Chappy Breach and Wasque

[Mr. Sandman]

Took a ride out there this morning...

1) The breach is closing up quick (middle pic), there is a long spit that goes into the pond that I thik will swing back and close it up.
2) bars/islands are forming parallel to the beach (third pic)
3) Air down lot is long gone Strong erosion along the mainland part of happy...15-25' cliffs now where there was once a flat sandy swimming beach.
4) breach is right up against "mainland" chappy now (it can not move further east)
3) Wasque point as you knew it is gone. At "the fishermans parking lot" The water has washed out the stairs and elevated dock. Swan pond is now part of the Atlantic ocean. An amazing amount of sand is shifted. A few photos below.

I plan to go to Nantucket by plane next weekend and will try to take some aerial shots when I pass by if the weather is decent.

[Mr. Sandman]

a few more... from around the fisherman's lot.

[stripermaineiac]

Holy Sh--------. Gonna make walkin on quite the challenge. Like The Brick Yard.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

Took a ride out there this morning...

1) The breach is closing up quick (middle pic), there is a long spit that goes into the pond that I thik will swing back and close it up.
2) bars/islands are forming parallel to the beach (third pic)
3) Air down lot is long gone Strong erosion along the mainland part of happy...15-25' cliffs now where there was once a flat sandy swimming beach.
4) breach is right up against "mainland" chappy now (it can not move further east)
3) Wasque point as you knew it is gone. At "the fishermans parking lot" The water has washed out the stairs and elevated dock. Swan pond is now part of the Atlantic ocean. An amazing amount of sand is shifted. A few photos below.

I plan to go to Nantucket by plane next weekend and will try to take some aerial shots when I pass by if the weather is decent.

I haven't been tracking coastal stuff down here much lately so I'm a bit out of touch, but I've been looking over my colleague's shoulder a bit and made a few surveys w/ him over the holidays...

1. It's been a mild winter. It has also been relatively storm-free, although a few minor storms took some bites out of the RI coast in January.. I think I speculated when it breached it would close if there was a relatively storm free period...
2. Is that outside the inlet (aka an ebb-tidal delta)? tough to tell from your pic...
4. Not uncommon. Longshore transport is net to the east (driven by SW wind-waves. If you look at RI, the only inlet not to the east is Charlestown (Ninigret) and that's a more complicated story. (The breachways are where they are for a reason). The spit grows via longshore transport, so it will tend to migrate east

*Caveats. 1. One big storm could reset it to where it was before... but lately, that's not the weather pattern we're in. 2. Opinion of a, (as SlowEddie calls me), a 'half-assed sand dune mechanic'

[DZ]

Amazing! - mother nature at work.

DZ

[Fisherwoman]

Pretty sad, I can remember when we did not have a 4 wheel drive and parking at the fishermans parking lot and walking down the steps and then about another 1/8 of a mile out a boardwalk and then down on the beach, very sad to see, wasque is a special place for Bill and I sorry to see it disapear!!!

[Mr. Sandman]

BTW, the good news was I did not see a single seal. I am sure they must be around but I did not see one.

[JohnnySaxatilis]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

I plan to go to Nantucket by plane next weekend and will try to take some aerial shots when I pass by if the weather is decent.

hope the winds right to get some shots of smith's pt for me thanks!

[hardcore from shore]

How is everything under the light at Aquinah? Anybody hike out there lately? Any other changes on he west end of the island? That always seemed more stable than Chappy, but beach was narrow at end of last season.

Bill

[Mr. Sandman]

The beach from Philben to Gay Head changes multiple times during the season. Sometimes it is a flat firm sandy and easy walk to the point, the other times it is a bolder strewn ankle busting hike. Sometimes the point is so silted in that it is too shallow to really be productive, other times it drops off. Sometimes the water is knee deep at the base of the cliff on high tide and other times you have a big stretch of beach and bolder that remain dry at high tide.

Storms and weather patterns make these changes as far as I can tell. It may look completely different from month to month with no sign of consistency.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

Storms and weather patterns make these changes as far as I can tell. It may look completely different from month to month with no sign of consistency.

Agree 100%. Storm driven coastal changes, not 'seasonal'
Think storm beach/fair weather beach NOT summer/winter.

[Mr. Sandman]

Well there is a prevailing wind and sea argument for seasonal changes, it does have an effect, but storms do dramatic changes overnight.

