Early signs of Earl's approach

Stonington, Conn. (WTNH) - The rough waters of the Atlantic are thrashing coastal areas. By the late afternoon Friday, the waves were pretty powerful in Westerly, R.I. In neighboring Stonington, the waves were rough there too. That part of the shoreline is among the areas being stirred up by Earl's approach.

A boater in Stonington takes his chances with the growing swells seen off the tip of Rhode Island, Connecticut's direct exposure to the ocean and the hurricane passing by. At Dodson's boatyard, folks can tell something is on its way.

"The roll, the movement in the water, this is not a normal sea condition for a harbor like this. And that boat wouldn't normally be rocking back and forth? It would not be rolling like it's doing now."

Dann Lockwood says many boat owners have sought shelter in Stonington Harbor from the more vulnerable Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Boats have been moved to what is considered the safer side of the docks here while most of the sailboats are kept on moorings, which have been reinforced to help withstand the storm surge.

"All of these moorings have bridles," Lockwood said. "They have two lines that attach to the mooring. Chaffing gear, extra chaffing gear, extra extra chaffe gear, that's wthat's going through the chocks."

Precautions they hope won't be necessary. Like the town which has nearly three thousand sandbags at the ready. Schools were let out early and highway workers were given a final briefing to get ready for whatever wind and water Hurricane Earl dumps on this shoreline town.

"I think people need to be prepared for power outages, for trees coming down, some of the roads blocked off," Stonington First Selectman Ed Haberek said.

"We're very optimistic that it's going to be much less severe than it was originally predicted," Lockwood said.