Commercial Street in Portland hummed with tourist activity today as workers in the Old Port made final preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irene.
“This is the safest berth in Portland,” said lobsterman Skip Werner, while securing his 40-foot lobster boat Foxie Lady to a dock on Union Wharf today.
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With a few extra lines, Werner thinks his boat will weather the storm without a problem. If conditions get too bad Sunday, he plans to cast his lines and ride out the storm in Casco Bay.
Werner’s lobster pots are also secure – he spent the last few days moving about 100 of them into deeper water, where they will be more protected from heavy seas.
Bill Frappier III, general manager of Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours, which operates tour boats from the Old Port, also thinks his company’s boats will be safe.
“This spot is one of the best hurricane holes around,” he said.
At nearby Chandlers Wharf, a condominium complex with a 76-slip marina, manager Shawn Nielsen described preparations as “business as usual.”
He said his staff cleared decks of furniture and moved boats off docks that face Casco Bay.
“I’ve been here 12 years and we see this quite often,” said Nielsen. “The width and breadth of the storm is huge, but we’ve seen smaller storms that are much more of a surprise.”
Staff at LaRoux Kitchen on Commercial Street, which will be open Sunday, moved valuable products away from the windows and cleared merchandise from the floor of the basement, which is prone to flooding, said manager Suzie Rephan.
J’s Oyster on the Portland Pier will also be open despite the storm, and bartender Melanie Bulduc expects to be busy.
“It’s the best place in town to watch the storm. We’re right on the water,” she said.
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