboats that remained out on the water, "That's exactly the kind of boat you'd see washed ashore in a storm like the one that's coming. It's just too big and heavy for the anchor to hold it."

Boat owners unable to trailer their vessel out over the next 12 hours have other alternative, Pontes said, noting that boaters can motor up the Sakonnet River into Tiverton to find safe harbor at places like Pirates Cove or Tiverton Basin, away from the dangerous easterly winds and perhaps spending as little $30 to $40 to moor overnight temporarily. 

"You can even ask anyone with a dock if you can moor overnight. The important thing is that you want the land to protect you," said Pontes. "Third Beach is not a safe haven or safe harbor right now. It's too close to the ocean, so it's bound to get an ocean swell four to six feet."

People should get their boats off the water no later than 2pm Friday as the absolute drop-dead last minute, said Pontes. "Friday morning, people can still take their boats out, but the longer you wait, the more of a shore-break you get. Waves are starting up there on Third Beach already, and when you're coming up to the ramp, your boat will fill up with water over the back when those waves are coming in. The longer you wait, the worse and harder it gets."

Normally, Pontes would be out on Harbor Patrol during pre-storm events such as is occurring this week on his own boat, to assist and advise boaters on safe harbor options, but unexpected repairs this week put his boat in the repair shop until at least Saturday.

In the meantime, the Middletown Fire Department has a rescue vessel and special Jet Ski designed to perform surf rescues to assist in emergencies, said Pontes.