While Hurricane Erin is offshore and moving to the Northeast, her affects on the coast are visible. The ocean looks angry and big waves crash against the pier and the beaches with regularity. 2 pm is supposed to be when Erin is directly off Ocean City, but the storm effects will be felt for several more hours.
The Ocean City Beach Patrol
The Ocean City Beach Patrol has closed the ocean – asking people to stay out of the water – for all activities – from wading, to swimming and surfing. Please listen to them. Erin’s power is moving massive quantities of water around and when you are caught in the rip current that is trying to bring that water back into the ocean off the beach, you can die and so can people who are trying to rescue you. Please, stay in the sand, well away from the water. And don’t forget that long period waves generated by a storm far away can be bigger than what you see. Stay well back from the waves. One big wave can knock you over. They are fun to watch, but please be safe.
The Waves are BIG
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The Boardwalk
The Boardwalk looked pretty devoid of sand thanks to earlier work of the town employees. However, the largest amount of water on the beach and perhaps even the boardwalk will be later this afternoon. The hurricane wall is in place, however.
Jeep Fest
Jeep Fest was scheduled for 7:45 this morning and then postponed to 8:15. The Beach Patrol and town employees were conversing with the Jeep Fest organizers as water surged under the pier all the way to the decking by the Boardwalk. No jeeps were going under the pier this year.
Instead, they rode onto the boardwalk by Jolly Roger and then down onto the sand and into the sand course. A few stalwart individuals were there to watch, but mostly, the Jeep owners loved going out in the storm. It was barely raining, but the wind was howling and the sand was blowing. Perfect, for a fun day on the beach in your Jeep!
At 2 p.m. on the beach near the Carousel Hotel, we braved a deserted beach where the wind blasted us with sand and nearly blew us off our feet. Despite the low tide, the waves were enormous, some crashing almost to the sand dunes.
