[Rhodes22-list] Fw: GEORGIA ICW IN DANGER OF CLOSURE

[Peter Thorn]

Rhodies,

Sorry about the length of this forwarded message, but it seems important to
spread the word.  Evidently our federal government has decided to go limp on
ICW dredging funding.  I hope this helps Stan sell more shoal draft R22s.
Looks bad for cruising snowbirds though.

PT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Claiborne Young" <opcom at cruisingguide.com>
To: <pthorn at nc.rr.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 2:29 PM
Subject: GEORGIA ICW IN DANGER OF CLOSURE


> Salty Southeast Supplement
> 5/4/06
>
> ALERT!     ALERT!     ALERT!     ALERT!     ALERT!
>
> POSSIBLE GEORGIA ICW CLOSURE AT HELLS GATE
>
> Good Morning Fellow Cruisers:
>
> This is one of the most important Salty Southeast supplements in many
years. Even though it is rather lengthy, may I be so bold as to respectfully
ask everyone on this mailing list to read this message from first to last.
The importance of its contents will soon become apparent.
>
> Anyone who has been keeping up with the cruising news on the Salty
Southeast Cruiser's Net knows about the problems on the Georgia portion of
the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. There has been NO dredging on the
Georgia Waterway WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS! Just look at the dozens of
messages from fellow cruisers on the "SC and Georgia" page of the Salty
Southeast Cruiser's Net (http://www.CruisersNet.net), and you will see what
this total lack of Waterway maintenance has wrought. The picture in't
pretty!
>
> Then, on Monday morning of this week, my blood ran cold when I received
the following e-mail:
>
> Thanks for all of your help to the cruising community. I was told today by
the Corp of Eng. in Savannah that the Coast Guard had notified them that in
30 days they were going to remove all markings in Hell's Gate. They do not
want to be responsible for marking a channel that is not there and that is
not going to be dredged.
> This will in effect close GA to cruisers. I spoke with Rosemary Lynch of
the AIWA this morning and hope to get this news out to everyone asap. There
should be an outrage.
> Jim Bulluck
>
> I immediately telephoned Jim, and learned that his information comes from
a confidential, but fully reliable source. There followed several
conversations between myself and Rosemary Lynch, Executive Director of the
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association. She telephoned three USCG
officials and was told that, yes, the markers were going to be removed.
However, and here's a little good news, as of this morning, May 4, Rosemary
has learned that there has already been enough noise created such that the
USCG will at least temporarily move and add to the markers on Hell's Gate,
rather than remove them. While this news is certainly welcome, it is, at
best, a "band-aid" on the problem. If Hells Gate and other problem stretches
of the Georgia Waterway are not dredged soon, make that VERY soon, this
situation could go beyond recall.
>
> For the last five years, both I and many others, have tried to get the
word out about what a closure of the Atlantic ICW would really mean. I think
the problem in understanding this concept lies in the fact that the Waterway
has been with us our entire lives. It was constructed in the 1930's and the
vast majority of we cruisers were born a bit later than that. So, it's one
thing to say that the Waterway may be closed, but its an entirely different
matter to come to grips with the very real impact of an ICW closure.
>
> And, let me tell you what it will mean. The semi-annual snowbird migration
of cruising craft along the Atlantic ICW will be dramatically disrupted.
Cruising and boating in the Southeastern USA will be fundamentally changed
forever. All cruisers, marina owners, repair yard owners, coastal property
developers and anyone else who makes their livelihood from any part of the
marine industry needs to think on that for a few very long moments. And, if
that's not enough, just take a stroll out to the Beaufort, SC, Georgetown,
SC or Beaufort, NC waterfronts this weekend. Look at the dozens and dozens
of cruising craft docked and anchored there. Ask yourself how many dollars
these Waterway travelers are spending on dockage, boat repair, dining,
shoreside accommodations, and by way of more other avenues of commerce than
I can began to count. The bottom line is the economies of all coastal
regions from North Carolina to Key West will be dramatically impacted if the
ICW path is cut!
>
> Florida is not safe either, even though the Sunshine State has the Florida
Inland Navigational district, a semi-independent arm of the State government
with property taxing authority, which often dredges where the "Fed boys" do
not. If the snowbird migration is no more, can you imagine the impact it
will have on exactly the same businesses as those described above in the
Carolinas and Georgia. I can just see Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale only half
filled during the winter months, or Conch Harbor in Key West with multiple
empty spaces. Again, the economic impact on not only the marine industry,
but on many aspects of Floridian coastal commerce will be dramatic!
>
> And, consider this! If the ICW is closed at Hell's Gate (south of Savannah
and Isle of Hope), there is no good "way around" this problem stretch for
cruisers. Those of you who have read the notes on the Salty SE Cruiser's Net
know there is a seaward route around Hells Gate, but as a later posting on
the Net makes clear, this passage is lengthy, largely unmarked and difficult
