Hurricane Jose came to town this week, staying well offshore but brushing the Cape and Islands with tropical storm-force winds and rain.

It was a pretty good blow, even by Island standards. Derby fishermen scrambled to find a place in the lee to ply their craft. Hardy Island surfers donned wetsuits and relished the huge waves on the Atlantic-facing south shore. On the north shore it was a similar scene with the equally hardy Island kitesurfers.

Ferries were cancelled. Lunch places had No Way Jose specials. And as the storm kicked up great gusts throughout the day on Thursday, flower gardens were flattened and pears and acorns were blown from the trees.

Overnight Wednesday a dramatic rescue took place in Menemsha, after a fisherman fell off a dock and clung to a piling for four hours before he was seen by a Good Samaritan and rescued. Thankfully, the Coast Guard crews at station Menemsha were right there. One day earlier they had taken advantage of the weather to conduct boat training drills, busting through the whitecaps, salt spray flying. Readiness is a beautiful thing to behold.

A slow-moving storm, Jose hung around like the overbearing house guest that wouldn’t leave. By day’s end Thursday, the rain had let up but the wind still pummeled.

The weekend forecast called for the sun to return.

Meanwhile, our island sisters and brothers in the Caribbean have not been so lucky this fall, and it’s been heartbreaking to see the devastation wrought, first by Hurricane Irma and then this week Maria. For many Vineyard residents, including sailors, the Caribbean islands are familiar places. St. Martin with its quirky French charm, Anguilla with its sugar sand beaches, Dominica with its tropical waterfalls, Puerto Rico with its historic Old San Juan, the U.S. and British Virgins archipelago — all have been catastrophically damaged and may take years to rebuild. Key West, Fla., was also hard hit by Irma.

Islands are resilient and used to being battered by the weather, but seeing so much damage this autumn in such a short period of time — from Houston to Mexico to the Caribbean — it takes the breath away.

Sending prayers to all for speedy recovery.