b'C H A P T E R N I N EIn time, the new activity turned routine. At each location, the teams, sighting on the Emery Rod, measure two transects (a transect, says Webster, is a sample area .usually in the form of a long continuous strip) in five-foot increments right down to low water. Explains Jane Harris further, The profile for each transect is completed and site observations, such as location of the wrack line, dry/wet sand interface, and density of dune vegetation, are noted.At first, FCWs participants went out twice during the year; now they go to their posts quarterly, as well as after exceptional storms.Whats the value of their field results? In Mrs. Harriss words, The data is important to the Town for guidance regarding dune and beach nourishment/restoration and for conditions for seawall or revetment construction, and its important to the State for the development of Shoreline Change Maps.Just like the Chatham Water Watchers project, Chatham Beach Watchers, as this newer, volunteer-manned FCW venture is called, costs almost nothing (after initial capital investment), in contrast to the potential expense of having professional surveyors take on the assignment. To start, C. B. W bought plumb bobs, stakes, compasses, and instruction sheets, plus minimal wood for the Emery Rods. Jim 0 ConnelIs office covers the cost of photographing the transects during each profiling outing.Mustached Jim OConnell from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute came to town to orient FCW volunteers on the measuring technique already being used in half a dozen beach-front communities.166'