*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: Who cares, I scheduled this trip with the wife and we're going somewhere rain or shine.
How are the conditions at Bogue Inlet, has it been dredged yet and is it marked. Considering going out there this weekend but wanted to make sure conditions were ok. Thanks
I believe it will not have markers until mid-June but the inlet is in very good shape. We came through it a week ago at low tide and had 10 feet of water the whole way. Now getting to the inlet is another story. DO NOT run the old channel out to the inlet like you used to. You will be fine until you get to the Coast Guard cut over (where the old channel turns right), the bar there is pretty much impassable except in a skiff or very high tide. The route you need to run now is along the west side.
The cast dredge is working the approaches to Bogue as we speak. I heard instead of dredging the western channel they're dredging the eastern one. Still no buoys the survey was completed yesterday so buoys should be in sometime next weekl. Will be interesting as this should be the 1st big weekend for boating. The old buoys are still in place. Tow Boat & Sea Tow will be busy!Tight Lines ......
Talked with Capt Stan today in Swansboro ..... he said they were dredging the eastern feeder channel* .... this is the approach to the new inlet from the ICW. I know as the dredging proceeds there will be more info on the location of the new feeder channel. I will let you know when I hear some more info. Don't confuse this new dredging with the inlet. The new channel cut is complete but it is not marked.*
The real problem right now is that the old inlet channel is still marked. The CG*knows that but is waiting to pull the old buoys until they mark the new channel. They are under money constraints. It really is going to throw a*curve to boaters who*approach Bogue Inlet from the sea & are not familiar with the current inlet situation.
BL*....... with new channel not beeing marked and the old channel buoys still in place boaters could end up in a channel to no where.
Also*the Swansboro KMT is this weekend & that coupled with Memorial Day boat traffic it could be real dicey.
It will be a cluster this weekend that is for sure! I am surprised they are keeping the old channel but if they can cut a hole in the bar maybe with the new inlet it will stay open. Having the old bouys out including in the old inlet is irresponsible in my opinion. Memorial weekend is bad enough but with all the confusion about the inlet Sea Tow might as well just anchor a boat there.
Tsunami,
That shoal will never stay open without dredging. There are actually 2 natural flows from the inlet and the Army Corp of Engineers is not using either. It dosest matter though because ther is plenty of water off Ski Beach and Huggins Island. Lee Manning runs the Nancy Lee 5 thru that side. If they were to use this natural water flow to set the markers we would have plenty of money for dredging for this year. Next year is the real issue! Everyone has become complacent about the inlet funding issue.
Tsunami,
That shoal will never stay open without dredging. There are actually 2 natural flows from the inlet and the Army Corp of Engineers is not using either. It dosest matter though because ther is plenty of water off Ski Beach and Huggins Island. Lee Manning runs the Nancy Lee 5 thru that side. If they were to use this natural water flow to set the markers we would have plenty of money for dredging for this year. Next year is the real issue! Everyone has become complacent about the inlet funding issue.
That is why I am surprised they are even screwing around with the old channel other than to be able to get to the CG station. I guess it makes too much sense to use the channel that mother nature has put there for years. What they ought to do is let the bar build up in the old channel which would force more water through the Huggins Island size and open it up even more.
The*Corps told Stan it was because of enviromental concerns ....... & I tend to believe them. There were a number of proposals that went thru the process for approval as to the new location of the inlet channel. And number were*rejected by*the Feds because of endanged spieces & wetland regulations.*I'm pretty sure*that the reason for the new feeder channel location is that the cast dredge cannot throw spoils into the marsh grass (wetlands). The reason for no rock jetties is the Fed court prohibition on them in NC because of endanged spieces & wetlands. There you have it.......
Emerald Isle worked hard to get their plan approved, find the funding, and then have it completed in the approved time frame. They acutally had to get a special extension to complete the project.
I was at The Point this morning. Just wanted to see what progress had been made. As said on this board before, the project was to get sand for EI, not to protect The Point. There was zero sand accumalation on The Point. The water was right on the sandbags. I could not tell the depth, but it was blue water.
I realize the only way to sell the program was getting sand for EI. Seems sad that all that money was spent to change the inlet when EI should have just dredged offshore for sand. With the flimsy "sand dike" being the only protection for The Point, those properties are as good as gone.
