ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. -- Accomack County officials are raising concerns about the understaffed status of the Coast Guard Station in Wachapreague. Located between Chincoteague and Cape Charles in rural Virginia, the station's pivotal position is why county leaders would like to see it fully staffed.
Accomack County Administrator, Mike Mason, emphasized the significance of the Wachapreague station.
"That's an 80-mile expanse between those two areas[Chincoteague and Cape Charles], and it's very concerning for us when we learned the US Coast Guard Station in Wachapreague wasn't fully staffed," said Mason.
Mindy Wallace, whose husband is a commercial fisherman, expressed the collective sentiment, stating that the assurance of a fully-staffed station would greatly ease her concerns.
"I would feel ten times better to have somebody there just in case he needed it," said Wallace.
To show the importance of the Wachapreague station, Accomack officials penned a letter to the Coast Guard. In the letter, they acknowledged the workforce shortage challenges faced by the service and requested the Coast Guard to prioritize the full staffing of Station Wachapreague.
Sean Fate, a local resident, also touched on the station's relevance, especially during the bustling summer months when the area experiences increased boat traffic.
"We need that here in Wachapreague, in the summertime, this place is hopping," said Fate. "There's all kinds of boat traffic, you know there's four different boat ramps and three different marinas full of boats and a lot of people travel here," Fate explained.
Officials clarified that their concern is not about the station closing down but rather about elevating its staffing priority. We did reach out to the Coast Guard's Virginia Branch on Friday but did not hear back.
