Photos: Mount Vernon Braces for Irene

Mount Vernon residents braved the elements to prepare for Hurricane Irene on Saturday. 

Local grocery stores sold out of water and ice, and the local CVS had a very limited supply of batteries and water. Motorists lined up at gas stations to fill up their gas tanks. Boaters were out in the rain Saturday morning at the Mount Vernon Yacht Club to batten down their prized boats. 

Mount Vernon resident Karl Lady was in Maine taking a canoe trip with his son. After hearing the weather forecast, they decided to return to Mount Vernon Friday afternoon. 

"With the reports and weather forecasts being bad, we would have spent four days on the Allagash with no communication." said Lady.

Lady, a member of the Mount Vernon Yacht Club, decided to dock his 38 foot powerboat at the yacht club rather than at his dock at home because it was safer. He was at the MVYC Saturday morning preparing his boat for the storm. His boat barely survived Hurricane Isabel in 2003. 

"The main concern is that with Isabel, the parking lot and docks were underwater," he said. "[The yacht club] had permanent docks back then, and boats were hauled out of water. Now they have floating docks that should be able to handle the water."

He continued, "You do everything you think of and do the best you can, and say a little prayer."

Mount Vernon Yacht Club Treasurer and Power Fleet Captain Alexi Stavropoulos was also preparing his boat for the storm. 

"We're batten down the boats, rolled up the canvas to keep it from being blown away, doubled up on bow lines and now we're just waiting for the storm." he said.

Only five 30-foot boats were put into dry dock in preparation for the storm, he said, but many members decided to keep their boats docked. 

Stavropoulos said that the Yacht Club has emergency pumps charged and ready to go just in case the boats do get flooded. He and his fellow crew members will be camping out at the Yacht Club tonight to keep an eye on the boats. 

Mansion House Pool Manager Jae Foxley, a student at Mount Vernon High School, was with two of his fellow lifeguards to man the fort on Saturday morning. They brought tables and chairs indoors and under the pavilion. Foxley hoped the storm wouldn't hit Mount Vernon as hard as forecasters are predicting. 

"I think Old Town will be bad, but we're elevated above the water so I hope it's not too bad," Foxley said. "We've had pretty bad storms, but we've never had a hurricane as long as I've lived here.

Patch is covering Hurricane Irene as it moves through our area.