The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) are working to address a manatee unusual mortality event (UME) along Florida’s Atlantic coast.
FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coordinate to protect manatees
FWC
The saga of the transport Golden Ray, with its incredible photography in which cars looked like bugs pouring out of a hive, has finally come to a close. The Golden Ray went aground and partially capsized in Georgia’s St. Simons Sound on September 7, 2019. With numerous delays, the wreck of the capsized PCTC has taken more than two years to remove from St. Simons Sound. See Heavy Lift Barge Departs. Note: if you missed them, the earlier extraordinary photos can be accessed by typing “golden ray” in the search window of our Homepage.
Oil leaking from the Golden Ray in the summer of 2021 (St. Simons Sound Incident response photos)
Georgia Proposed $3 Million Pollution Fine for Golden Ray’s Operators
Maritime Executive
Key Lime Sailing Club, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, always has very special offers for their visitors! Key Lime Sailing Club is a unique slice of KEYS ENJOYMENT…give it a try and let us hear about your experience.
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Oriental is home to longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Oriental Marina and Inn, lying on the eastern banks of inner Oriental Harbor. See Praise for Oriental Marina for a recent review from a fellow cruiser.
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s North Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Oriental Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Oriental Marina
Whether by Virginia Cut or Dismal Swamp Canal, your Waterway navigation isn’t complete without experiencing the Alligator River Bridge at the foot of your Albemarle Sound crossing. Lots of good memories evoked by just the mention of Alligator River Bridge which is noted for being unable to open in high winds or dense fog. Kudos to the patient bridge tenders, like Mike Myers, who tactfully answer thousands of questions from anxious boaters.
Myers keeps watch over Alligator River Bridge | Tyrrell | dailyadvance.com
The Daily Advance
AREA SPONSORING MARINA
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Edenton Harbor City Docks
A fun photo collection of Palm Beach parades from years past.
Boat parades in South Florida: Boats with holiday light decor sail on – Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach Post
NOAA’s Ocean Today Harvest Season Special – THE FUTURE OF OCEAN FARMING video collection
National Ocean Service.
| Learn how sustainable practices are helping to grow healthy seafood and support a clean ocean. |
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New Bern Grand Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, lies in the heart of downtown New Bern, North Carolina, along Trent River’s northern banks between Trent River highway and railroad bridges.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of New Bern Grand Marina
The Florida fishing village known as Cortez has long been populated by folks with surnames that have for even longer been associated with the Bogue Sound area of North Carolina.
Fishermen and net reel, Cortez, Florida, 1920. Burns, Julian and John Taylor, the three on the left, were all from Carteret County. John Taylor first homesteaded on Longboat Key, then came to Cortez. Julian is remembered for his leadership in starting the Cortez Volunteer Fire Department. Photo: Courtesy of Manatee County Public Library
Mullet fishermen: A journey from Carteret County to Florida
CoastalReview.org
The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center is located adjacent to the Dismal Swamp State Park, offering trails, exhibits and ongoing programs in Camden County, NC. Docks are provided by the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR and a NC DOT Rest Area facility. See Fall Update.
Good Morning!
Attached is a Notice to Navigation Interest received from the US ACOE, Norfolk District. The locks at Deep Creek and South Mills will only be operated at 9 am and 3 pm, beginning Dec. 6 through Dec. 10. Lock operating hours are being reduced from 4 to 2 per day during this period due to diving operations.
See Openings, Deep Creek and South Mills Locks.
We’ve had a busy October and start to November, with lots of beautiful fall colors showing off along the canal.
We are aware of some patchy duckweed near the South Mills drawbridge & lock as well as outside of the canal, going south.
We’ll keep you updated as we learn more!
Sarah
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| Sarah Hill, TMP Director, Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome CenterChairperson, Camden County Tourism Development Authority 2356 US Hwy 17 North, South Mills, NC 27976
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These upgrades are certain to affect navigation at times. Check Cruisers Net Current Local Notices to Mariners for Notices when plotting your float plan. With a closed vertical clearance of 20ft, the Wrightsville Beach Bascule Bridge crosses the AICW at Statute Mile 283, southwest of marker #125.
Wrightsville Beach bridge to undergo yearlong facelift
CoastalReview.org
Click Here To View the Cruisers Net North Carolina Bridge Directory Listing For SR 74 Bridge
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of SR 74 Bridge
Please clarify whether this construction affects the C. Heide Trask Memorial Bridge (opening bridge commonly known as the Wrightsville Beach Bridge). It only mentions the fixed portion of the Wrightsville Beach Bridge spanning Banks Channel and shouldn’t affect most Cruisers due to the fixed height at under 8 feet.
