It was pointed out on another forum that the incident apparently took place on Friday, the 9th and not on Saturday the 10th.
In rereading things, it does seem that's true. So, to refine the analysis a bit, here's additional info.
teshannon,
You may be right about the date mixup. Re-reading everything, it does seem that the incident took place on Friday evening, the 9th.
However, it really doesn't change things much. The highest winds recorded by the AVAN4 data tower in Avalon, NJ...near his reported location...were in the range of 15-22 knots.
(wind in m/sec -- double for kts; time is UTC)
Quote
Year Mo Da Hr Min Dir Wd Gust
2008 05 09 23 00 10 5.1 9.3
2008 05 09 21 59 20 6.2 9.8
2008 05 09 20 59 20 7.2 10.8
2008 05 09 19 59 20 6.2 10.8
Unquote
Whatever.
Anyway, no question that it's blowing right now and looks just terrible on the wind
charts. See
PassageWeather - Wind, Wave and Weather Forecasts for Sailors and Adventurers
Bill