Waterways Officials To Boaters: Stay Away From New Cut, For Now

CHATHAM – Officials continue to recommend that mariners refrain from traversing the new break at the tip of North Beach Island.

 At the annual harbor update Saturday, sponsored by the Monomoy Yacht Club and held at the Chatham Orpheum Theater, both Harbormaster Jason Holm and Coast Guard Station Chatham Senior Chief Ross Comstock said the break remains unstable and shallow, although it appears to be deepening in some spots.

 “Some boats are going through at high water,” Holm told an overflow crowd. “I’m still actively discouraging that because the current’s pretty strong right there.” 

 The cut opened up during a nor’easter May 22, severing the northern tip of North Beach Island and sending a fan of sand west into Chatham Harbor. The town removed buoys from the inside area and redirected traffic around the cut and shoals, said Holm. 

 “There’s going to be a lot of change,” Holm said. “I’m sure we’re not done with how things look like in that area.” 

 Initially a significant amount of debris was in the new channel, said Comstock, including “at least three lobster pots that I was able to see.”

 “So please avoid the area until nature has an opportunity to clear it out and decide what nature wants to do with it, whether it’s going to close back up or open up,” he said. “Just please avoid the area.”

The original north inlet remains navigable and is marked with navigation aids, but to get there now from the south requires a trip around the new shoals. It’s pretty much a “straight shot” from the north. The harbormaster’s department will provide updates on conditions on its website and the town’s social media, as well as posting the latest aerial photos so boaters can get a bird’s-eye view of conditions, he said.

 When Holm asked how many in the audience frequented the Morris Island channel area, dozens of hands shot up.

 “I hope you enjoyed it,” he quipped, displaying an aerial photo showing a large fan of sand pushing from east to west between Morris Island and Monomoy, basically covering the entire channel. “It’s not looking good.”

 The channel has shoaled significantly since last year, he said, with the deepest water only about three feet at high tide. “Really, really trying to discourage people going through that area anywhere close to low tide. You’ve got maybe an hour either side of high for most of the boats around here. The good thing is you can walk to land.”

 He also warned that there could still be submerged trees in the area due to erosion of the Morris Island upland. A “tremendous effort” was made last year to remove trees and debris from the waterway, and although erosion has slowed, boaters should “always presume” that there could be submerged objects in that area, Holm said. 

 The South Inlet is “not too bad, actually,” he said, with a “fairly straight shot” from the harbor to the open ocean. “It is pretty shallow at the end, around three feet or so at low tide,” and there is frequent white water surf during east winds, he added.

 The entrance channel to Stage Harbor is “pretty decent right now,” Holm said, with the only issue being a shoal intruding in from the east. The Barnstable County dredge was scheduled to clear the shoal but ran out of time after working in Mill Creek. The Aunt Lydia’s Cove mooring basin is also in need of dredging; money for that work is available although permits are still pending. Holm said he hopes the area can be dredged later this year or early next year.

 Work is about to begin on phase three of the Bridge Street project, which will involve installing pilings for new piers and to accommodate the former Stage Harbor Coast Guard boathouse, which will be renovated into a new shellfish upweller. The work should be done by the fall, after which the boathouse will return to town and be positioned on top of the new pilings.

 A number of boaters asked about the Coast Guard’s proposed removal of four buoys from Chatham waters. The public comment period on the proposal ended June 14, but Holm encouraged mariners to continue to submit comments if they had not already. “It’s your chance to be heard,” he said. Should the Coast Guard decide to remove the buoys, it’s not likely that the town can replace them. “We don’t have the capability to do that,” Holm said, due to the size of the buoys and the depth of water where they are located.

 Referring to the sinking last week of a commercial fishing vessel in Cape Cod Bay, waterways officials urged boaters to undergo annual safety inspections, which are conducted free of charge by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Boaters should check to ensure that equipment like radios, cell phones and GPS are charged and functioning and file a float plan — basically informing someone where they are going — before heading out onto the water. 

 “I strongly encourage that if you don’t have something on your vessel to track where you are, at least let somebody know where you’re planning on going and when you’re planning on being back, because that helps narrow down the search area significantly,” Comstock said. “If we could have dialed in on that area a little bit tighter there’s a better possibility that maybe there would have been a better outcome.”

 Holm also urged mariners to check the weather before they depart. “I ask that because I’m constantly surprised sometimes by people saying I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Forecasts these days are usually pretty good, but that said, things always happen.”