There were plenty of tickets for violations and a handful of lifeguard rescues, but overall, Memorial Day weekend celebrations at Wrightsville Beach largely went smoothly this past weekend, town officials said.
“It went as well as could be,” said Tim Owens, Wrightsville Beach town manager.
The threat of Tropical Storm Bonnie, which formed Saturday off of the South Carolina coast, may have kept some crowds away, Owens said, but there were still cars lined up for parking Saturday morning. The storm was downgraded Sunday morning, and except for a few showers, most of the threat of rain never materialized.
The storm’s impact created rough local surf conditions, as the lifeguards flew red flags from their stands each weekend day, indicating a high risk of large surf and powerful currents. Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue Capt. Jeremy Owens said Saturday, “We definitely have surf out there — in the 3- to 4-foot range.”
The most serious lifeguarding incident occurred Sunday, when WBOR responded to a 50-year-old man who was injured playing in the surf near Shell Island Resort at 3:20 p.m. The man was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, and was conscious and breathing when EMS transported him, Owens reported.
The town’s lifeguards responded Saturday to a handful of issues and made two rescues,while also responding to three missing children, two active victim rescues and three minor medical issues.
“We were very preventative, keeping people out of the water,” Owens said. He added that a high tide in the middle of the day mitigated the risk of rip currents slightly.
“The rips weren’t pulling as hard as they would if it were low tide in the middle of the day,” he said.
Meanwhile, park ranger Shannon Slocum patrolled the beach, enforcing the town’s rules, but said, “Everyone’s been behaving fairly decent.”
He and police cited people for typical violations like open containers of alcohol and glass on the beach, but while they were busy, he said, they didn’t deal with any major problems.
Going into the weekend, AAA Carolinas predicted more North and South Carolina motorists traveling than ever before, spurred by the lowest gas prices in more than a decade.
“That’s encouraging for us,” said Connie Nelson, New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority communications director. “Because we’re primarily a drive-in destination … most of our leisure travelers are drive-in.”
AAA Carolinas’ website estimated 1.051 million North Carolina and 485,400 South Carolina motorists would travel Memorial Day weekend, the highest travel volume on record.
New Hanover County room occupancy tax collections, which are one measure of local tourism, are up for the first part of 2016, Nelson said.
Travel and tourism in the age of the internet is harder to predict, she said, because in-state tourists especially tend to make last-minute travel plans online. Still, she said, “We feel like we’re on track for another record year.”
Staff writer Emmy Errante contributed to this report.
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