Mike O’Connor stood in a shock-like daze, staring at the foot-high water that had roared across his front yard, through his Columbia Beach home, and into his back yard. Potted plants were floating away; the barbecue grill had toppled and his patio furniture was submerged and soaked.

Inside was even worse.

And it all happened so fast, O’Connor said.

For homes all along the Clinton shoreline, and in several pockets elsewhere on South Whidbey, Saturday’s record windstorm hit at the worst possible time: high tide.

The storm whipped up massive waves that swamped homes, busted breakwalls and destroyed the landmark resort pier near the Clinton ferry terminal.

The speed of the flooding surprised residents along Columbia Beach. Water in yards along Possession Sound became knee deep within minutes.

“It started flooding at a quarter to nine, and it just continued to rise,” O’Connor said. “I even had sandbags and stuff ready, but couldn’t keep up with it.”

The water rose six inches in five minutes, he recalled.

For newer homes, it meant flooded crawlspaces and yards. For older homes built on lower ground, it was much worse.

“It’s just a mess. I’ve been pulling some personal items out so we could stay somewhere else,” O’Connor said. “Everything inside is ruined. I’m so overwhelmed right now; I don’t know where to start.”

“This is a nightmare,” O’Connor said.

Jane Marks outside her Columbia Beach Drive home barefoot except for sandals, soaked from the knees down in the cold water of Possession Sound. She stared into her living room window. Water was still a foot high in her kitchen and living room.

“My beautiful home,” she said. “I’m flooded, inside and out.”

“It came up so fast,” Marks said, adding that she had no place to move her possessions so they would be safe even if there had been time.

“They talked about coastal flooding. We certainly didn’t expect it to be to this extent,” said her neighbor Debi Freal.

Freal and other Columbia Beach residents watched as the high water ripped apart the old resort pier — a landmark to ferry travelers that’s known to locals as the Shell dock because of the station there nearly 50 years ago — section by section.

“It’s pretty amazing, just amazing. What’s the thing they say, don’t mess with Mother Nature,” Freal asked.

Many were surprised by the severity of the storm, which cut ferry sailings down to one vessel for much of the day.

Julie Larsen, who was on an early morning sailing to Clinton, talked to a reporter via a cell phone from the main cabin deck as the ferry M/V Kittitas rolled back and forth dramatically in the high waves off Whidbey Island.

Ferry workers cleared the car decks and ordered everyone on the ship to the main cabin area, Larsen said. Riders were warned to stay away from the windows.

Larsen, a Clinton Beach homeowner who was traveling with three children, said the rocky ride was pretty exciting for the kids.

“They think they are at Disneyland; they think it’s great,” she said.

While residents on other parts of Whidbey Island endured power blackouts, trees clogged with fallen branches and road closures due to downed power lines, residents along the Clinton coast rallied to help their submerged neighbors.

Some brought generators to run pumps to clear out homes, others lugged pump hoses or chased after items swept away by the high water.

A few said the storm was the most damaging they’d ever seen.

“I’ve lived on the beach since 1990 and this is the first time we’ve had a breach like this,” said Al Carpenter.

“You certainly don’t expect to be rowing in your front yard,” added Sandy Smith.

Bob Woods, though, recalled a Thanksgiving storm once that was strong enough to pick up his spa. He paused for a moment while clearing driftwood logs that had been dropped on his lawn by the storm.

“The isn’t even a storm up in Alaska,” Woods said. “They have hurricane winds up there and you don’t ever hear about it.”