A powerful spring storm that inundated the entire East Coast

pounded the Vineyard south shore with heavy seas this week, marrying

with extreme tides to carve a substantial breach through Norton Point

Beach at Katama at the extreme southeastern end of Edgartown.

The event leaves Chappaquiddick a true island for the first time

in more than a quarter-century.

The forces which punched a hole in Norton Point and opened Edgartown
harbor to the Atlantic Ocean might present a headache for town
officials, but from an ecological viewpoint, they have all the benefits
of a big natural spring cleaning.

Mariners beware. Tides and currents have changed dramatically in Edgartown harbor since the breach of Norton Point beach in April and the federal government has no plans to establish new tide or current tables soon. The power of the current in Edgartown Harbor is not only three times faster at Chappaquiddick Point, nobody yet knows with certainty when high or low tide takes place.

In its management of Norton Point Beach, which is owned by Dukes County, the Trustees of Reservations produced a net surplus of $16,785 in the last fiscal year.

The county will receive more than $3,000 of that money through an agreement with the conservation group. Two years ago, the county enlisted the help of the Trustees to manage Norton Point beach with an agreement that the county would receive 20 per cent of what the group earned at the public beach.

First there was one opening and now there are two at Norton Point Beach.

The second, closer to the Chappaquiddick side, occurred on the weekend of March 8 and 9 during the height of a windy storm.

Between the two openings, there is a 150-yard little island. It already has the name Charlie’s Island.

“You’ve heard of Gilligan’s Island. This is Charlie’s Island,” said Chris Kennedy of The Trustees of Reservations.

All of Norton Point Beach, on the Edgartown side, has been reopened for oversand vehicle access, The Trustees of Reservations announced Saturday. The piping plover chicks which had been using the eastern end of the beach for feeding have successfully fledged, so under state shorebird guidelines vehicle access is allowed again to this beach.

The Edgartown side of Norton Point Beach stretches for two miles from Left Fork to the Breach in Norton Point.

Swimming in the breach on either the Chappaquiddick or Edgartown side remains strictly prohibited.

The Norton Point Beach breach may close as early as this year, an event that would bring to an end a dramatic, five-year phenomenon that has eaten away large chunks of the southeastern corner of Chappaquiddick, according to a top regional expert in coastal erosion.

With growing evidence the Norton Point breach is appearing to close — lessening the current running through the harbor—there is buzz on the waterfront that the summer ahead will be easier for a lot of visiting boaters, particularly the local fleet of day sailboats.