Hurricane Bob ‘Wimps Out’ as It Heads Inland

A “wimpy” hurricane Bob, weakened to a ragged tropical depression, limped inland today toward a soggy demise, and residents along South Carolina’s tourist-rich coast scoffed at the storm’s short-lived fury.

No deaths or injuries were reported from 1985’s first Atlantic hurricane, which thundered ashore early today on tiny Fripp Island with 92-m.p.h. gusts and 10-foot storm tides.

Bob blasted Ft. Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, then lashed historic Charleston, toppling trees and knocking out power to 25,000 homes.

But the storm, a hurricane for only 12 hours, quickly weakened as it moved inland. By midday, its poorly defined remains were dumping showers on North Carolina.

Bob ‘Wimped Out’

“Bob really wimped out,” said Charleston television newsman Al Hinman.

“We slept through it,” said Betty Dangerfield of Isle of Palms, S.C.

About 10,000 people, most of them tourists visiting the state’s beaches, fled the hurricane, but most residents rode out the storm, officials said.

“I was out in it when it passed over,” said Lt. Bob Huston of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department. “We had a little bit of rain and wind, and that was it.”

Tourists at Kiawah Island, S.C., off the coast of Charleston, also stayed put.

“Most of the guests stayed on the island,” said Charlie Doust, vice president of the Kiawah Island Co. “We showed them some movies and served coffee. It was kind of fun for most of them.”

25,000 Without Power

Bob left about 25,000 residents of the South Carolina coast without power, but utility spokesmen said they expected most service to be restored by late today.