East Coast Alerts
By Mel Neale
January 11, 2007

Italicized text indicates our comment. Plain text is copied from the Notices to Mariners or other sources given.

NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES WARNING:
The following warning appears in various forms in all Local Notices to Mariners for East Coast districts (This one is for the 7 th District which also includes an Enclosure with detailed procedure for the requirement for large ships to report sightings):

From December to March the coastal waters between Altamaha Sound, GA, and Sebastian Inlet, FL, are used as calving grounds by the severely endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. This is the world’s only known calving ground for this species. Right Whales are the rarest whales in the world and are protected under law from disturbance or injury by the endangered species act of 1973, and the Marine Mammal Protection act of 1972. Right Whales, especially females and their calves, are slow swimmers and frequently lie at the surface. This behavior makes them vulnerable to collisions with ships, which are a significant source of mortality. Vessels operating within 25 miles of shore between 31-27N and 29-50N and within five miles of shore from 29-50N and 28-00N should take precautions to avoid collisions with Right Whales. For Complete Text of Message See Enclosure (1).

Several days ago we heard a boat call the Coast Guard in Jacksonville on the VHF to report that a right whale was swimming on the surface off the inlet at St. Augustine and that it was entangled with a large rope or net around its upper body. It did not dive for around twenty minutes, the boat reported. Then it dove, and the boat and Coast Guard switched to cell phones so we were no longer privy to the conversation. This is a common and very sad occurrence here off the North Florida coast, one which we hear played out almost every winter. I have no report of the outcome of this event, but I know that usually the whales swim far away with nets entangled, despite the best efforts of local whale watchers and the Coast Guard. See East Coast Alerts, December 15, 2005 at http://my.boatus.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55368&PN=2 . If you sight an entangled right whale in this area, report it to the Coast Guard.

NJICW Shoaling:
From USCG 5 th District LNM 02/07: Shoaling to a depth of 3 feet MLW has been reported in the vicinity of NJICW Daybeacon 156 (LLNR 35360) and NJICW daybeacon 162.

Shoaling in Oregon Inlet, NC (NOT on the ICW):
USCG 5 th District LNM 01/07 reports the following USACE survey results: A US Army Corp of Engineers survey of 05 December, 2006 indicates shoaling in Oregon Inlet Channel. Shoaling extends across the entire channel from Oregon Inlet Channel Buoy 38 to Oregon Inlet Channel Light 41. Depths range from 1.9 feet MLW in the vicinity of Oregon Inlet Channel Buoy 42 to 6.0 feet MLW at mid-channel. Mariners should avoid transiting this area during periods of low water and exercise caution when transiting during other tidal periods. Mariners can view this survey at www.saw.usace.army.mil/nav/manteo/manteo-17x.pdf. Shoaling to a depth of 2.5 feet MLW extending to mid-channel has been reported in the vicinity of Oregon Inlet Buoy 32.

Dredging in Hatteras Island Ferry Channel (NOT the ICW):
From USCG 5 th District LNM 02/07: The DREDGE MARION is currently conducting dredging operations in the vicinity of the Hatteras Island Ferry Channel until April 15, 2007. The dredge may be contacted on VHF-FM Channels 13 and 16.

Savannah District USACE ICW Update:
Recent (late November, 2006) surveys of the shoal prone areas of the ICW between Port Royal Sound, SC and Fernandina Beach, FL were published December 11, 2006 on the Savannah District site at http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/AIWWPROF-nov06.pdf. While there are no surprises in the survey results, we had no trouble getting through any of these areas with our 5 ft. draft two weeks before the surveys. We planned our passages through the known shallow areas to coincide with at least half tide.

Note: Two trawler type yachts that transited part of the St. Andrews Sound Protected (Alternate) Route while we went on the outside route reported that Floyd Creek is shallower than the surveyed least depth of 5.0 ft. in its narrow northern part.

Depths reported in the surveys are for mean low water. Remember that MLLW (Mean Lower Low Water) can be considerably lower, often as a result of new and full moons and/or strong winds, especially blowing out of the west.

Highlights (LOW points) of the survey: (I have given depths for the center half of the ICW channel, and only for the most shoal areas. The western/red marker quarter and eastern/green marker quarter usually have different depths. All depths subject to change. )

ICW:

Fields Cut: 5.5 ft.
Hells Gate: 3.0 ft. (the survey indicated 6.0 ft in the western quarter or red marker side of the channel, 0.5 in the eastern quarter or green marker side)
Little Mud River: 6.0 ft.
Buttermilk Sound (vicinity of DM “216A”): 4.0 ft.
Jekyll Creek: 4.0 ft

Protected Route around St. Andrews Sound:
Umbrella Creek: 2.5 ft
Floyd Creek : 5.0 ft
(Only center depths were given for the Protected Route.)

Please visit the Savannah District USACE website at the address above for specifics. The survey results are too lengthy to reproduce here.

Sunken Vessels Pose Hazards to Navigation ( South GA and North FL Coast): USCG 7 th District LNM02/07 reports the following two sunken vessels:

The 46ft F/V DEFIANCE has sunk in approximate position 31-07-07.200N 081-22-59.400W, 0.5 NM SW of St Simons Sound Entrance Lighted Buoy 15, water depth is 6 feet. All mariners are urged to use extreme caution while transiting the area.

The Coast Guard has been advised that a 73 ft Shrimp Vessel has sunk in approximate position 30-45-04.200N 081-06-12.000W in 8 feet of water. All mariners are advised to be on the lookout for floating debris from sunken vessel, and transit the area with caution.

Handy Link for Florida ICW depths:
Check http://www.aicw.org/channel.htm for info from the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) regarding shallow (less than 8 ft.) ICW channel depths.

Coast Pilots Easy Download:
If you crave nautical information try this: Electronic versions of the latest United States Coast Pilots are available for free from NOAA. They are posted on the Internet in the Adobe.PDF format at http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cpdownload.htm. Historical Coast Pilots are also available. Those can be downloaded from http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/hcp.htm . The zipped version was quick (10 minutes for the whole thing, even with my air card using 1XRTT service, not broadband).

This information is not to be used for navigation. Consult the latest charts and Local Notices to Mariners and use prudent seamanship. Conditions may change. Any person or entity that uses this information in any way, as a condition of that use, agrees to waive and does waive and also hold authors harmless from any and all claims which may arise from or be related to that use.

Copyright 2004-2008 Tom Neale