Business & Tech

Vulnerable Structures, Vessels Batten Down Hatches

With the threat of 70- to 85-mile-per-hour wind and torrential rain late Sunday, Middletown boat owners and construction workers prepare for the worst.

The forecast of 70- to 85-mile-per-hour winds and punishing rainfall as Hurricane Irene hits Connecticut has many in Middletown scrambling to secure watercraft and buildings under construction.

At Brewers Pilots Point Marina in Westbrook, Middletown Councilman Ron Klattenberg spent Thursday battening down his 34-foot Albin Fast Trawler sailboat.

“Down here, the biggest concern is high winds,” Klattenberg said. “Also the storm surge, we heard the hurricane could be coming in during high tide. So I’m taking all the canvas off, the bimini (awning) off, the dinghy off the back of the boat and doubling up on all the lines.”

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Klattenberg has no plans to remove his vessel from the water.

“We happen to be in a very secure location in the east yard. The truth of the matter is, once the storm hits, there’s nothing you can do.”

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Carmine Grippo, 50, also of Middletown, has been boating all his life. He was at the marina taking his 8-foot dinghy out of the water. Grippo says his 42-foot Sea Ray “should be all right. It’s sheltered by a little land and the boat is up toward the front.”

Grippo says the mood among marina boat owners is trepidation.

“It should be pretty nasty. I’m double lining everything, putting up extra bumpers, extra lines, so nothing blows up in the air — just securing everything, giving the lines a little more slack.”

He owns Grippo’s Mobile, a large gas station and convenience store on Main Street in Durham.

"We got up at 5:30-6 o’clock this morning and Carmine had to go back to the gas station to get the generator going and make sure we had batteries," said his wife Callie, who's running for the Middletown Board of Education in November on the Republican ticket.

"It was crazy busy. We were out of flashlights, water, batteries."

Back in Middletown, workers at the new Community Health Center under construction at the corner of Grand and Main streets are readying for the worst, according to the PAC Group project manager. He says the 50-foot-high, three-story  edifice is “structurally complete.” The biggest worry is water damage.

“Water is going to get in, but it’s the same while you’re building the building anyway.”

CHC Chief Financial Officer Charlie Rose stopped by the trailer on site Thursday to get a report on hurricane preparations.

“We’re securing anything that presents a risk of being blown over at all. The first thing is to batten everything down — anything that can fly around — and when it comes and blows through here, it doesn’t damage the property or put other people in danger.”

Already, wood and heavy sheeting was being put into place by workers, Rose said.

“We’re beginning to put plastic on the east and south side of the building. We anticipate that to be the major side affected,” he said. “On the Grand and Main Street side, by water infiltration.”

“Pumps are already installed in the basement, so we’re making sure they’re sufficiently strong enough to pump water that comes in out rapidly,” Rose said, “to minimize any damage inside the structure.”

Hurricane Irene is expected to hit Connecticut early in the evening on Sunday.

“We’ll monitor the building; certain people will be driving in and checking it out to make sure it’s OK, maybe during the eye of the storm or if it lets up a little. That’s the plan at this point,” Rose said.

Still in Westbrook Friday morning, Callie said, "every single person who had a boat was out there tying it up. The marina was completely packed."

She and her family are heading home Friday at 5 p.m. to secure lawn furniture and close up the pool in Middletown.

While at Bill's Seafood in Westbrook, Callie said, "every single person sitting here under the umbrella. If you be quiet for a second, are talking about what they’re going to do, where they’re going, if they’re heading back home.

"It’s a little scary. We’re sitting here now in the sun. It’s beautiful; you wouldn’t even know," she said — what's ahead.

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