When I was a kid, the word northeaster always had the prefix “three-day.” Nowadays we can get a northeast breeze that lasts a mere 24 hours. The storm system that settled over the Cape and Islands last weekend was a five and half day northeaster. It brought welcome rain to the driest September since the 1940s. Close to half a foot fell in some spots. Luckily, it was spread out over many days. Some days the wind blew steadily over 25 miles per hour and gusted regularly over 45 mph. The top gust recorded at the point was 50 mph Saturday morning.

The high winds didn’t worry the ferry captains too much, except during the occasional squall after dark when visibility was reduced. The already very high equinox tides only flooded the approaches to the ferry ramps enough to get foot passengers shoes soaked.

The problem was the bumper crop of seaweed that got stirred up by the storm. The wind and tide dumped it a foot deep onto the pavement on the low side of the Chappy parking lot. It also found its way into the ferry slip where it got wrapped around the propellers, shafts and rudders of the ferryboats. Friday morning, Heidi the scuba diver began a routine of clearing the weed from the moving parts on the underside of the ferries.

The weed was collecting so rapidly over the weekend that it was necessary to keep the On Time 2 tied up with clean propellers in case the On Time 3 became disabled by the seaweed. The On Time 2 had to be docked alongside the fishing boats on the south side of Memorial Wharf to escape the incoming seaweed. In case of an emergency, that ferryboat stood ready and able to provide service for an ambulance or the fire department.

By Tuesday evening the wind had started to blow from the east, coaxing the loose weed out of the Chappy slips. Ferry service is back to normal again. The good news about this most recent nor’easter is that there probably won’t be much weed left out there to be stirred loose by the next storm.

The storm dampened the fish landings of the MV Bass and Bluefish Derby, but as the water clears up the activity increases. Chappy’s own Steph Pond leads the flyrod shore division in false albacore. Peter Sliwkowski got a daily all tackle shore bonito. The derby is not yet half over.

Octoberfish, sponsored by Larry’s Tackle Shop, runs the entire month of October. See their website or Facebook page for details. Here is the most important detail to know: during the Derby, bring your weigh-in slip or your fish to the store within 24 hours of Derby weigh-in or of catching the fish. Lots of prizes to be won.