CHATHAM — Crowded by boaters, fishermen and the occasional kayak slipping in and out of Stage Harbor, the 150-foot hopper dredge Currituck is slowly, nimbly chewing through the shoals that choke the harbor entrance. A marvel of engineering, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge churns up the bottom with two large drag arms and pumps the muddy slurry into the large open hopper. The boat then maneuvers its w...

CHATHAM – An overflow, standing room only crowd turned out on Saturday morning at the community center to heard what the future holds for the town's changing shoreline. Sponsored by the Chatham Alliance for Preservation and Conservation, a panel of four local coastal experts examined the subtle and often dramatic changes to Chatham’s dynamic 60 miles of shoreline. Chatham is on the leading edge of dram...

CHATHAM — Two young humpback whales that died on Monomoy Island last week are being tracked as part of what researchers call an “unusual mortality event” that includes five dead humpbacks in Massachusetts and 46 around the region in the past two years. On Monday, June 19, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was alerted to a dead humpback on the island, and notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser...

CHATHAM – Authorities are hoping to identify a man who stole one of the decorated Sharks in the Park from Kate Gould Park early Sunday morning. The shark was found along the shoulder of Main Street in South Chatham a short time later. While it was damaged, the artist who created it is making repairs and it should rejoin the other 50-plus sharks in the exhibit when they move from the park to the front lawn of t...

CHATHAM – Authorities are hoping to identify a man who stole one of the decorated Sharks in the Park from Kate Gould Park early Sunday morning. The shark was found along the shoulder of Main Street in South Chatham a short time later. While it was damaged, the artist who created it is making repairs and it should rejoin the other 50-plus sharks in the exhibit when they move from the park to the front lawn of t...

CHATHAM – Just as panelists were discussing the dynamic nature of the town's shoreline during a forum at the community center Saturday morning (see the story on page 14), Mother Nature was proving their point by creating a new break in North Beach Island. By Sunday the northernmost tip of the island was an isolated sandbar and the new cut was more than 100 feet wide and deep enough for boats to navigate, thoug...

CHATHAM — In a step that is unusual, if not unprecedented, the town of Chatham has initiated a petition asking Gov. Charlie Baker's support for federal legislation that would restore the western boundary of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge to its traditional area. Typically neutral in political disputes, the town is asking residents and visitors to sign petition forms at various town buildings, at Cape Fis...

When officials receive a call for help from a boater in trouble, the problem isn't a lack of responders; typically, the Coast Guard, harbormasters from several towns and police and fire boats get underway. A new system being put in place this summer aims to streamline and simplify the way town resources are dispatched by the Coast Guard. The system involves a smartphone app used by town harbormasters, police o...

CHATHAM — Captain Dave Murdoch was an easily recognizable figure in the town of Chatham, between driving along in his blue Jeep with its American flag waving in the wind and walks with his dog Gordon. Now, friends and fellow mariners are mourning the death of the 78-year-old, whose remains were found near the southern tip of North Beach Monday afternoon. Investigators do not yet know how Mr. Murdoch died, bu...

CHATHAM – On their first trip of the season, shark researchers were off Nauset Beach last Thursday when they got a call from spotter pilot Wayne Davis. He'd seen the first shark of the season, swimming just off the shore of Monomoy Island. Unfortunately, in the 15 minutes it took the research vessel to motor south, the shark had moved into deeper water and was lost. Davis said the shark appeared to be a small ...

In a historic agreement, selectmen in Harwich and Chatham this week voted to adopt an intermunicipal agreement for wastewater treatment. The 25-year pact was approved by selectmen in Harwich Monday night, and in Chatham on Tuesday. It will take effect on July 1 or shortly thereafter, and allows Harwich to send 300,000 gallons of wastewater per day from East Harwich for treatment at the Chatham water pollution ...

CHATHAM – More than 2,000 participants and many thousands more spectators are expected for the upcoming Fourth of July parade, the 122 nd since the event began in 1896. On Tuesday, parade committee chairman Brad Schiff announced that historian Spencer Grey had been chosen as the procession's grand marshal. “We find it very fitting that Spencer, who is so respected and has a legacy of significant contributi...