More boaters are getting stuck navigating Mason Inlet and the problem could become worse soon, according to a local tow boat service.
The dredging that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted two years ago in the inlet has run its course, said Scott Collins, of Sea Tow Wrightsville Beach, and now boats are beginning to run aground more frequently there.
“It’s come full circle, it needs to be dredged again,” Scott said.
While there’s been an uptick in “grounders,” keeping the tow service busy, he said he expects more to be on the way, especially as more transient boaters make their way through Wrightsville Beach.
“If they’re not familiar with the area, they can run aground pretty easily. Sometimes it can be dangerous and eject the boaters,” he said. “People can get hurt.”
Dredging behind Figure Eight Island is allowing more water through the inlet, which is also creating more shoaling in the area.
Last year, New Hanover County helped fund a 3.6 million project to correct the southward migration of Mason Inlet, which separates Wrightsville Beach from Figure Eight Island. The project, which began in January 2016, pushed the inlet north.
In the late 1990s, the inlet’s southern migration required a wall of sandbags to protecting Shell Island Resort. In 2002, to help preserve the hotel and nearby residences, the inlet was moved 3,000 feet to the north.
Collins said that since then, the inlet has been a cautious body of water for boaters to navigate.
“Whenever you change something with mother nature, you have to accommodate,” Collins said. “If you proceed with caution and slow down, you should be okay.”
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