OCEAN CITY, MD - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been called in to dredge Ocean City’s inlet ahead of the White Marlin Open in August. This dredging project is set to happen during the third week of July.
Dredging the inlet is an annual occurrence, which already happened once this year. The process is usually done with a hydraulic dredge, but the Director for Environmental Programs, Bob Mitchell, says that dredge is in the shop.
“That vessel is in dry-dock, probably until August or September,” said Mitchell. “The commissioners in May, realizing this knowledge, put in an emergency request to have something else done.”
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the dredge coming in for this project will be borrowed from Wilmington, NC. It will side-cast materials about eighty-five feet. Worcester County officials expect that part of the inlet will be roped off during the eight day project, so that boaters are not in the line of fire.
Having the inlet clear will open the door for the White Marlin Open, an event that brings millions of dollars to the community annually.
Boaters say the project is necessary and ends up saving them money and protecting their boats. The White Marlin Open is also an event that this community looks forward to.
"Hopefully they have it done before the White Marlin Open and we can get our good travel boats,” said boat captain Chris Watkowski. “The White Marlin Open is like Christmas week for us. We get to see all our friends and family who haven't been here since the last tournament, so it will be good for us."