The Vineyard was a scene of flooded roads and docks, eroded shorelines, beached sailboats and downed trees on Saturday following the severe northeast storm that battered the Island all day Friday with hurricane-force winds, heavy rains and extreme high tides.
The worst of the storm had begun to subside by midday Saturday, but the Island remained storm-tossed. Tree and highway crews, beach managers and marine salvage workers were all out in force, assessing the damage and assisting with cleanup efforts.
The storm hit hard up and down the Massachusetts coast, and Gov. Charle Baker declared a state of emergency for the commonwealth.
On Saturday ferry service remained cancelled as gale-force winds persisted in the slow-moving storm that had pounded the Vineyard all day and through the night Friday, through three high tide cycles on a full moon.
Widespread property damage was reported in Vineyard Haven and Edgartown.
Four large sailboats washed ashore in the Vineyard Haven Harbor, one near the Steamship Authority, one near Mone Insurance and two near Owen Park.
The Five Corners intersection was still flooded but passable. Lagoon Pond Road remained closed.
In the Water street Stop and Shop lot, two large trees were uprooted.
Late in the morning, the tugboat Sirius was able to free the sailboat McNab that had gone ashore near Owen Park. With Sirius tied up at the Owen Dock, marine crews ran a long line to the stern of the sailboat and pulled the vessel from shallow water.
In Edgartown it was a similar story: a large sailboat had dragged its mooring across the harbor and later wound up ramming a dock in Green Hollow by mid-morning, according to reports.
A number of large trees were down in the village.
The greenhouse behind the Edgartown School was heavily damaged overnight. Debris littered streets. The Dock street parking lot remained flooded and Dock street and surrounding streets remained closed.
The ocean breached the entrance to Norton Point at the left fork of South Beach early Saturday morning, Trustees of Reservations chief ranger Rick Dwyer said. He surveyed the scene from his truck as the ocean washed over the beach entrance at the left fork and onlookers arrived to take pictures.
He compared the damage to Hurricane Sandy in 2012 but noted the astronomically high tides that coincided with this storm.
Resident Robert Sarno stopped by to look at the scene. “Going back to [Hurricane] Bob . . . this is devastating compared to what I’ve seen through the years,” he said. “In 40 years.”
On Chappaquiddick the Dike Bridge parking lot and area was flooded and there has been flooding at Wasque, Mr. Dwyer said.
Trustees beaches were closed to oversand vehicles Saturday.
In Oak Bluffs the storm appeared to have caused less damage. Harbor boats were secure, although waves were still washing over the seawall.
Up-Island, high tides flooded the docks at Menemsha and waves crested and crashed at Squibnocket Saturday morning. Seawater flowed beneath the newly-built causeway on the storm-tossed beachfront.
Total rainfall from the storm was just under three inches, according to the National Weather Service station in Edgartown.
Power outages were widespread from early Friday evening through most of the night. By late Saturday most power on the Island had been restored.
Steve Myrick, Sara Brown and Mark Alan Lovewell contributed reporting.
Home page picture by Peter Simon.
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