When a northeast storm cut a new opening through a barrier
beach in the Cape Cod community of Chatham, Mass., in April
2007, owners of seasonal cottages on the narrow strip of sand
were dismayed but not surprised: North Beach, as it's locally
known, is in a continuous — and sometimes dramatic
— state of flux. In 1987, a similar cut two miles to the
south left a previously protected expanse of the bay shore
exposed to the full force of ocean storms; 10 year-round
mainland homes were destroyed as a result.
By the spring of 2008, the expanding cut — nibbling
its way from right to left in this aerial shot — had
already claimed nine cottages and was only days from finishing
off the last survivors. Most were moved to relative safety
several hundred yards to the north, but the second structure
from the right, partially buried in sand by a winter storm, was
deemed too far gone to save.
Despite hopeful predictions that the 2007 cut would fill in
over time, it grew steadily wider and deeper through the summer
and fall. By late winter, it had swallowed up two structures
and forced the teardown of seven others. But in March of this
year, Chatham attorney William Hammatt — who owns the
northernmost and best-protected cottage on the beach —
invited the owners of the five cottages nearest the
still-growing cut to move them onto his six-acre property. With
the help of a local house mover and the cooperation of the town
building department, the final transfer was completed just
before April 1, when the area closes down to motorized vehicles
to protect nesting shorebirds.
A camp owned by Chatham resident John Kelley awaits its
last-minute dash to safety. Owners of the relocated structures,
which were moved under emergency permits granted by the town,
will have one year to work out permanent siting arrangements
with the local conservation commission.
Ultimately, Hammatt hopes to develop long-term lease
arrangements with his neighbors — though he's well aware
that the wind and waves will have the last word on what
"long-term" really means. "I had a camp south of here that
washed away in the No-Name Storm in 1991," he says. (That event
— also called the Halloween Storm — is best known
to the general public through the book and movie The Perfect
Storm.) "There's nothing to indicate that this place won't be
here for a while. But you just don't know." — Jon
Vara