Pounding surf and "EARL-y Bird Specials" in the Hamptons

Scores of people drove to the beaches Friday afternoon in Westhampton Beach to see the pounding 10-foot surf caused by Hurricane Earl - a beautiful sight, to be sure, though a cause of the fragile oceanside bluffs' continued erosion.

John Scott's Surf Shack, on Dune Road, put a big sign in the window - "Go Away Earl" - and started serving "EARL-y Bird Specials" for lunch.

"People are coming here to see the water - Dune Road is a popular sightseeing place," owner Sean Casey said. "So far, we've had about 60 people here for lunch, and we're also serving hurricane drinks and 'Dark and Stormy' rum drinks. I plan to stay open as long as I can."

Sightseers indeed were prevalent.

"I got a day off today and I'm a storm chaser, so I came out here to take pictures of the waves, to send to my friends around the country," said Michael Krummenacker, 53, of Wading River, who had just come off the dunes near Lashley Beach. "I live in a low-lying area, so I'm worried my basement might flood."

Charles Rick, 42, of Old Westbury, came out to Westhampton Beach with his family to visit friends.

"We're on our way to the Montauk Yacht Club, to visit our in-laws who have a yacht there. We might end up sleeping on the boat, to feel the wind, and have a cool experience," he said.

Outside their oceanfront home on Dune Road, Peter and Phyllis Epstein were tying down the outdoor furniture at about 3 p.m. - high tide - as waves crashed about 300 feet away.

"We're on the dunes, but we're set back enough from the beach that I don't think we will get water this close," Peter Epstein said. "We are protected by the jetties that hold in the sand, but we hope the erosion won't be too bad."

Earlier Friday, Westhampton Beach Mayor Conrad Teller said no evacuations were planned for the seven-mile stretch of oceanfront beaches in his village because the hurricane was not expected to hit them directly.

"We've closed all our beaches to swimming, but we've got a pretty good dune yet and we have the jetties in place, so we're insulated from heavy erosion," Teller said. "Our police department went to a 12-hour schedule and we have ambulance corps in Quogue, Westhampton and Westhampton Beach."

The last time the ocean swamped Westhampton Beach Village's Main Street, about a mile from the shoreline, was during the infamous Hurricane of 1938, he said.

Westhampton Beach Police Chief Ray Dean said two shelters had been set up in village schools, "but I don't think we'll need them."

"But we're tracking this storm all day, because it changes minute-by-minute," he said. "If we did need to evacuate, it would take about eight hours."

While businesses remained open Friday despite the tropical storm warning and intermittent downpours, Joe Birk, owner of "Bike 'n' Kite" in Westhampton Beach, wrapped up his business in the rain, taking in about 100 bikes and many kites from his outdoor display.

"We had to take down our canopies, because in the last storm, one of them blew over to our neighbor's house and damaged his car," he said.

Roberta Breitbart, of Westhampton Beach, was lined up in Waldbaum's near Main Street with a shopping cart filled with food.

"We stocked up three times yesterday [Thursday], and I'm here again today," she said. "We couldn't find flashlights or batteries last night anywhere in this village. We live on the water, and I'm afraid of losing power."