at best for first timers. Let's also ponder on the fact that moving south
from Hells Gate, the nearest all-weather capable inlet is the St. Johns
River in Florida. To the north, the nearest all-weather capable inlet is the
Savannah River. I think I'm safe in saying that a majority of snowbirds will
be very uncomfortable going offshore from Savannah River to the St. Johns
River. Many just plain won't do it, so you can say goodbye to the spring and
fall transient seasons!
>
> Well, at this point, you may be asking, "why are we having this problem?"
The short and simple answer is that beginning in 2002 (possibly earlier),
the decision was made in Washington to begin allocating Federal waterway
maintenance funds based on an 1890's formula, which ONLY takes commercial
tonnage into account. This plan of action blithely ignores the hard and fast
fact that at least since the 1970's, the real economic impact of the
Waterway has been through the auspices of people like you and me, or, if you
will, the cruising community.
>
> During the intervening years, the Carolinas have been lucky enough to have
courageous members of  their congressional delegations, from BOTH parties
mind you, who have fought the system and been successful in securing just
enough monies to keep the Waterway open. The cruising community owes huge
debts of gratitude to people like North Carolina US Senator Richard Burr and
North Carolina US House member Mike McIntyre. South Carolina has been
similarly lucky. However, no member of the Georgia congressional delegation
has taken an interest in the Waterway and five years of no dredging is the
catastrophic result!
>
> We need to change that NOW. Below, Rosemary provides the web sites of both
Georgia's US Senators and two key Georgia US House of Representative
members. Everyone in the cruising community needs to e-mail these public
servants. E-mail them more than once if you can. HOWEVER, for those of you
on this list who are citizens of the state of Georgia, your actions are KEY.
May I suggest that you e-mail everyone on Rosemary's list as often as you
possibly can, particularly Rep. Jack Kingston (see below).
>
> Those who are members of US Power Squadrons, PLEASE put a notice about
this problem, complete with the e-mail addresses below, in your squadron
newsletter. Similarly, those cruisers on this list who are members of yacht
clubs, PLEASE let your fellow members know about these alarming
developments, and what can be done. And, if you are a member of MTOA and/or
the AGLCA, PLEASE put urgent messages on your mailing lists and link-lists.
We ALL need to be involved in this effort if we are going to save the
Waterway!
>
> Finally, and I hope that everyone in the cruising community will
appreciate that I'm going out on a bit of a limb to pass along this
information. I have been told by very reliable sources, all of which I've
pledged to keep strictly confidential, that the real problem in all this
Georgia mess is Rep. Jack Kingston. One of my sources who has talked
directly with Mr. Kingston states that he "doesn't think the Waterway is an
important issue," and "has not heard from many of his constituents about
it." That MUST change if this situation is to improve. So, again, everyone,
but particularly Georgia citizens, need to e-mail Rep. Kingston, again,
again and again!
>
> Thank you one and all for putting up with the length of this missive. I
know it's been long, but I hope you will agree that some important things
needed to be said. PLEASE forward this e-mail to EVERYONE you know in the
cruising community. I'm also posting a link to this message on both the
Salty Southeast Cruiser's Net (http://www.CruisersNet.net) and my primary
web site, http://www.CruisingGuide.com. You may also direct your cruising
friends to these locations.
>
> Working together, I know we can solve this problem, just like we did in
2004 in North Carolina (at the ICW - Lockwoods Folly Inlet intersection).
Please let me hear from you, but more importantly, get those e-mails off to
the Georgia Congressional Delegation without delay!
>
> Good luck and good cruising to all!
>
> Claiborne Young
> Watermark Publishing
> opcom at cruisingguide.com
> http://www.CruisingGuide.com
> http://www.CruisersNet.net
>
>
> From Rosemary Lynch, Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association
>
> Senator Saxby Chambliss - http://chambliss.senate.gov/
> Senator Johnny Isakson - http://isakson.senate.gov/
> GA-12 Congressman John Barrow - http://barrow.house.gov
> GA - 1 Congressman Jack Kingston - http://www.house.gov/kingston
>
> The most important thing you can do to help save the waterway is to
communicate frequently with your elected representative. Below are links to
Members in the House and Senate. Because of the volume of mail that they
receive daily, Members of Congress will only accept correspondence from
their own constituents. Even though you may live in a state other than one
of the five on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, don't hesitate to contact
your elected representative. He or she can still be a voice for the
waterway. For example, the Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations
subcommittee, which is responsible for designating funds for the AIWW, is
from Ohio and extremely important to us. I recommend using email or fax to
send your message because security procedures can delay mail sent through
the postal service.
> Address your letters to Dear Congressman _______: or Dear Senator
________:
> Be brief and specific about what you are asking them to do. Be sure to
provide your contact information and don't forget to thank them for their
help.
>
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