Hurricane Lee cancellations: What to look out for

Several agencies on the Cape and Islands are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Lee, which, as of Thursday morning, is expected to bring tropical storm force winds to much of southeastern Massachusetts within the next 36 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In the face of the coming storm, expected to hit late Friday and early Saturday, many events slated for the weekend have been canceled or changed, and many agencies are either suspending services or altering plans in accordance with current guidance.

Canal Day, a major fundraiser for Chamber, is a washout

One of the biggest events planned for this weekend was the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce’s annual Canal Day. It has since been canceled, said the Chamber’s President and CEO Marie Oliva.

She said she had a briefing with Bourne police and fire Departments on Wednesday, deciding to cancel the event due to the weather.

“It would be one thing to have the rain,” Oliva said. “But with the high winds, it’s a real public safety issue.”

The Canal Chamber of Commerce does not plan on rescheduling the event, Oliva said, due to the difficulty of coordinating and booking the large numbers of food trucks and businesses that were going to be on hand. She said the cancellation will mean lost income, as the Canal Chamber uses the event as a key fundraiser.

West Dennis Yacht Club shows inventiveness for wedding

And at the West Dennis Yacht Club, manager Sonya Mitchell said a wedding that is scheduled for Saturday is still going ahead as scheduled, taking place inside as opposed to the outdoor backyard. In case of a power outage, Mitchell said the Club is planning to use a food truck powered by a gas generator to cook for the party.

“We’re just battening down the hatches,” Mitchell said. “It’s not looking like it’s going to be as bad, but we still need to take precautions — we’re making sure to get rid of anything that could be a projectile, like outdoor chairs and tables and stuff.”

The Club is not pulling boats from the water as of Thursday, Mitchell said.

Second Summer Cycle Cape Cod Charity Ride is a no-go

The Second Summer Cycle Cape Cod Charity Ride will also be canceled, according to a statement from the event organizers said. The event had 400 riders registered and was scheduled for Sunday.

“We are extremely disappointed to have to make this difficult call,” Pat Lentell, Second Summer Cycle Ride Director, said in the statement. “From the very beginning, our goal was to create the safest, most scenic ride ever on Cape Cod, and conditions look precarious at best.”

More than $205,000 had been raised by riders for the event, the statement said, and plans for the 2024 Second Summer Cycle event will be announced down the line.

Transportation agencies gear up for storm

Noah Karberg, manager of the Nantucket Memorial Airport, said in a Thursday email that the airport will remain open throughout the duration of the storm to accommodate medical flights and any necessary flights to support the Town of Nantucket. He said hangar space will be limited, but the airport will accommodate as many aircraft as possible.

“We are closing our overflow outdoor boarding area, which is a three-season tent, for the duration of the storm,” Karberg said. “We are advising of potential delays when we bring that structure back on-line Sunday and into Monday: our year-round hold room has a limited capacity, outbound secure commercial flights may be delayed as a result.  Passengers should contact their airline representatives regarding flight status.”

Manager of Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis Katie Servis said there are no plans to close the airport or cease operations at the moment, but that the facility will be monitoring the storm and making updates that will be posted to the airport’s website and social media accounts.

No flights had been canceled as of Thursday, but Servis said plans will change if the storm damages the airport’s infrastructure.

“It's up to the pilot to determine the plane’s capabilities into and out of a field,” Servis said. “We've had instances of flooding at the airport, it just really depends on the storm. We do our best to make sure that we communicate with our tenants to make sure that their staff and their equipment are safe.”

Speaking to the Times on Wednesday, Steamship Authority Director of Communications Sean Driscoll said the agency was planning to go ahead with operations for as long as possible, halting service for some time during the worst of the storm’s impacts.

“We would run as late as we could through the storm and then start service as early as it was safe to do so,” Driscoll said. “But there would certainly be a period of time in which we wouldn't have any service.”

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority Administrator Tom Cahir was not immediately available to comment on the agency's protocol ahead of the storm.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Many events slated for the weekend have been canceled or changed