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Hanna was the kind of tropical storm that was easy to take.

There was some rain, but not much. Winds didn’t reach hurricane strength, but did kick up white caps and foam and spray along the waterfront. Some intrepid souls were out walking in it.

It was ‘hold on to your hat’ weather at the pier and along the waterfront Saturday morning.

Yes, the electricity was out for several hours, but in the end, Hanna could be summed up by two words: No flooding. That’s because winds were out of the south.

The damage, in terms of boats and trees, seemed isolated and minimal. Hanna may not have delivered a heavy punch, but the practice round, of preparing for a storm, may pay off later in the hurricane season.

Oriental dodged a hurricane, and even a tropical storm. Here’s what we looked like doing that:

The cuts of your jib. Most boats got through Hanna okay. Here and there, though, the wind got the better of a sail, as on this sailboat at Whittaker Creek..

A trawler, the ‘Captain Ryan,’ tucked away at the Garland Fulcher docks, still saw some wave action.

Whittaker Creek and the Neuse as seen from the Whittaker Creek fuel dock.

The waterfront at South Avenue.

At South Avenue and Vandemere..

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Taking in the whitecap action from the end of the Town Dock.

While the storm pressed on, Russ Allen and his father, Mike Spence were picking up the branches and needles and pinecones that had fallen in the yard. Mike says he’s been thru 35 years of hurricanes in the area and would be scared to not be here for them.

No lights? No problem. Doug at West Marine shines the way with a flashlight while the power was off. The store literally had its doors open, until the power came back and the AC could be turned on.

Charley Ferer at the Oriental Post Office. The power outage meant the usual window could not be opened — the generator didn’t provide enough power to raise and lower the metal covering — so business was conducted instead at the door way.

The power outage shut down most restaurants, but not The Bean. Eric Kindle brought in a generator and had coffee going shortly after 8am. The generator would just power one coffee maker – Eric kept very busy.

Waves near the pier.

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The storm left minimal damage. Some limbs came down, a lot of pine cones and a lot of green, not yet ready to eat, pecans. They don’t ripen off the tree, unfortunately.

A mourning dove and her babies made it through the storm after a rollicking ride.

The birds rode out the storm in this hanging pot on Sue Henry’s back porch. It’s where the babies were hatched recently and the only home they knew. It was not the most stable of settings — the pot swung wildly in the winds — but they seemed to be doing well a few hours later.

On his home porch, Jack stoically waits for his humans to venture out in to the storm. Winds blew heavily at dawns first light, as can be seen on the screen where a wax myrtle swayed in the wind. .

The patented Dog Fur Wind Gauge. How fast were those winds? Around ten o’clock they could still send the hair straight out on a Nova Scotia Marsh Hound.

Posted Sunday September 7, 2008 by Melinda Penkava