They are making great progress dredging.  This despite people requesting to go out sailing during dredging operations and a boom snapping in half on the excavator.  More on that in a minute.

The mouth is pretty well completed with just a bit of cleanup work going on.  The current depth at the mouth is about seven feet.

They have also mostly completed dredging from B dock down to E dock.  This is also about seven feet deep with the exception of just a bit of cleanup work.  The hump at B dock is GONE!

Today they begin dredging at the rescue dock and service dock.  Then they plan to move to the south side of E dock to dredge five slips.  This will probably take through the weekend.  After that, the plan is to move  back outside into the channel.  This plan is fluid and can quickly change.   I will keep you posted.

If you are on C or D dock you MIGHT be able to get out to go sailing during this weekend.  This is of course if you can get out of your slip.  It is very shallow in the slips.  But DO NOT interrupt the dredge, barge or barge boat.  And if you don’t have a marine band radio, don’t go out.  The protocol is to call on Marine Band 16 and ASK FOR PERMISSION to exit or return to the marina.  This ability to go sailing is while the barge is located near the rescue dock or south side of E dock.  If the barge is in the main fairway or in the mouth, ACCESS TO THE LAKE IS CLOSED.

Officially the marina is closed between 6:30am and 6:30pm.  After 6:30pm you can go sailing or rowing.

We have had cases where people have requested the barge move so they can go sailing.  Every time that barge has to move they lose nearly an hour of work time.  It takes that much time to pull out, get out of the way, and then move back in.  The down time has been adding up.  It is best just to let them get the work done so you can enjoy the lake again as quick as possible.

When the barge moves back out in the channel it will be possible to get around the barge without them relocating.  But this is only if you have a shallow draft boat.  YOU MUST STILL HAIL THE BARGE ON Marine Band 16 and ask permission to pass to the south of them.  If you do not hail them there is a great risk of the boom of the excavator swinging around and a collision may result.

If we continue to have interruptions to the dredging schedule, it will be necessary to close the marina mouth between 6:30am and 6:30pm for the duration of the dredging.

On another note, we have had a lot of people changing slips without prior approval.  This is a violation of your Boat Slip Lease and has also caused quite a bit of confusion while we are trying to juggle boats in slips during the dredging project.  And please DO NOT CHANGE SLIPS and THEN tell us you have moved slips.  This is adding to the problem.

Also, the launch ramp is closed for the duration of the dredging.  No exceptions.  This is a work area and hazard area.

Thanks

Dave