By Michelle Smith

Shoaling at the jetties is changing the Little Wicomico River’s reputation. Once known as a safe harbor for transient boaters seeking shelter from rough weather on the Bay, the river is now becoming viewed as a waterway to avoid. Some boaters are learning that lesson the hard way.

Smith Point Sea Rescue (SPSR) editor Bill Turville described conditions at the jetties as rapidly deteriorating. A number of calls for service last month illustrate the reason why.

On the morning of May 7, Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) called upon SPSR to assist a 47-foot trawler stuck on the sandbar at the mouth of the Little Wicomico River.

An SPSR crew responded with Rescue I and a member’s boat, reporting they found the transient vessel “hard aground on the western end of the jetties as the tide was rapidly falling.”

In an effort that took approximately 1.5 hours, SPSR successfully ungrounded the trawler, and the member’s boat guided the vessel through a very narrow channel and safely back out into the Bay.

In the afternoon on May 21, NCSO dispatched SPSR to assist a 40-foot Leopard power catamaran that had run aground in the jetties at the entrance to the Little Wicomico.

Again, Rescue I, manned with three crew members, was assisted by a member’s skiff used to tow lines. After the catamaran got free, the vessel proceeded toward the marina, but according to the report from SPSR, it grounded again. Rescue I responded, ungrounded the vessel, and escorted it safely into the piers.

That 1.5-hour effort would not be the last contact with the catamaran. Given the earlier incidents, on May 24, the vessel’s captain called upon SPSR to help safely navigate the vessel back through the jetties for its journey to New York City, resulting in an hour-long effort led by Rescue III.

The night after the catamaran’s arrival, SPSR received a call from the Coast Guard to assist a disabled vessel at the mouth of the Potomac River. Rescue I responded from Smith Point Marina, a route that involved exiting through the jetties.

While on the, SPSR was informed that Ridge Fire Boat Four had reached the distressed vessel, one engine was back in service, and the captain of the vessel planned to go to Smith Point Marina.

Turville reported that due to the heavy seas and the shoaling conditions within the jetties, SPSR advised against attempting entry and instead SPSR escorted the vessel to Reedville, diverting approximately 12 miles south.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) has approved $2.6 million for an emergency dredging project, but as the process plays out, conditions in the channel are deteriorating faster than the permitting and dredging process can keep pace, Turville reported.

“This incident is another example of the hazardous conditions in and around the jetties at Smith Point on the Little Wicomico River for both transient and local boaters. While a very small channel may be open at times, the jetties are essentially closed to most larger vessels and transient boaters,” Turville wrote in the report on the May 7 incident.

Meanwhile, the summer boating season is just kicking off and, given the current conditions at the jetties, SPSR— an all-volunteer organization that provides 24/7/365 assistance— looks likely to have busy months ahead.