February 7th, 2023 –
Tybee Island resident Joseph Yerchik was lounging on the north end beach near Polk Street when he heard his niece utter a profane expletive.
When Yerchick turned around, his niece was already running up the shore. Then came the “smack” of a giant wave.
“I was tumbling around in the water. It was a shock,” Yerchick recounts the incident from 2022.
Frequent north end beachgoers are familiar with the violent currents and waves caused by the wake of passing cargo ships. What many call “mini tsunamis,” the waves are caused by Port of Savannah-bound vessels entering and leaving the Savannah River channel north of the island.