So as we all know we don't have a lot of point breaks/beach structure around here, just long stretches of beach.(Im mostly talking about MD/DE) The few jetties/inlets we have are usually pretty crowded when they're working. Obviously, jetties are perfect to block current and wind offering some nice setups. On another note they also offer beach protection against strong storms which would save us from wasting our tax dollars on beach replenishment. SO what I'm curious about is how we could pitch to a local municipality, or whoever, to give the OK for some trial jetties. There are already some existing burried jetties that could be built up in OCMD like 8th St and 94th St. Also in Delaware there are stretches of unpopulated beach south of Rehoboth and then again south of Bethany to Fenwick which would be perfect. Just think if we could mimic multiple setups similar to the naval jetty! I think we would all agree that it would be awesome to have more options when it comes to surf breaks to thin out the crowds. Anyone have any decent ideas? Petitions or funding proposals? Its just a bunch of big rocks on the beach right?!
I think the ACOE is er-ing away from hard structures. There is a moratorium on hard structures along the entire NC coast. Bethany Beach used to have some fun jetties (ah, the memories!) but they're all under a couple tons of sand now. Just like anything else in this world they all have pros and cons. Jetties for example block sediment that would travel to another beach further down coast (depending on direction of long shore drift for said beach). That being said, I would love some more jetties. Make them bigger and further apart. I would also love to see an artificial reef put in place somewhere on the east coast. If it works well it might spur a movement toward using them rather than endless replenishment efforts.
I think the artificial reef idea is awesome. New Life, Barrier like protection, new ecosystem, new surf spot. Only one con - money. Holy crap that must be expensive
you're absolutely right. we rarely spend more money for a long term solution. We consistently spend lots of money on useless sand that washes out in a year. I think the IRI dredging project was around 6.5 Million for the 2 1/2 months of pumping. After the first nor'easter 15' of sand disappeared. Unreasonable. Something needs to be there but something has to protect the sand after they put it on the beach. Otherwise, it is useless.
The sand most definately did not disappear. The October storm took sand from the dry portion of the beach where it had been pumped (above the water line), and moved it offshore into sand bars. All of that sand is still in the overall system, its just been redistributed into a more natural equibilrium. This is a good thing!
X2 Many NS locals commented the Sandy Relief project of 500,000 cubic yards ruined NS for ever, it would never come back after finally working again when Sandy pulled off the finer Dune sand last October. It only took one Nor'easter in September pulling enough sand to create a shallow bar again. I'll agree not as good as it was so hope winter storms will add to mother nature's work in progress. The major factor for this early success is high percentage of medium and finer sand dredged from the IRI. Many times we're unfavorable of Army Corp projects but this time they as well as the contractor Manson really delivered what SR was hoping for in the end. The Delaware Chapter of Surfrider has been actively engaged in this project to restore NS including monitoring the sand sample data of dredged material. Mitchell has commented many times dredging finer sand improves Surfability of beaches and he's 100% correct. NS will continue to be monitored although we're pleased with the early results. While we're on the topic; 330 feet of the Northside Jetty was repaired from the sidewalk eastward so future sand loss through the Jetty hopefully will be eliminated that was a major factor of sand retention for the Designated Surfing Beach. The Delaware Chapter of Surfrider has been active for nearly 2 years restoring surfing of our Delaware Beaches. We're seeing some successes of our efforts while sadly the surfing community has been reluctant to support the Chapter's efforts. Maybe its just me but if an organization of volunteers was diligently striving to improve my surfing certainly would be worth a $25.00 membership to show support.
I think its safe to say Jersey has more "hard" jetties than any State on the Atlantic. If my history is correct many were constructed beginning in the 20's & 30's then late 50's the use of stone revetment hard structures decreased. The Stone from the construction of the Holland Tunnel were also used for Jersey jetty construction boom as they needed a home for the stone. As far as Delaware; the two IRI jetties have been a nightmare for coastal engineers since its construction in 1938. The jetties interrupted the long shore drift of sand that flows south to north beginning around southern end of Finwick. Just an FYI, OC sand migration is North to South so north of OC Inlet not an issue while the Teague is starved of sand although its sand bars are consider the best in the region. Some might argue the Teague sand bars remain consistent due to lack of beach replenishment while most Coastal Engineers would agree the overall science why is more complicated that just one answer. My un-scientific thought is the sand that exits the OC Inlet travels south feeding the Teague sand bars. Since IRI long term issues you never see any NEW stone revetment Jetties in Delaware. Its this simple, the Jetty collects sand on one side that improves sand bar formation while the other side of the jetty erodes for lack of sand. These issues plaques State and Federal coastal engineering solutions as well as financial burden to resolve down drift beach deficits. You and I are almost on the same page as Delaware has enough real estate these ideas/concepts have merit that future dialog with coastal engineers for long term strategies ARE worth the conversation. So what's left, soft structures, well sand is a soft structure and so are Geo-Tubes and Sand Tubes. Geo-Tubes are large blubbers and sand tubes are smaller diameter nylon tubes filled sand. These soft structures have been used in other regions to create/maintain sand bars and protect beaches from erosion. The use of these soft structures is not re-inventing the wheel again as the "science" exists for their application and monitoring without further eruption of long shore drift of sand. An example, place sand tubes vertical to the beach with Geo-Tubes on either side to test as sand collects developing a point break with sand bar on either side. This of course is easier stated as major hurdles to overcome; Army Corp approves application and where will funding be derived from ???????? These are (long term) alternatives that have been successful while we must be more diligent SHORT TERM of future sand replenishment projects of using finer sand material.
