Nantucket Dodges The Worst Of Hurricane Lee

Hurricane Lee passed by Nantucket more than 100 miles to the east, but the powerful storm still brought huge surf, strong winds, and rain to the island Friday and Saturday.

Boats and flights were canceled, but other than a few downed trees, limbs, and beached boats, Hurricane Lee left Nantucket generally unscathed. There were no power outages reported and minimal flooding along the waterfront. 

Harbormaster Sheila Lucey told the Current: "We did OK. A few boats broke loose or were in distress but I think the biggest news is the seed stranding."

Lucey was referring to a large amount of bay scallop seed that stranded along the southern shores of Nantucket Harbor during the storm. The town's Natural Resources Department and the Nantucket Shellfish Association are mounting a rescue effort to save as much of the seed as possible Sunday morning by gathering it and returning the juvenile scallops to deeper water. 

Island surfers, however, took full advantage of the huge swell kicked up by the passing storm, taking to the surf at Madequecham and Madaket to ride waves of 10 feet or larger in some cases. Nantucket's kiteboarders also made the most of the conditions and were spotted at Pocomo and Eel Point over the weekend.

After a day of huge surf and driving winds, the island was treated to an incredible sunset Friday night that was captured from vantage points all over Nantucket.