A trio of shark sightings near South Beach has pulled swimmers out of the water over the last few days.
Gusty winds blew across the Atlantic ocean Tuesday evening when some 20 Islanders gathered at the left fork of South Beach. A newly restored dune about 14 feet high obscured any view of the ocean from the road.
A major dune restoration project is well under way at Norton Point and South Beach in Edgartown, with tons of trucked-in sand being used to rebuild the badly eroded beachfront.
Extreme high tides and storm surge flooding inundated the south side of the Island on Tuesday, washing over coastal dunes, forcing road closures and eroding oversand trails.
A shark sighting offshore closed South Beach to swimmers Tuesday afternoon. The water was opened again for swimming by 4:20 p.m.
South Beach in Edgartown was closed Wednesday morning after a hammerhead shark was seen swimming in the water near shore. A biplane pilot confirmed the sighting.