Chris Mangum owns Wrightsville Beach Jet Ski Rentals and has been in business almost 25 years. He operates his jet ski rental company at the public boat ramp under the bridge that leads to Wrightsville Beach. In true island fashion, The Town of Wrightsville Beach has threatened him with jail time, citations, and lawsuits. Mangum has had enough and is taking the town of Wrightsville Beach to task.
The harassment began in 2015 when the town came after him for using the public boat ramp to launch his jet skis. They told him he was in violation of the Unified Development Ordinance, and that he was not operating within their zoning regulations. The public boat ramps are owned by the Wildlife Commission and Wrightsville Beach has no jurisdiction. The town continued to hassle Mangum and took him to court over violating the ordinance. They convinced a judge to sign off on a consent order stating that he could not use the ramps to launch his jet skis.
Magnum still uses the ramps and worries about being in contempt of court. He says he must make a living and will do so regardless of how Wrightsville Beach feels about jet skis. He believes he has a right to use the public boat ramps and will not back down. Mangum is confident that he will come out on top in the end and the court will rule in his favor. We hope he wins as well.
The town has come after us surfers for decades, so we weren’t surprised when they targeted Mangum. They want our money but only on their terms and as long we aren’t having fun in their backyard. “It’s absolutely no fun to go to work every single day, during the summer, knowing that you go to jail the following day. That is very stressful, is time consuming,” Mangum said.
For more on this story, check out this piece on WECT.
