For those who are wondering what the recent storms have done to Ocean City's beaches, the answer is...not much. The dredge Alaska took a vacation from the beach fill activities in the north end and anchored up in the Longport channel until things calmed down, while the shoreside crews kept surveying and moving the recently pumped sand to achieve a natural beach profile. The wave direction was favorable for once, beating up Atlantic City and leaving Ocean City relatively intact. The city has just announced that to permanently solve the erosion problem of the last several years at the Waverly beach (along E. Atlantic Blvd in the Gardens) they plan to dig down and install a rock wall in place of the recently destroyed geotubes. The rock will then be covered with sand and dune growth encouraged. What many don't know is that there are similar existing structures north and south of where the new rock wall is planned, still buried under the sand. The beach sand pumping has extended so far from Stenton Place north almost to the crossover steps at Surf Road in the Gardens, and some of that sand will be dug into to build the rock wall. At the rate the project is progressing, I will be surprised if the beach at 18th St is finished before May. Nonetheless, get ready now for a great summer and wide open, white sand beaches once more!