With Hurricane Jose backing off the southeastern shoreline, many people are breathing a sigh of relief that they won’t be feeling the entirety of its wrath.
But they’re still taking steps to protect themselves.
“Normally we don’t have our dingy in the shop, it’s outside on the dock. We brought that in (and) all our plants and planters,” MW Costal Goods owner Wendy Hille said.
Her shop is right on the water in Noank, so she and her husband prepared for the worst amid warnings of Jose. On Tuesday, a couch was planted on a table, furniture was on cinderblocks and sandbags were on the ground.
“As you can see, we took all precautions. We weren’t sure what we were going to get here and being feet from the water, we just had to be prepared,” Hille said.
She’s had water in her business before, but she’s thrilled the worst of Jose has backed away.
“We’re relieved for sure. But looking around knowing I have to put all this away,” Hille said.
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While many are taking their boats out of the water, commercial fisherman Kirk Houltine is preparing his to get his back in.
“This is our bread and butter right here,” Houltine said. “She’s a seaworthy boat.”
Houltine's thrilled Jose won’t be surging through the shores in Noank, so he can keep earning his paycheck.
“We’re just pretty relieved because (of) damage and the docks get damage – we have to replace the docks,” Houltine said.
At Noank Shipyard, crews were hauling some boats out of the water, double tying others, and moving the big ones to Seaport Marine in Mystic. There are heavier winds and storm surge in Noank compared to the Mystic shipyard, according to Dockmaster Jason Goldstein.
He too is glad the southeastern shoreline is now safer from Jose.
“Good thing to see that we can do it and move all the boats, and it’s more for a safety precaution to move everything than it is not to,” Goldstein said.
It’s a “better safe than sorry” approach. The same is the case for Groton Emergency Management.
“Utility companies – they’ve got and are moving crews into the area just in case, because it’s going to be a southeastern Connecticut deal,” said Emergency Management Director Joe Sastre.
It helped later when a tree branch fell on a power line, causing a surge and several power outages in the area. Traffic lights were out and temporary stop signs put up to navigate traffic. City of Groton Deputy Fire Chief Robert Tompkins said the wind was likely to blame.
Groton Utilities said as of 3:22 p.m. on Tuesday, all power was restored to the affected areas on Eastern Point Road and south of Rainville Avenue.
