Hurricane's threat turns to be more of a whimper

It sounds like an Agatha Christie novel: "The Case of the Missing Earl." But there was no kidnapped royalty Friday night in southeastern Connecticut - only a batch of mellow rain showers claiming to be descendants of a Category 4 hurricane.

The anticipated Labor Day Gale of 2010 sort of never happened - not that anyone's complaining.

Well, there actually were some complaints at Union Station in New London, when Amtrak suspended service Friday afternoon. More than 100 passengers were stranded after a tree fell on electrical wires along the tracks near the Millstone Power Station in Waterford.

Service resumed early Saturday, and by 10 a.m. all was peaceful. Traffic in and out of the station was steady and the mood was as pleasant as the weather.

At that point, none of the six people seated in the Amtrak waiting area were among those who had been stranded Friday night. Lloyd Whitman, who drives a cab for Harry's Taxi, suggested the stranded passengers either got the first trains out when service resumed or found other means to get to their Friday destinations.

"We were straight out. Every cab in New London was busy last night," said Whitman, seated in his taxi in front of the station Saturday morning. "People were taking cabs everywhere. New Haven, mostly, but also New York and Boston. Anyone who could afford the flat rate."

Pretty much everyone not missing a train was happy with the non-storm. A series of morning phone calls to police dispatchers in the region, to secure reports of flooding, road damage or any other hurricane-associated mayhem, elicited a variety of blasé, slightly relieved responses.

"All clear." "Nope, nothing." "Not one reported incident." "No storm incidents. Nothing at all." Even: "I've got a better question. Did we even HAVE a storm last night?"

If you're keeping score, it wasn't a complete washout. There was a report of minor flooding on Mechanic Street in Pawcatuck, and a tree fell in Westerly, but the police department dispatcher said the tree was cleared in 15 minutes.

There was also, according to the Connecticut Power & Light website, one unlucky person in East Lyme who lost power, and 21 more folks in Ledyard lost power. The service interruption was minimal, though.

Due to the amount of Earl-generated rainfall, the Stonington Shellfish Commission closed two conditional shellfishing areas, Area A and Outer Quiambaug Cove. The areas will remain closed to the harvesting of clams, oyster and mussels for at least seven days.

Otherwise, life in the dwindling and post-hours of Earl persevered.

In Charlestown, R.I., the annual Rhythm 'n' Roots Festival, held outdoors in Ninigret Park, made slight performance alterations for Friday's sets and the show went on. Ellen Giurleo, spokesperson for the festival, reported organizers moved all the main stage headliners into the covered dance pavilion.

"Both main stage and dance stage performers combined to entertain the crowd," Giurleo said. The festival continued Saturday and concludes today.

At Greens Harbor Beach in New London, lifeguard Paul Elette was seated in his towering chair by mid-morning, and a few families already dotted the sand. He said water levels were normal, and he pointed to a several piles of raked debris at various parts on the shore.

"I just finished raking this," Elette said. "It's a little more than we'd usually see, but not by much. Otherwise, it's a pretty normal morning in terms of getting the beach ready for the day."

A few blocks away, George and Lisa Lawler had just finished cleaning their decidedly ocean-capable boat, which was sitting on a trailer.

"We definitely pulled it out of the water because of Earl," George said, "and we figured, as long as it was out, we might as well clean it."

"It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. Better to be safe than sorry," Lisa said."

George grinned. "It's a lot of work to put it back in, too, but that's where it's going. Fall is the best time of year to have your boat on the water. We're going to enjoy it."

Throughout the week, as Earl gathered strength on the Eastern Seaboard, the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center issued warnings about the dangers of high surf and riptides. By early Saturday afternoon, as the downgraded Tropical Storm Earl drew nigh to Nova Scotia, the NWS website still featured high-surf warnings for New London County as well as for Bristol, Kent and Washington counties and Block Island in Rhode Island. The warnings were to expire at 8 p.m.