This email was sent to the Cape Charles Mirror regarding the $1.4 million the town is proposing to spend on a wave attenuator that will supposedly make the harbor safer and calmer.
| I read in the Mirror that the town administration is thinking about putting in a wave attenuator at the harbor, and the cost is over a million dollars, and this is because they think there is too much wave action in the harbor. I keep my boat there and I can tell you there is little or no wave action. Cape Charles is one of the calmest harbors I have ever been in. Did anyone bother to ask the slip holders?
The harbor does not have a wave action problem but has a wake problem from boats entering and leaving too fast. You can see as they make the corner near Bayshore and the wake is already too big, not to mention waterman that go to fast leaving at 5 in the morning. I don’t know who came with this idea but they are probably not boaters and don’t keep a boat in the town harbor. They should use the money for upkeep and much needed upgrades, like better wifi, because it sucks now. The Mirror should look into what the real reason behind all this is. It seems the harbor is always spending money on the wrong things. How much have the breakwaters cost, and they don’t do anything? |
Note: This writer also used to keep a boat in the harbor, and I agree with this email. I never noticed any abnormal amount of wave action. Another boater, who now keeps his boat in Kings Creek Marina, also agreed, and remarked that the town harbor was very calm and protected, and wave action in no way affected his decision to leave there, “If they think the harbor is too rough, maybe it’s time to sell the boat and buy an RV.”
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Unrestrained by the facts the Town embarks on another boondoggle reminiscent of the Library escapade.
Where is the data showing we need an attenuator? Where is the data showing how effective it will be?
I had my boat there. The big problem is the tide differential. They need all floating docks. They need overall maintenance. They need security.
I guess they have a committee of the same people doing the same old thing. We keep electing the same folks. What do you expect?
I have stayed aboard in the harbor also and the only problem I encountered was the commercial watercraft going too fast in the inner harbor .
I agree the harbor is pretty calm and doesn’t need the wave attenuator. Even the tidal range is minor. If you want to see some tidal range try mooring your boat up in Oyster, or anywhere else on the seaside.
I think the problem is this is grant funded so it is seen as free manna falling from the sky. Not sure they realize somebody actually DOES pay for it – all of us that pay taxes.
The harbor needs to enforce no wake zone, not another jetty, wave attenuator etc etc.
Most important; Wifi; truly stinks.
I continue to be amazed that the current jetties were built with no professional engineering consultation, and that it is being proposed that a floating wave attenuator is being proposed with no professional engineering consultation.
As near as I can tell, there has been no quantified evidence that there is a problem, and no quantified evidence of how much a floating wave attenuator would fix the problem.
The taxpayers deserve better.
Dave C,
A “jetty” is a promontory from the land into the water,
and used to trap the littoral drift of sand.
There is only one – built 100+ years ago with railroad
tracks on it to allow Pensy RR executives to dine at the
(existing) rock jetty’s end.
The “breakwaters” along Bay Ave were designed by a PE
in collaboraation with the good folks at VIMS/Gloucester.
The breakwaters at harbor mouth were designed by a
Professional Engineer in Virginia Beach and Cape Charles
Consultant.
Check the Cape Charles town files.
Just because a liberal educated engineer designed it does not make it work. It means he did what his firm was paid to do.
Experts!!!????!!!! Mr. Cowan, they have BETTER……….they have ‘elected officials’!!!!!!!!!
To you Guys who don’t agree the harbor needs a swell attenuator are dead wrong! I’m not sure where your boat is/was, but my boat was one of the first on the new (D) dock and was there for four years. I was on it all times of the year and I’ve seen the dock going up and down so badly you couldn’t walk on them. The boat was heaving up and down so bad the dock lines snapped and wore grooves in the bow fiber glass. Have you ever been on them when the wind blew from the west? How about in the winter when the wind really blows and your boat has salt ice all over the stern because the wave action was so bad it blew spray and water all over the stern and iced up. There was another occasion when a boat on the west side of D, was thrashing so hard it pulled a dock cleat out and crashed into the pier, ripping the dock up. I moved my boat because of the wave action and will not return until the problem has been corrected.
Before passing judgement on this, go over in a west or south west wind and see what you think. Why don’t we have transit boaters coming to Cape Charles? The word is out, the docks are too ruff. I’ve been there and heard weekend boaters complain about the swells coming into the harbor.
We’ve cruised all over the Chesapeake bay and south, Cape Charles has the potential to be one of the great boating destination on the Chesapeake Bay. There is no other marina with such great facilities and so many amenities within walking distance from the marina. Yes, it is expensive, but it’s money well spent; the town has wasted far more on other non essential projects. If Cape Charles is going to get the Harbor back on track, we need the Wave Attenuator to move forward.
I have been there off and on for years and the wake in the harbor is really bad on a south wind (most of the summer). The docks nearest the harbor enterance are dangerous at times. You cant sleep at night and would be better off just anchoring in mobjack bay.