Thursday, January 24, 2013

Then Sandy lowered the boom...

Well it's been about 90 days since I posted to this blog. I am sorry for the delay but I would like to plead "Guilty with an Explanation". Ten days after I posted my previous entry Hurricane Sandy hit the Jersey coast with a vengeance. The A&S building and the twins didn't do so well. My first view came on November 11th when NPS let me in with BJ & Pete DeMarco:


There was sand overwash everywhere and it appeared that the missiles and boosters were rammed through the front overhead door. Getting closer just made the bad feeling worse.


Yes, that's the compressor hanging upside down - and that, only because it was secured with chain to the wall!. We struggled to get inside. No small feat since everything had been floated against that end of the building. Inside was even more heartbreaking:


For comparison's sake, here is a before picture:


The sand blaster... gone! We eventually found it about 150 feet away and it was still filled with 100 pounds of blasting media.



After that, NPS decided they didn't want anyone back on the Hook for fear of unexploded ordinance. We were finally able to get back for a day on January 12th. With the generous help of the Fort Hancock Nike Association folks we were able to get the building secured. More on that the next post.

Blazing Skies!!!