Chatham and the Southway

[Little Round]

I guess it is offically sanded in. Yesterday in the paper there was an article on it. The pics from the paper showed a big pile of sand where the channel used to be. This also means that those who are crazy enough can walk to the end of monomoy. A week ago it was open, and I guess that easterly last week just sealed the deal.

[JohnR]

Someone needs to release a few hundred hungry wolves down to comit sealocide...

[Sluggoslinger]

Wow... that sucks. How do you think that will affect the clamming over there alan?

It was always nice to have the option to go back on either side if the weather picked up. Not to mention a great area to stop at the beach on your way back from fishing. I bet that whole area might start to close-in in the years to come...

[Sluggoslinger]

I wonder what the effect will be on the seals... We could have more out at bearses or they could just start coming around in the area. I'll be curious to see if the spring fishing in the area will be that great. I think it could go either way...

[Little Round]

I think a few of the coyotes will find there way down there. There sure is enough of them around here. I don't know what it is going to do to the clamming?? My guess is it won't help. The large set on south beach I don't think will be able to do what it did last summer. It will be big time changes for everything. The tides inside, the paper said were going to be smaller, where the tides outside are going to be lager. FLOW?? It might get shoaled up in there. The spring fishing will probably be decent, but it reall changes the whole dynamic. Time will tell.

[Finlander]

Back in Oct. fishing the area at night the red fox's were coming within 10-15 feet of us will casting. Don't think the fox's are bigger enough, but are around on the beach here. Kind of spooky when they come up that close to you at night. Tides and flow can't hurt the fishing here as it has not been as good as it was even 5-10 years ago.

Chris

[JeffH]

Here's the article


http://www.capecodchronicle.com/chat...at113006_1.htm

[Flaptail]

This does not suck, it's actually very good news. The clamming will not be affected, after all until 1987 the island was one piece of sand and vegetation and the clamming there on the west side has gone on for 100's of years.

The real problem is who will regulate the use of South beach and South Monomoy. There is a turf war about to happen between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

The NPS has jurisdiction over South Beach and believe it or not is in the people business, the USFWS has jurisdiction over Monomoy in total. Where will the line be drawn in the sand?

Eventually this will lead to the natural closure of Chatham Inlet in front of the lighthouse and lead to an opening farther south, maybe breaching the spit at Morris Island and re-creating the once famous Chatham Inlet/ Long Bar of the 70's. That would be nice but the real problem is the regulation of access being now in the hands of two competing federal agencies.

Lastly the islands are overun with Coyotes already, we see them regurlarly swimming between North island and Morris Island. Too basd you couldn't train them to take an interest in seal meat.

[Karl F]

FENCE


Already talk of one being built.. on the radio news update a few minutes ago.. from a F&W spokesman.....

[Skitterpop]

Blow out the bay beach south with a big winter storm to the right of the lighthouse and this will move some sand and great fishing could return seals or not

[Karl F]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

Long Bar .

Flap said Long Bar...

If I could have one more of them Long Bar nights, even with the water licking all four tires on a flood tide, I'd go with the devil himself the next day, with a permanent grin on my face.

Flap, you think it's possible it would eve be like that again?

[Sluggoslinger]

Originally Posted by Karl F

Flap said Long Bar...

If I could have one more of them Long Bar nights, even with the water licking all four tires on a flood tide, I'd go with the devil himself the next day, with a permanent grin on my face.

Flap, you think it's possible it would eve be like that again?

From what has been printed in past articles about the erosion of the barrier beaches along the cape, I'd say its unlikely. Scientists seem to think that South beach, South Monomoy and North Monomoy will all connect and that area will fill in. I'm no expert but I remember reading about that last year when this got started. I still don't look at this as a good thing though since I really enjoyed being able to get out to some nice fishing from Stage Harbor when the wind was kicking up from the SW without getting the snot pounded out of me in the nantucket sound short tall chop.

It would be amazing if the bar to the right of the lighthouse opened up, I couldn't imagine how that could hurt fishing. The bars off morse island and monomoy would just be packed with migrating fish... but this is me getting caried away.

If we get a couple good Noreaster the outcome could just be a roll of the dice. Either way, I can't wati to get out there in the spring.

[Flaptail]

I think it's entirely possible if not at all probable. The seperation and conjoining of Morris Island, Monomoy and Nauset Beach has gone through this many times over the centuries. Tide and current, Storms constantly renew the landscape or better put, seascape. I have an old book of Monomoy that shows the various movements of the inlets and islands over the last 200 or so years. It's like a living thing in a cycle. At one tyime in the 1800's the Chatham inlet opening was up across from Strong Island.

Long Bar will live again Karl, just don't know if we will see it, probably be up in the Nursing home in North Chatham by then with getting someone to get us a bottle to pee in before we wet the bed before it happens then again, one good storm could change everthing!

Pochet will be an island and access to Nauset may be from the south rather than at Orleans. Time will tell.

[jkswimmer]

At one time people were driving out Monomoy before it broke through, so it rebuilding should not be a surprise. THINK WE WILL BE ABLE TO DRIVE OUT AGAIN?

[Little Round]

No one will be able to drive out on Monomoy. It went over it in the newspaper article that came out this week.

[clambelly]

as someone else already stated, the biggest threat to us all is the fact that you have two government agencies fighting for control. this can only mean that we the people will end up losing in that fight.

the fence that someone else mentioned might be a temporary fence they had proposed to distiniguish the "line" that delineates where the two agencies jurisdiction comes together, whereas before the water separated them.

in that article it was stated that you might see another cut this winter just south of the one that just closed up, as there are some real low lying areas there.

it is anyone's guess what the scene will be when the bass show up in the spring, but it will surely be different then what you saw this year. one thing is for sure, this is a process that has been going on since the cape was formed, and it will continue long after we are all gone. it is just nature's way.

i also liked the quote in that article about how someone had actually mentioned possibly dredging that spot that filled in. what a joke. glad that someone with some common sense nixed that before the town spent all that cash that would have just been filled right back in.

[pmueller]

Some pics would be cool. Just made the bay alot bigger.

[Sluggoslinger]

Originally Posted by pmueller

Some pics would be cool. Just made the bay alot bigger.

If you click on the article, you can see some pics. It doesn't effect the bay yet though...