With Henri tracking west, Cape Cod residents and vacationers have a choice: Stay or go?

BOURNE, Mass. — On most Saturday mornings in the summer, a long line of cars can be seen heading over the Bourne Bridge and toward the coast.

This weekend, many are heading in the opposite direction.

“We decided to leave,” said Dennis Baril, of West Falmouth. “We were worried, our house sits on the edge of a salt marsh and the front sits on West Falmouth Harbor, so we’re worried about the water coming up. Three feet would put water in my cellar.”

The latest forecast shows Tropical Storm Henri making landfall west of Cape Cod Sunday, but even still, strong winds, heavy rain and rough surf are expected.

“Our plans were to get the house ready, do what we could,” said Baril. “Everything downstairs, pick it up in the cellar and garage so it wouldn’t float around and get wrecked. We did everything, tied the kayaks down, all the usual stuff.”

People with boats are urged to pull them from the water before the bad weather hits.

Al Lheureux said that’s a job that’s best done early. “Just getting the boat out before everybody else gets theirs and you’re waiting for hours at a ramp, so it’s out now,” said Lheureux, who was one of the first people at his dock in North Falmouth Saturday morning. “Damage from being tied to a dock, that’s the worst thing there is for a boat because there’s nowhere for it to go, so you get them out.”

While some people opted to leave town, others like Mashpee resident Earl Cash and Lheureux are hunkering down for the storm.

“I’m a New Englander, I don’t really worry about the weather until it comes,” said Lheureux.

Earl Cash from Mashpee spent his morning out on the water.

“High tide with the moon, with the storm coming, the fish are just loving it.”

Check out this striper he caught! ⬇️@boston25 pic.twitter.com/du7ZNUQB2G
— Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) August 21, 2021