The clouds were gray enough to turn seas frothy white. The wind slapped the water with enough force to keep boaters at home. But the Hillsboro Inlet District’s new dredge stood solid as a lighthouse, repelling both waves and, as it turned out, the bottle of champagne intended to christen it.

“Welcome to the dredge christening,” announced Jack Holland Wednesday morning. The chairman of the eight-member inlet special taxing district explained how the stationary dredge transfers sand from where it accumulates and pumps it into a submerged line, sending it to Pompano Beach to continue its drift south.

The old dredge did yeoman’s duty for 35 years. But, he said, it is past its best.

“Every time something broke, there were a lot of parts we couldn’t get so we had to make our own parts,” said Holland, Pompano Beach district representative. “Everything was rusting.”

The $1.8-million replacement, funded through the district’s property tax levy of .086 mills, features people-friendly non-smoke-belching low-pollution engines.

It features stainless steel fittings and water pipes to resist salt-water corrosion.

It has air conditioning for the five-member crew and a meter to measure how much sand goes on Pompano Beach.

“Regulators all want to know how many hundreds of cubic yards of sand are being put on the beach,” Holland said.

With Hillsboro Beach officials and district representatives on hand, Capt. Woodworth Draughon swung the bottle on the string – then swung it again, shattering the glass against the ladder.