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Marblehead spent Saturday under a high wind warning, a high surf advisory and a flood watch as the nor’easter moved through. Forecasters called for wind gusts up to 60 mph, breaking waves of 6 to 13 feet and 3 to 5 inches of rain through Monday.
Photographers Katie Ring and Steven Rood moved between Chandler Hovey Park, Fort Sewall, Devereux Beach and Crocker Park, documenting the harbor, the surf and the people who came out to see it. These are the scenes they found.
By midafternoon Saturday, dozens of sailboats and motorboats in Marblehead Harbor pitched hard at their moorings in water chopped white by the wind. Rain and mist cut visibility across the harbor, softening the outlines of Marblehead Light and Abbot Hall in the distance.
A small dinghy appeared partly swamped, its outboard motor sticking up from the water. The wind roared across the harbor and the constant slap and crash of water carried through the rain.
The same storm was reshaping the shoreline around town. At Chandler Hovey Park, waves hammered the rocks below Marblehead Light and threw spray and debris high into the air. At Fort Sewall and Crocker Park, residents watched the harbor churn under low gray skies. Along Ocean Avenue, families in rain jackets stood in beach grass beside the causeway as waves broke just beyond the seawall and cars moved along the wet road.
At Devereux Beach, heavy surf and thick sea foam pushed inland around the pavilion. People who had come down to watch sometimes found themselves running as the water swept farther across the sand than they expected.
Two photographers spent Saturday in the rain so you could see what the storm did to Chandler Hovey, Fort Sewall and Devereux without leaving the house. Reader support is what puts them on the shoreline, and it keeps every photo and story free to read for the whole town. If you've been meaning to join your neighbors who make that possible, today is a good day to do it. 🟦 Become a member here.