Gulfport Municipal Marina, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, and the City of Gulfport always have a full calendar of events for all ages. The marina and harbor, found on the northern shores of Boca Ciega Bay, are easily accessible from the Western Florida ICW, just north of Tampa Bay.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Gulfport Municipal Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Gulfport Anchorage/Mooring Field
Jim Healy is an experienced cruiser of US coastal waters and a frequent contributor to Cruisers Net. Jim’s well thought-out perspective on the manatee issue in Florida came as added comments on Florida’s Manatees are Dying of Starvation and are reposted here in case you missed them.
This is going to be a very difficult and complex – and hopefully science-based – discussion over the next few years. Manatee are not native to Florida; they are an invasive, if cute and cuddly, species. The “Save the Manatee” political forces in Florida have made them into a cultural icon. And, those forces have been very successful at promoting Manatee welfare. All good. Now it’s time to ask, though, “perhaps, too successful?” In many areas, waterfront landowners with a vested interest in boat speed limitations on local waters found a willing partner with the Manatee welfare society forces to promote speed limiting policies.
But in places like Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon, and around power plants all across the state, and other places, too, a not unreasonable question to ask is, “do we have more non-native Manatee now than the area could ever support “naturally,” and are they dying of starvation because the carrying capacity of their adopted habitat is over-populated?” This will not be a popular question, and I will not be popular for asking it. But the fact is, the geological makeup and natural character of these large East Coast Florida lagoons do not have much natural drainage, and their waters are not naturally self-cleansing and self-refreshing. Heavy industry (including NASA) and ENORMOUS regional population growth have undoubtedly contributed to pollutions in these waters of poor natural circulation and refreshment.
Society is going to have to do some really serious evaluation and balancing of conflicting needs as this one goes forward. And, society is going to have to make some really difficult choices, too. Ain’t no pet interests gonna get outta this one without scrapes and bruises. I wonder, for example, how many septic systems drain into Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon in the dozens of municipal blocks that neighbor those waters? It’ll take a couple of generations (of humans) to get just that detail cleaned up. And millions of $$$$. And the bureaucracy! Oh, the bureaucracy that will be created! Because this problem does NOT feel like a one-size-fits-all solution will meet the needs all across the state of Florida.
A truly confounding problem, to be sure. I hope we’re up to it as a society.
Jim Healy
Monk 36 Hull #132
US Fish and Wildlife says manatees are native to Florida.
https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/manatee/manatee-native-facts.htm
But I agree with most of what you say. This is a complex problem which impacts many other goals. Unfortunately everything is political these days and simple minded policies usually prevail over well thought out policies.
With commercial airlines limiting and cancelling flights, Makers
Air is continuing to schedule flights with every safety precaution in mind. Growing from its initial operations servicing Staniel Cay, Makers Air is today’s premier air service to and from the Out Islands of the Bahamas. Staniel Cay Yacht Club, a longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, is a favorite destination for cruisers in the Exumas.
Click here for Updates, Deals, and Dreams with Makers Air
A longtime CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, historic Edenton always has an exciting calendar of events! Edenton is at the mouth of the Chowan River on the northwest shore of Albemarle Sound.
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Click Here To Open A Chart View Window Zoomed To the Location of Edenton Harbor City Docks
Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans, who are people who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
Migratory fish have long played a significant role in the recreational and commercial fisheries that contribute to the economy of North Carolina and their value was recognized long before European settlement, but overfishing has taken a toll in more recent time.
Recognition of migratory fish’s value predates colonization
CoastalReview.org
North Carolina has a history of leading. Yet they are lagging behind our fellow states when it comes to combating a growing problem that affects North Carolina intimately: plastic pollution.
Plastic debris breaks apart, not down, into microplastics, which are pieces 5 millimeters or smaller. Photo: NOAA
Leadership, action needed to reduce plastic pollution
CoastalReview.org
Our thanks to Ted Ariska for posting this article in Save South Carolina’s Anchorages.
Boats are being abandoned on SC’s shores. Why? And what’s being done about them?
Island Packet
The problem is NOT owners abandoning their boats. The problem is typical government bureaucracy unable to take charge, FINE the most recent owners of these boats AND make THEM pay for removal. Just complaining about abandoned boats does not effect a solution.
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