Boaters want to help landlubbers survive the next storm
The crew of the Mary A. Whalen started storm preparations four days before Hurricane Sandy was expected to strike last October. An elementary school class had just finished its visit when the crew began clearing the deck and securing dock lines.
“The Red Hook waterfront Thursday was in full mobilization,” said Carolina Salguero, founding director of PortSide, a nonprofit that operates from the Mary A. Whalen. Salguero lives on the boat, a 75-year-old oil tanker she bought in 2006. Without those preparations, Salguero said, the storm surge might have lifted the 172-foot-long tanker on to the pier.
Also along the Red Hook waterfront before the storm, David Sharps was securing the Lehigh Valley No. 79. The railroad barge, which celebrates its centennial next year, is home to the Waterfront Museum, of which Sharps is president.