Dan's Papers - June 15, 2007 - Founding Westhampton Dunes

Have you ever had one of those situations where you were sitting around with some friends talking about some amazing thing that happened to you recently and said to the group, "That would make such an awesome movie?"

Well that is exactly what happened to Yale Nelson, a Westhampton Dunes homeowner who bought his house there in 2000. Mr. Nelson, who has the movie business in his blood and has been making movies for nearly 25 years, recognized the incredible Hamptons story of a community that was completely destroyed and completely revitalized in a manner of years. And so, he decided to go out and do what he does best, make a movie. In doing so, he created a film entitled "Incredible Journey." The 92-minute long documentary describes in great detail the events that lead up to the destruction of a small area of Westhampton, and how it completely bounced back better and more stable then before using some smart law tactics.

The story of the Westhamptons Dunes is a commonly told and amazing Hamptons tale of community spirit. The area was completely destroyed in the Nor'easter of 1992 in part due to the fact of groin field designed to prevent erosion that was never completed in 1960. Back then the groin field idea was a simple one; build groins all the way up the coast to catch the sand as it erodes, thus preserving the beaches and preventing erosion. The idea has worked before and back in the 60s, construction of the groins began. You can see them at Georgica in East Hampton and at Ditch in Montauk to this day.

As the groins started getting built, political pressure forced the construction to stop and what ended up happening was the sand that was supposed to reach Westhampton, wasn't and it was causing an expedited amount of erosion to the area.

After two storms, one in 1992 and one in 1993, the entire area was completely underwater. And residents nearly said goodbye to their Hamptons real estate. Except for one.

According to the legend of Westhampton Dunes, a man named Gary Vegliante, back then a Westhampton resident, got it in his head that he would start a separate village, then declare the area a national disaster, then sue the government for not completing the groin project and bring his property back to the way it was with he as the mayor of the new village. And that's exactly what he did.

After gathering up all the proper paperwork, approximately one square mile of Westhampton became the Village of Westhampton Dunes and a lawsuit was filed. In less then a year, the Army Corps of Engineers went to work once again, only this time, their soul intention was to restore the destroyed, newly formed underwater village that is Westhampton Dunes. And that's exactly what they did.

This incredible story almost doesn't even sound like its possible, and that's where the inspiration to make the documentary by Mr. Nelson came from.

After spending 3 years, Mr. Nelson got the story that he wanted. He interviewed Aram Terchunian, a coastal geologist at the Westhampton Beach firm First Coastal, who explains in detail the erosion and coastal situation that is there. He also interviews residents in the area and has gathered photographs and accounts from Westhampton Dunes Mayor Gary Vegliante. He has made quite the film, with quite the story line and the Hamptons is looking forward to viewing it this October at the Hamptons International Film Festival for a screening.

Although it hasn't been accepted or approved for a screening at HIFF, it would seem odd if it weren't accepted. Yale Nelson has hopes of having his movie shown at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October, so most likely by then you'll be able to check out the documentary.

Until then, you'll just have to head down to Westhampton Dunes yourself and spend a day at the beach knowing that just a little over a decade ago, the Army Corps of Engineers dumped 4 million yards of cubic sand beneath your feet all so you could enjoy that wonderful feeling of scrunching the sand between your toes.