NAGS HEAD, N.C. — Each person walking onto Jennette's Pier on Friday took in the sounds of bulldozers on the beach during the active beach nourishment project that is now in its final stretch. Over the past two months, crews have pumped enough sand on the beach in a 10.5-mile stretch from Bonnett Street south to the town line to last five to six years.
On the other side of the pier, it was hard to miss the return of OBX Skim Jam. This year it's looking a little different alongside the massive dredge pipes covered with sand as the beach nourishment project continues. Co-host Wendy Caputo said that wasn't going to stop this year's event.
"The town recognizes the value we bring. So we came together and brought a solution to overcome some of this with the beach replenishment. It's behind schedule, which has impacted us, but we overcame it," said Caputo.
The year-in and year-out support from neighbors here on the Outer Banks for the event is what helps keep this event going no matter what the situation is.
"I think that's what gives us the motivation to persevere and to find solutions and you know to create an opportunity," said Caputo.
A positive is that Nags Head Public Information Officer Roberta Thuman tells News 3 that by this weekend, crews should be all done with the sand pumping operations.
"Hopefully by this weekend they'll be finishing the project up, or at least the beach filling operations up just north of Jennette's Pier and just south of our Glidden Street beach access," said Thuman.
Thuman said the town understands that this has been a long and maybe inconvenient process. But having 2.4 million cubic yards of sand on this stretch of beach is crucial to its future.
"It feels great knowing that we have the level of protection we need for at least five to six years. It's the best way to protect our town and its main industry: tourism," said Thuman.
Thuman also talked about the sand quality and loss of pumped sand that beachgoers might be curious about.
"After it is pumped right onto the beach it's darker, but it matches our native sand perfectly, and it's designed to slough off the beach. About two thirds of it is designed to slough off the visible beach, so it can build up a protective underwater natural slope," said Thuman.
It's all an important process that town leaders, neighbors and visitors will be thankful to see come to a close. The next step is to install sand fencing and vegetation to protect some of the dunes that were built in areas like South Nags Head.
Though this project is coming to a close, the OBX Skim Jam is just kicking off.
"Everything's turned out fantastic. We're thrilled. We have 150 competitors from all over the world and all over the country," said Caputo.
OBX Skim Jam will be going on Friday through Sunday at Jennette's Pier and for more information you can head to the event website here. A livestream is also available for anyone to watch on YouTube here.
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