ALL EYES ON IRENE, PART ONE First Major Hurricane Of 2011 Brings The
Pain, Along With Plenty Of Waves By
Nick McGregor
In ESM’s Central Florida backyard,
Hurricane Irene was a pleasant beast. We finished our September issue deadline
on Wednesday, printed the mag on Thursday, and were surfing solid
double-overhead waves on Friday. Barely any rain, no wind over 40 mph, and two
full days of offshore winds. For me, the first land-falling U.S. hurricane in a
handful of years was mostly uneventful. Surfed all day Friday and Saturday; squatted
through a couple of almost-barrels; loped through a few multistage open-face
carves; paddled until my arms were numb. My one-month-old son (predictably)
didn’t sleep much either night, and Sunday I had to pay the price to catch up
on all my weekend duties — cleaning, laundry, yardwork, infant care class,
etc. My most exciting Irene moment came when the last contact lens I had ripped
in half on Saturday. At least something ripped this weekend.
But outside
of our lucky lil’ Central Florida bubble, the painful realities of Hurricane Irene
were clear. Beloved New Smyrna Beach, FL, high school teacher, bowling coach,
and musician Frederick “Fico” Fernandez — brother to WRV shaper and Outer
Banks charger Jesse Fernandez — died on Saturday after suffering a head
injury in heaving shorepound barrels. Fico is survived by his wife Deb, and
three children, Zale, Kino, and Ysa, who herself had brain-tumor surgery this
summer. “He’s a great family man and an outstanding teacher,” said New Smyrna
Beach High School Principal Jim Tager. “He's a guy who just loved life and
wanted to be out there in those giant waves. People who saw him said he was
running down there to surf and looked like a 14-year-old with a smile on his
face. Life is short, and he is a guy who enjoyed every single day. You couldn't
meet a more positive guy.” NSB staple Gene Varano added, “Fico was an outstanding
individual — I know of no person that could say a bad thing about him. He
was a great teacher, one that kids responded to and liked, an accomplished
musician, high school bowling coach, and, of course, a really good surfer.” An
hour up the coast in Beverly Beach, New Jersey resident James Palmer, who was
on vacation with his wife and daughter, also died after swimming out into the ocean
and drowning.
Up the rest
of the East Coast, Irene’s visit caused varying degrees of heartache. Irene
first came ashore just east of Morehead City, NC, and in the Outer Banks
sound-side flooding destroyed many homes that were actually miles from the
ocean, while vital Highway 12 washed out in several locations, including just
north of S-Turns in Rodanthe and further north near Ranger Station in the Pea
Island National Wildlife Refuge. That effectively cut Hatteras Island off from
the Bonner Bridge and the towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, and Kitty Hawk,
forcing state officials to ferry in supplies. The town of Duck was also cut off
by impassable roads, while six fatalities were reported in North Carolina. Further
north, organizers of the Coastal Edge Presented By Vans East Coast Surfing
Championships in Virginia Beach were forced to finish the entire contest by
Friday so everyone could clear out before Irene passed right over the VB
Boardwalk. In Delaware, a tornado damaged 15 homes, while Baltimore and Norfolk
experienced major flooding. Four deaths were reported in Virginia, along with
one in Maryland and five in Pennsylvania. Luckily though, when the storm
emerged off the coast of Delmarva, colder sea surface temperatures weakened
Irene to Category 1 strength.
The storm
then made landfall again near Little Egg Harbor, NJ, the first recorded Garden
State strike since 1903. As of today, hundreds of thousands of Jerseyites were
still without power, and rising waters in several rivers threatened to bring
even more flooding to the Garden State. One fatality was reported: a
20-year-old female who died after being trapped in her car by a flash flood. Philadelphia,
PA, also suffered the worst aquatic inundation in 140 years, with 15 feet of
water reported in some city streets. But New York City, where emergency
responders went all out and the bulk of media attention was focused, received minimal
damage and only minor flooding, with all transportation systems operational
again Monday morning. However, in Long Beach, NY, Quiksilver Pro organizers had
to dismantle all event structures — and good thing, too, as suburban Long
Island, Connecticut, and Rhode Island suffered serious erosion and flooding,
bearing the brunt of Irene’s northeast quadrant wrath. Four deaths were
reported in New York and two in Connecticut, including 68-year-old East Islip
resident Joseph Rocco, who drowned while windsurfing.
Surprisingly,
Vermont was hit particularly hard, with last-minute evacuations called
throughout the state, most major highways damaged, historic bridges washed
away, and millions without power. Similar stories occurred throughout upstate
New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine, where torrential rainfall caused
rivers to rapidly overtop their banks. In coming days, more New England and
Canadian Maritimes damage will surely come to light. Many of us in Florida have
asked whether these northern states suffered harder because they weren’t used
to hurricanes, but it seems like the majority of the damage was caused more by heavy
rainfall and higher-than-average waterways than strong winds. And unfortunately
for most East Coast surfers, Irene’s right-up-the-coast path meant there were
only short windows of swell just before and right after the storm passed.
Which makes
us Floridians feel even luckier for enjoying the wave feast here in the
Sunshine State, without any of the Irene-induced famine. Stay tuned throughout
the week as www.EasternSurf.com continues
its Irene coverage.
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