In Montauk, vacationers opt to 'ride it out'

While beach lovers who came to Montauk for sun and swimming had a disappointing start to their Labor Day weekend, others relished the rough weather.

At Nick's Beach in Montauk village Friday, Finn and Alice Andersen joined a group of a dozen onlookers watching as rising surf turned a lifeguard station into wooden island surrounded by foamy water.

"It's good energy to be around," Alice Andersen said. "It's so powerful."

Finn Andersen said he welcomed this weather after a long summer of record heat. The Wantagh couple booked the weekend getaway months ago, and weren't deterred by reports of Earl's arrival.

"We said, 'Let's ride it out,'" Finn said.

All East Hampton beaches are closed to swimmers, and some, like Nick's, restrict walkers, too. The Andersens weren't disappointed. "We're storm chasers," Finn said with a grin.

Even before a weakened Earl made it up the coast, its impact was being felt in Montauk.

Henry Uihlein and his crew were lifting out the last of the boats Friday morning, trying to weather Earl on land, when the rain started - a hard steady downpour.

"We've taken 100 out probably," he said, before hopping in a giant fork lift to take up a Boston whaler.

Most boat owners wanted to wait until Friday, to see how the storm played out, but he advised against it. Most were out by Thursday afternoon.

"That's all I've been doing all week is hauling boats," Uihlein said.

At the Viking Fishing Fleet on Montauk Harbor all five fishing boats and its Block Island ferry were idled Friday, as they were most of Thursday, because of the swells. It's the wind down of a big season for the fleet, the largest in Montauk. Viking Fleet representative Orla Reville said the hope was that boats could return to sea Saturday.

One fisherman's hotel at Montauk Harbor appeared to be the only establishment in the village that took early warnings about Earl seriously. It boarded up oceanfront windows against high winds that as of 12:30 p.m. had not arrived.

Lifeguard Michael Graham at Hither Hills State Park said only lightning would force him to close the beach to strollers Friday, though swimming was not allowed. He said there was "almost a rescue" on Thursday when a teen tried to sneak into the water.

At the East Hampton police station in Montauk, officers Thursday night said preparations for Earl included handing out photocopied fliers to hotels listing emergency numbers and evacuation routes, but thus far there were no Earl-related emergencies or incidents.

Still, at the request of East Hampton Emergency Management, the Red Cross opened a shelter at the Montauk Playhouse at 11 a.m., "just so people could feel more comfortable during the storm," said Craig Cooper, spokesman for the Suffolk chapter of the American Red Cross.

"We have to be prepared," Cooper said. "The shelter is ready to go whether we have one guest, 100 guests - or no guests."

With John Valenti