Cruisers' Net | Cruisers Helping Cruisers

Sep 19, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Founders Park and Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina Closed, Islamorada, FL
FOUNDERS PARK AND PLANTATION YACHT HARBOR MARINA ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
DECEMBER REOPENING PLANNED

Founders Park (MM 87 bayside in Islamorada) is being utilized for Florida Keys Electric Cooperative repair crews and as a staging site for vegetative debris from Hurricane Irma being picked up from neighborhoods and properties in the Village. It is not safe to use any Founders Park facilities and the park is completely closed to the public.
Given the time it will take to collect, grind and remove the massive amount of debris from neighborhoods and properties throughout the Village, it is anticipated that reopening of Founders Park will not occur until December 2017. The pool will be covered to protect it from the effects of the debris grinding.
All events scheduled to be held at Founders Park will be cancelled or relocated to a different venue.
The Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina, including the boat ramp and fuel dock, will also be closed for public use during the time Founders Park is closed. Long-term Marina residents may continue to reside at the marina, but no new reservations will be made.
The Village Council and Village staff are aware of the importance of Founders Park to the community and will strive to resume operations as quickly as possible.
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Sep 18, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Okeechobee Crossing – post Irma
Our thanks to AGLCA member, Gary Reed, for sharing his Forum report, which, by in large, is good news for cruisers needing to make the coast to coast run.
We came across (west to east) this past Thursday and Friday (September 14th and 15th). No major issues at all. All locks operational as well as bridges. Some were still on generator with one only able to raise one span at a time. All operating on normal schedule. (Note, we drove from St. Lucie to Cape Coral on Wednesday, 13th, the amount of water in the area was astonishing as well as the significant downed power lines.)
Debris in the water was mostly ‘soft’ (leaves, vegetation, etc.) … some rather large mats but easily avoidable. We only had to run through one large mat shore to shore. Surprisingly, we saw virtually no deadheads, remnants of docks or piers, etc. A couple of the locks had some debris either on the upper gate on the western side or in the lock itself. We limited thrusters in these locks for obvious reasons and sprung off the stern line.
The runoff into the waterway on both sides of Lake O was significant at some of the inlet spillways (not lock spillways but drainage into the waterway). Several moved the boat around quite significantly and unexpectedly until we began looking for them.
Gary Reed
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Sep 18, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Bahamas Chatter: Bimini Sands Marina to reopen on September 21st
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

Bahamas Chatter: Bimini Sands Marina to reopen on September 21st
Bimini Sands Marina to reopen on September 21st

Posted: 17 Sep 2017 04:39 AM PDT
Bimini Sands Resort and Marina today announced that their property, located on South Bimini in The Bahamas, has emerged from Hurricane Irma without significant structural damage and is slated to reopen its doors to guests on Thursday, September 21, 2017.
“We couldn’t be happier to report that Bimini Sands has weathered the storm and we’ll be ready to welcome our friends and loyal guests back to their home away from home very soon,” said Brad G. Michael, Bimini Sands’ Resort Coordinator. “I am grateful to our dedicated and hardworking team, who have been working around the clock to ensure our resort and marina are back up and running as soon as possible.”
Bimini Sands is already making ice, has gasoline and diesel. The fact that the property suffered only minor damage to gutters, power slips on the docks and a few satellite dishes, can be attributed to its prime location, which is heavily protected by the island’s native mangroves.
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Sep 16, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Bahamas Chatter: Irma Update for Ragged Island
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: Irma Update for Ragged Island
Irma Update for Ragged Island
Posted: 14 Sep 2017 03:44 PM PDT
Ragged Island was devastated by Hurricane Irma. Apparently, the seven people who were not evacuated from the island survived, but the town itself has been deemed “uninhabitable” by government authorities. Most of the buildings are leveled, except for the Silvertail Lodge and a few others, and no government structures were left standing. The oil depot at Gun Point was also wiped out. The folks that survived the hurricane have also left the island. This is sad news for the many cruising boats that visit the Ragged Islands during the winter season. There will be none of the already limited facilities available. Boats cruising to the Ragged Islands are truly on their own.
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Sep 15, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments 36.505,-76.35519999
Dismal Swamp Canal Opening Delayed until End of October, South Mills, NC, AICW Alternate Route

