What a Mess!

[Out Fishing]

Here's what the beach area of my home town looked like after the recent blow. If nothing else, it's yet another example of why building on barrier beaches is the worst idea since Rosemary decided to have a baby. Misquamicut was completely wiped out in 1938, mostly destroyed or damaged in 1954, and hammered again this week.  Anybody wanna bet that they won't build it right back up again? The Watch Hill/Misquamicut/Weekapaug RI area is where I've done 99% of my fishing over the years, and the beach is right down to bedrock along much of that stretch. It might come back or it might not. The only surprise here is that it took so long for the place to get hammered again - it was way overdue.

http://www.providencejournal.com/topics/photos/photo-story/20121031-hurricane-sandy-devours-southern-coastline.ece

[Out Fishing]

NASTY PICS.

[risurffishing]

Peterjay, I have lived here all my life and to see this, all I can say is WOW. I feel bad to a point for all those people, but you know when you build that close to the beach this could happen. Have to take the bad, along with all of the good. Like you said,  it was only a matter of time. Just think what the area would look like if we got the full force of Sandy. Maybe next year we can meet up to do some fishing.

[Out Fishing]

Peterjay, I have lived here all my life and to see this, all I can say is WOW. I feel bad to a point for all those people, but you know when you build that close to the beach this could happen. Have to take the bad, along with all of the good. Like you said,  it was only a matter of time. Just think what the area would look like if we got the full force of Sandy. Maybe next year we can meet up to do some fishing.

I know how you feel - it's hard to find sympathy for any fool who thinks he can beat nature in the long run. The only thing surprising about this disaster is that it was so long in coming. I doubt it's gonna take another 58 years for the next catastrophe to hit, especially with the way the weather's been trending in recent years. BTW - I remember what it was like to catch the full force of a hurricane in RI - when I was a little kid (1954) we had two category three hurricanes in a space of three weeks. Misquamicut was in even worse shape than it is now. Houses were washed clear across the pond, and a lot of people had to be rescued during the storm. In the '70s and '80s, I was doing a lot of diving for scallops and clams in the  ponds, and I was always finding stuff that came from those houses. A guy I know actually found a beautiful sapphire ring. Of course, they couldn't wait to build the place right back up, and I'm sure they'll do it again. I can personally attest to the fact that people in Westerly haven't gotten any smarter since then.