The Shinnecock inlet channel in the North Sea has been shoaling for almost a year. Bob Soleau, an owner of Soleau’s Wharf and Marina at Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays, said that the recent running aground of The North Sea is a clear prediction of hazards that could be happen any time again.
Soleau informed that navigation issue sin the inlet has become serious now as the number of accidents happening. He added that four or five boats have been lost because of navigation issues in the inlet over the last 20 years. According to him the North Sea sustained an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 worth of damage as a result of the grounding.
Soleau informed that the Shinnecock Inlet is notorious for it’s strong currents and changing shoaling patterns yet, despite its unique and challenging conditions, is not unique in its shoaling problem. Lt. Douglas Miller, Chief of Waterways Management for Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, explained that all of the South Shore inlets experience some level of shoaling due to sand migration. According to him the long shore current pushes sand along.
It is said that the “best water” markings are monitored by the Aids to Navigation team (ANT), which periodically checks the buoys due to complaints or following inclement weather. The fisherman have requested that Bishop up the pressure to get federal funding to address the problem. It is informed that the cost to dredge Shinnecock’s inlet is estimated at between $8 million and $10 million, and at the earliest work could begin in October of 2009, assuming funding is appropriated.