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The Dismal Swamp Canal has been closed to navigation since Hurricane Matthew and now Irma. This delay will certainly disappoint many cruisers in the annual Fall Migration. Dredge work to remove shoaling will continue and, hopefully, the Canal will reopen as stated below. The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center has remained open to highway travelers and the Dismal Swamp State Park, a part of the NC State Park System and A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, is also open and their programs are ongoing. See /166410.
News below, regarding our reopening of the historic Dismal Swamp Canal. Unfortunately, there will be a delay. We will advise you of information as it is released. Of course, we are disappointed and realize there are many needs in many areas right now and our thoughts are with them. We look forward to seeing our boaters when the canal can reopen.
Donna Stewart, Director
Dismal Swamp Welcome Center
2356 US Hwy 17N
South Mills, NC 27976
Phone – 252-771-8333
www.DismalSwampWelcomeCenter.com
Bird, Bike, Hike…..take in the sights!
All e-mails sent from this computer are subject to the Public Records Law and the information contained therein is a public record.
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 3:56 AM
To: Solan, Kerry L CIV USARMY CENAO (US)
Subject: Officials to delay opening Dismal Swamp Canal until end of October
NORFOLK, Va. – Officials at the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have delayed reopening the Dismal Swamp Canal until late October.
“Recent weather events have delayed progress, and the latest condition survey of Turners Cut showed that additional dredging was needed,” said Keith Lockwood, Norfolk District Operations Branch chief.
In August, the Norfolk District announced the canal would re-open at the end of September.
Officials closed the canal in October 2016 after Hurricane Matthew toppled more than 350 trees into the waterway, and sediment – washed into the canal from rain and flooding – created extensive shoaling along the 22 miles of the canal, the Deep Creek Channel and Turners Cut Channel. Since then, crews have cleared trees and dredged the canal, which, in places, was at a depth of 1 foot.
“In the history of the canal, we’ve never had this issue, and we’re using every available resource to make the canal safe again for vessels,” said Joel Scussel, Norfolk District Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway project manager.
Kerry L. Solan
Public Affairs
Norfolk District, USACE
Desk 757-201-7258
Cell 757-377-0040
Click Here To View the North Carolina Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For the Camden TDA/Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center
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Sep 15, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Bahamas Chatter: Most Bahamas marinas open
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

Bahamas Chatter: Most Bahamas marinas open
Most Bahamas marinas open
Posted: 14 Sep 2017 06:29 AM PDT
The marine recreational sector of the Bahamas’ tourism industry is up and open for business. Most of the member marinas of the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) are reporting no damage from hurricane Irma and are open and ready for business.
“This hurricane caused great damage throughout the region and the southern Bahamas,” says ABM President, Stephen Kappeler, “and we sympathize with the citizens of the islands that were so badly affected. We are also deeply concerned about the welfare of citizens of the state of Florida, whose lives have been so disrupted by hurricane Irma,” he said.
“However, we are greatly relieved that hurricane Irma by-passed so many of the islands in The Bahamas and spared most of our members from damage or dislocation,” said Kappeler.
Full article attached in Word file or at following link: https://bahamasmarinas.com/blog/2017/09/12/bahamas-marinas-are-open-for-business-september-2017/
Basil Smith
Executive Director
Association of Bahamas Marinas
(242) 462-4376
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Sep 14, 2017by: Larry Dorminy 1 Comment
IRMA Photos from Lang’s Marina, St. Marys , GA
Our thanks to the skipper of SV Linda Jean for these realtime photos at Lands’ Marina during Irma. See /167026 for more descriptions.
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Comments from Cruisers (1)

Larry - September 20, 2017 - 7:16 am

Needed to be rebuilt anyway. Without loss of life this might be a blessing if the city rebuilds .
Reply to Larry
Sep 14, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Report from Harbortown Marina, Merritt Island, east of AICW Statute Mile 894
A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Harbortown Marina lies off the southern shores of the Canaveral Barge Canal between Sykes Creek and the Banana River.
9-12-17:Greetings from Harbortown Marina Canaveral. The majority of our team is on site today and we are working diligently to get the marina put back together and customer ready. As it stands now, we plan to officially open the office and the boat yard on Wednesday at noon.
Today we are focused on replacing damaged and missing dock boards to ensure our customers and team members are safe. We will then move onto collecting debris and addressing any downed trees around the property.
In the slips we only saw one boat with substantial damage and we are reaching out to the owner personally. In the rack storage we saw some boat covers that were damaged and we will also be contacting those owners as well. All in all though, there was limited damage to the vessels.
We have power in the main building but due to the water levels, power to the slips is still off. Unfortunately, we have no running water at the marina. We are hearing this is a part of an outage affecting more than 82,000 Brevard residents.
The port is still closed as of now but we have heard it may open up this evening. The barge canal is actually port property, so it is officially closed right now as well. We are certainly hoping that the port traffic will lead to the water levels receding quicker.
Once again, please continue to follow our social media pages for continual updates. We promise to provide you with updated information as it comes.
Click Here To View the Eastern Florida Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Harbortown Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Harbortown Marina
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Sep 14, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
National Weather Service Survey
Following on the heels of Harvey and Irma, this survey is particularly important.

NWS will be collecting comments through October 5, 2017, on a proposed consolidation (i.e., reduction in the number of), and reformatting of marine Watches, Warnings, Advisories (WWA) and Statements.
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION AND SURVEY
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Sep 14, 2017by: Larry Dorminy No Comments
Report from Lang’s Marina, St. Marys, GA
Lang’s Marina is on the north shore of the St. Marys River in downtown St. Marys. Our thanks to the skipper of the Linda Jean for this report.
Lang’s east docks completely gone. Any boats that remained on the docks were crushed during the hurricane. Lang’s west docks mostly destroyed with the exception of one floater remaining, Only two permanent sailboats survived by anchoring five miles up river.
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