Storm Erodes Ocean City Beaches, Creates Good Surfing

By MADDY VITALE A coastal storm Saturday that brought heavy rain and gusty winds churned up surf in Ocean City and eroded some of the beaches in the north end less than a year after a replenishment project. But the stormy weather meant good things for surfers Sunday who reaped the benefit of four-foot waves and lots of them. Surfers fanned out from Fifth Street beach to the 7th Street surfing beach to catch waves in the afternoon. Chad Holtzapfel, of North Wildwood, was visiting a surfing buddy in Ocean City and decided to hit the beach to do some surfing after looking at the forecast. “It’s a pretty good day for surfing in Ocean City,” he said shortly after coming out of the water. “I just got out there about 30 minutes ago. The waves are three and four feet.” He noted that his wetsuit definitely kept him warm and protected him from the 48-degree water temps, but it had its downside. “It’s a pain to paddle in the wetsuit,” he said with a laugh, adding that it is bulky. Surfer Nick Tichaz comes in after some decent surfing at Fifth Street beach. The whole line of beaches from Fifth to 7th Street, and especially Fifth Street, had lost sand that was put there with a renourishment project last year. The project resulted in 1.5 million cubic yards of fresh sand pumped in onto beaches in the north end and the downtown area stretching from the Seaview Road jetty to 14th Street. The project, which began in November of 2022, was completed in time for the spring and summer season and gave visitors expansive beaches. But Mother Nature appears to have taken away much of what was put there a short time ago. And with back-to-back coastal storms recently, the city’s Public Works Department did some sand fortification by pushing sand up toward the dunes. On Sunday, the odd-shaped mounds of sand were smoothed and almost rounded out by erosion from the latest storm. Beach restoration in Ocean City initially was done in 1992 and continues on a three-year cycle under a 50-year agreement between the town and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. Surfer Alex Lamborn sits out the day's surfing, but watches as fellow surfers catch plenty of waves. Alex Lamborn, of Margate, looked out at the surfers from the entrance to the Sixth Street beach. He stood in back of a "Road Closed" sign, which was there to keep people from walking down the pathway, which was badly eroded. “They just put sand down here barely a year ago and the storms are taking it back pretty aggressively,” Lamborn observed. “It’s a shame.” Like others who strolled on the Boardwalk, surfed, or watched the surfers from the shoreline, Lamborn said he was tired of staying indoors after Saturday brought heavy rains and winds. He said he was anxious to get out in the fresh, albeit, chilled air. Lamborn is also a surfer, but he reserves his enjoyment of the sport to the warmer months, he said. “I always come down after storms to watch the surfers," he said. "Ocean City has a very dedicated surfing community.” Surfer Nick Tichaz, an Ocean City native, got out of the water at Fifth Street beach and had just one word to describe the day's surfing. “Fantastic,” he said. Sand piles that are supposed to fortify and protect the dunes show some erosion.