The slips at the Nissequogue River State Park marina were nearly empty by 2:00 p.m. as boaters fearful of the high tides took their crafts out of the water.
Phil McKeon and James Curry, both veteran boaters weren’t taking any chances.
“When the tide comes up, the docks will float over those polls and there will be nothing holding those boats in,” said Curry.
Curry’s been boating all his life and has owned a boat for 19 years. He’s lived through several storms through the years and believed that this storm’s tide will be exceptionally high.
Acting early, he removed his boat because he didn’t want to be waiting on line later Saturday. He believes there is a solution to keeping the dock from separating.
“I would be jamming 2 X 3’s to hold those polls down, that’s what we have done in the past," said Curry.
He also read his insurance policy and it clearly indicated that within forty-eight hours notice of a hurricane, he had to get his boat out of the marina.
“You have to read your policy, some policies will even cover the transfer of your boat,” he said.
McKeon didn’t want to take a chance either and took Murphy’s Law into account when making the choice to pull his boat out of the water.
“This is a good harbor, it’s very protective but at high tide this parking lot will be under water,” said McKeon.