Also I have also developed an opinion that these "controlled burns" where they remove all trees and bushes is contributing to a lot of the sand blowing away particularly in the winter with N, NE winds. It was not until they removed all the vegetation on the point at wasque that the beach disappeared, same goes to for other beaches on the south side. One could make an argument that removal of the taller trees and bushes changed the earths boundary layer profile in the winter. (bringing higher velocity winds (more energy) closer to the beach...inducing more sand transport)

Frankly I do not believe in controlled burns to remove so called "invasive" species. But you can not rationalize with these people...they have convinced the powers at be that they know all.

Not to mention that after a controlled burn in looks like hell for decades.

[stripermaineiac]

LOL Well put Jim Sad part is they've done it with most things. 30 yrs ago I got 20 mpg for the same vehicle that I drive today that I now get 17 thanks to all the environmental junk added.Don't see the improvement where I use twice as much now as technology says I should due to tree huggers that know it all an do more damage than good with their convoluted thought process.The burning is like putting a jetty in to protect mansions--ie the veiw or remove invasive species--and loose a beach elsewhere due to the unseen effect-tides an current.

[Vegas]

Sandman - provided the breach closes as expected in the near future, any idea how long it would take for the sand to build back up to a point where it might be driveable again? Obviously the cliffs/trees and so forth aren't coming back, but I'd guess that with the sand constantly moving east, the beach would start to replenish itself to a point where there will be a decent size beach there again at some point in the future. Are we looking at a few years?

Also, what is the condition of the beach right under Poge light at the corner where you turn from N to W towards the Gut on the outside? It's been tough not being able to drive outside there the past few years.

[DMenace]

That last picture with the wrecked stairs breaks my heart. I'm just a regular city kid with a decent amount of MV fishing time under my belt, but not a lot of beach erosion experience. Is it just me or does that not seem like a $#!^load of beach/land gone. You could walk down those stairs, follow the path out onto the sand and walk left or right for quite a long time. All that is gone?

[Mr. Sandman]

Yes, it is all gone. I went to the MVsurfcasters banquet where they had a trustee talk about what the plan was for the stairs. It is all up in the air right now. It sounded like they wanted to do something though but right now they don't know exactly what. I think step one is to remove the junk , the wait to see if this stabilizes at all.

As for driving on the beach. It is my opinion but I think it will be a lot sooner then most think. If you look how fast the beach built up on the other side where you have a newly developed point, it gets high enough pretty quick. I am going to guess that it closes up completely sometime in 2012 and I would think barring any major storms that cause significant damage that by 2013 we should be on the beach. I also think it might even be possible by derby 2012 but that is a long shot. That would be great as I have seen enough pain from being forced to use that ferry.
BTW, this event (breaks along this beach) to the west migrating to the east until they get to where they are now, closing up and stabilizing for like 10-40 years then starting all over has happened multiple times in the past. I have see historic photos and maps that have shown this in all stages. Some kids here have done science project on the movement of this opening in the past with great photos and drawings.

As for poge...that beach in front of the lighthouse right now is gone as well and is closed, if you need to get by you need to go in the inside.
The second breach that occurred last year near poge has not re-occurred this year.

[vineyardblues]

Thanks for the updates / pictures Jim

And watch that first step !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by DMenace

That last picture with the wrecked stairs breaks my heart. I'm just a regular city kid with a decent amount of MV fishing time under my belt, but not a lot of beach erosion experience. Is it just me or does that not seem like a $#!^load of beach/land gone. You could walk down those stairs, follow the path out onto the sand and walk left or right for quite a long time. All that is gone?

That path was near and dear to my heart for many years, after I came upon a young cutie sunning herself au naturel right by the old marsh.

I cleared my throat to let her know I was walking up and by, and she looked up and didn't bat an eyelash---gave me a nice smile.

Probably a good thing that I was wearing waders.

[Swimmer]

I thank you as well for the update Jim. Can't wait to hit it hard in October regardless of what is there. Just make do like we always have. I lived on the island for a year in 1973 and it has changed drastically since then. We have to accept it and move on.

[Vegas]

Thanks for the reply Sandman. We're staying on Chappy for this year's Derby for the first time; for the last 20 or so years we've stayed in OB. Going to be nice to not have to worry about a ferry to get over; and more importantly, we'll be able to be on-scene for sunrise when the core are traditionally most active in close. Now we just have to hope for a repeat of last year's decent Chappy albie fishing...