On the bright side, could be some good fishing in the old inlet.
Over the last couple years it wasn't the inlet that was the issue ... it was the feeder channel from the ICW & that still is an issue today. The new location of the inlet as I understand it is where it was years ago. They just ran out of time ..... there was supposed to be more sand pumped up on the point but because of weather & the time issues that didn't happen. The reason the time constraints was due to the turtle nesting regulations.The other issue was that when the bid went out only 1 company bid & they were from Texas. They had weather delays ly had 3.5 million dollars in grant monies available but when the bid came in it was for 9.2 million. They had to scramble to make up the difference. So there u have the full story.Cheers ........ Only time will tell.Tom
Buoys delayed for New River, Bogue May 26,2005 PATRICIA SMITH DAILY NEWS STAFF Swan Point Marina in Sneads Ferry serves a lot of boaters who transit North Carolina's coastal waters.Here lately, when those out-of-towners mention sailing out through New River Inlet, the marina employees offer some advice."We tell them to stay on the Intracoastal Waterway and go down to the next one," said Bea Smackman, who works at the marina.New Topsail Inlet still has its buoys. New River Inlet has been without them since Feb. 8.It now looks like Smackman and her co-workers will be making that suggestion for at least a few more weeks.The buoys will not go back in New River Inlet before Memorial Day, said Chris Humphreys, aids to navigation officer with the U.S. Coast Guard Group Fort Macon.And they will not be returned to Bogue Inlet by the holiday, either, Humphreys said.Though a dredge worked in New River Inlet last week, waters of Cedar Bush Cut (also called the dogleg) are still only 4-feet-deep at low tide, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey."The standard is six feet for putting the aids back in," Humphreys said.Howard Varnum, director of navigation for the Corps of Engineers' Wilmington office said the six days scheduled for dredging New River Inlet did not allow for the full project depth. The dredge is not scheduled to return to New River Inlet until July 1.In Bogue Inlet, the relocated channel is of sufficient depth, but a connector channel is still too shallow, Humphreys said."They just started the dredge project there," Humphreys said.It answers one big question asked by customers of Dudley's Marina in Cedar Point."We've been getting all kinds of calls from people wondering if they're going to put them back in," said employee Ashley Starr.At both doors to the ocean - New River and Bogue - there seems to be agreement that fishermen who use the waters every day will be able to go and come as the please - at least the smaller vessels that do not require deep water.Local fishermen have already placed their own makeshift buoys, said Eric Powell, manager of New River Marina in Sneads Ferry."For the people not familiar with the inlet, it will be a problem," Powell said.Dudley's has been distributing printouts of coordinates of Bogue Inlet drawn up by a local fisherman, but some are still concerned about trying the passage, Starr said."They're just scared to do it without the buoys," she said.The Coast Guard removed the buoys from New River Inlet Feb. 8 after cuts in the federal budget forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to limit its dredging schedule.In March, the agency redirected $1 million to shallow draft inlet maintenance and set a schedule to dredge all the inlets in southeastern North Carolina by Memorial Day. But that schedule was delayed by repeated equipment problems.The buoys were removed from a connecting channel between the Emerald Isle Coast Guard station to the newly dug Bogue Inlet April 14 when inlet relocation crews put a dike across the old passage.Buoys also remain out of Lockwoods Folly and Shallotte inlets in Brunswick County.Meanwhile, an attempt to secure funding for shallow inlet dredging in next year's federal budget failed on the House floor Tuesday night.Rep. Walter Jones, R-NC, proposed an amendment to the Energy and the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that would have redirected $20 million from the Department of Energy's administration account to the Corps of Engineers Civil Operations and Maintenance Budget.This is the Corps of Engineers account that covers shallow inlet dredging and beach nourishment projects.Jones' proposal failed in a 275-152 vote and the House voted to approve a bill with no funding for shallow inlet dredging projects in southeastern North Carolina.The legislation now goes to the Senate."Hopefully the Senate will produce a friendlier bill," said Greg "Rudi" Rudolph, Carteret County shore protection manager.
Bogue Inlet 