As will I, have only surfed Delaware a handful of times the last couple years because it's been so sh!tty, but if I can help to bring back breaks, I'm all for it.
Thanks Nick & Koki Barrels Your comments are appreciate as we're building membership one member at a time, it all adds up Stay tune to Chapter monthly meeting dates on facebook http://delaware.surfrider.org/ The Chapter web site is near completion
As previously stated, I would rather see the effect an artificial reef would have. They are extremely expensive but so is beach "replenishment".
Follow the money. It may be unoriginal, but it sure as he!l is true. Meaning, those coastal communities don't give a rat's patootie about anything but revenue. Ergo, if you can quantify the level of revenue that surfers chunk out in those lovely beachy communities, you'd have a shot at constructing those jetties, piers, man-made breaks, et. al. Every surfer I know: has a good-paying job buys expensive gear for his passion/sport/hobby stays in hotels to surf travels to surf buys lots of food & beverages when surfing hits surf shops when surfing and more Meaning, surfing adds up to consistently large expenditures by humans to the local beach community if the locale has surfable waves. And when we're talkin' expendable revenue, we're talkin' retail sales taxes for local municipalities. And tax rev is all those elected pr!cks care about. My 2 cents.
If you want to see how debunked the myth of jetties is, look no further than the disparity between the shoreline of Ocean City and Assateague NP, which were once one and the same shoreline.
Yeah its pretty amazing how drastic the erosion on Assateague has been - caused by the Inlet jetties. The Corps has know about this for decades and has dredged a lot of sand onto Assateague for as long as I've been surfing there, but I was always curious how they do it. Here is a pretty lousy quality video by the Army Corps of Engineers explaining the OC Inlet/Assateague dredging process. Wouldn't you think with their dredging budget, they could afford a couple bucks to but a decent camera? A bit ironic how the Corps themselves in this video make a distinction between this kind of dredging that feeds the sand naturally into the sandbar system, vs. typical beach nourishment method which builds an unnaturally tall and steep beachface. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJGeRJM-cyQ
I disagree that people don't support Surfrider's efforts. I think people don't see any noticeable changes taking place. All people see is money being wasted year after year on beach replenishment as well as our breaks being ruined by to much sand being pumped onto the beaches. For the record I totally support Surfrider. But if its notoriety you are after then you need to figure out how to fund an artificial reef system. If you did the right campaigning for it with the surfing community the money would POUR in to support the creation of more surf breaks.
I agree the most obvious thing we all see is the endless sand pumping. But look a bit deeper at what the Delaware and OCMD Chapters have done just in the past ten years: The Delaware Chapter played a critical role in turning around a surf spot that was about 90% on its way to extinction. Pretty clutch in a state with so few surfing options. That place would be done and gone now if the groin replacement hadn't been done and the DE Chapter fought for it, and took a LOT of heat from the enviros. Thanks to them we now either have a place to surf or a place to b!tch about, depending on the day. Fought for, and got, commitments from the Army Corps of Engineers to consider surfing impacts and use suitable material on this year's beach fill at Indian River Inlet. Time will tell, but the Environmental Assessment for the NSIRI beachfill actually states that impacts on an important surfing area is one of the potential impacts of the project, and steps are being taken in the choice of material to minimize or eliminate long term negative impacts on surfing. Its the first time I've ever seen a beachfill EA mention surfing impacts, and I think the pressure by the Delaware Chapter is the only reason they considered it and wrote it into the EA. The OCMD Chapter got the Inlet designated as a (weekday) surfing only beach about 10 years ago. Man I've scored a lot of fun summer sessions since that spot was opened up. I am convinced the OC Chapter is the ONLY reason City Council ever even thought about doing it in the first place. I think its a pretty decent track record, but yeah they are small victories in a war we are losing.
You're going back in Time, OC & Berlin was once connected until unnamed 1933 Hurricane created the OC Inlet then North/South Jetties erected in 1934 (4 years earlier than IRI Jetties) The North OC Jetty have seen several repairs and extensions over its many years. OC sand long shore drift is north to south so sand migration covered up the jetty so they raised the height and extended its length. Because sand travels north to south OC Inlet interrupted sand flow to AI as IRI interrupted sand travel south to north for northside of IRI. Both OC Inlet & IRI have developed Ebb Shoals from tidal flows of sand from interior of the Inlets that acts as a barrier for sand to re-enter long shore transport. This can be observed from the OC Inlet and IRI on larger swells breaking several hundred yards off shore. Both OC & IRI Jetties are only good for the direction of sand flows while opposite side suffers. I'm sure remember the earlier days when most paddle across the OC Inlet to AI ......................
