By Mike Busch
After noticing some new erosion in the vicinity of Bellport Beach from Smith Point last week, my friend Dan Aragona offered to take me over to the beach on his duck boat to get a closer look.
We left Bellport Dock shortly after Sunrise with the bay like a sheet of glass with a thin layer of ice on top.
Our original plan was to first check out the breach at Old Inlet but an extra low and outgoing tide kept us away.
After briefly running aground we made our way to Bellport Beach. I wanted a closer look at the Bellport Pavillion to see how it fared after the recent Winter Storms.
For a little history, the original Pavillion built in 1983 was wiped out by Hurricane Sandy and replaced in 2015 by a new version. More info on the new construction here.
Bellport Pavillion Pre Sandy | Credit Leja Beach Dot Com
New Pavillion | Credit L.I. Advance Nicole Allegrezza
The dunes between Old Inlet have and Watch Hill have been cutting back for several years now as the photos below will show. The biggest change seems to be the dunes to the east of bellport beach have basically disappeared, leaving the ocean clearly visible from about midway on the boardwalk.
While the Bellport Pavillion still looks structurally sound, most of the sand underneath it is gone. Only time will tell how long it can stand exposed to the Ocean in this state.
I also have drone images and footage for a follow up.
More photos on Page 2.
