First of all let me state "Please realize this is fictional, I know this will never happen". There are tons of logistics that would make this impossible, first of all the EPA would never allow it to happen. Anyway here is my "fantasy" proposal to protect the small strip of barrier island that we as surfer's love so much. The aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower is getting decommissioned as we speak. Once the Navy removes the Nuclear propulsion they will be scrapping her, I say lets take her down to Rodanthe , position her off the beach and make a huge jetty right at Mirlo Beach. The carrier is some 800 foot long and large enough that with a bit of bracing and some dredging we can bury part of the lower half of the Hull under the ocean floor. This new aircraft carrier Jetty will protect that vulnerable part of Highway 12 from storm swell from the Southeast. This will also create a huge right point break. That southeast swell will wrap around the forward end of the Eisenhower and jsut peel 200' barrels (this is fantasy remember). They can turn the Deck House area of the carrier into a 4 level 360* view resturant, the Galley on a carrier is huge so you already have a massive kitchen. They can use the flight deck as the parking lot, build an entrance to her flight deck right off of Highway 12. They can use the catwalks (8 foot wide platforms that run the length of the flight deck under each side) as covered fishing piers. This would keep fisherman out of direct sunlight overhead, ansd allow them to fish in the rain. They can turn the forward end of the Flight Deck into a driving range, theres no golf south of Nags Head, they can hit biodegrable reduce flight golf balls into the ocean. The Eisenhower is already equiped with tons of Officer Stateroom and Heads. We could turn these Staterooms into Hotel rooms. We can add wind generators like at Jeanettes peir to power the entire operation. We can turn Hangar Bay 1 (where a carrier stores planes) with her 40' ceilings into a indoor skate park. Hangar Bay 2 into a Concert Venue, using the aircraft elevator as a sick stage. * This is fictional, its to provoke thought and let us all day dream of the perfect right. A south wind protecting Jetty thats 800 foot olong at the best spot for surf on teh east coast. Can you imagine if the government actually used resources we already have to create something to save the coast line of one of the most prescious strips of land in the US RODANTHE ERROSION CONTROL by jblacks, on Flickr
Good effort on this. But I would hate to think what would happen the rest of the OBX once the natural sand flow is cut off. Not to mention a huge honking military vessel in one of the only pristine natural coastlines on the east coast.... I'd rather they plunk it down in place of the now defunct casino pier in NJ.
The state of North Carolina could take the sand from dredging take a barge and those dumb birds and build them a little strip of beach for nesting south of the Banx!
Thanks, there wasnt much effort, took longer to type than draw that crude nasty sketch. Honestly I dont think it would cut off natural sand flow. A carrier isnt long enough to block sand flow much north of S-Turns I dont think. It would just protect the typical storm surge associated with Canes and Trop Storms in this small area, and help prevent erosion to the homes in Mirlo beach on NorEasters as well.
Classic Are you going to clean all the gas and oil out of an aircraft carrier??? Seems like a rock jetty would be a better idea. Or how about we just let mother nature take it's course instead of fighting a losing battle.
When they decomission a ship all fuels,oils, etc are removed and all tanks are gas freed so that when they start scrapping the steel these tanks dont explode, burn, etc. A rock jetty would be great. Like i said it was a "fictional" thought provoking idea using a resorurce we already have for a soultion to a problem that is occuring yearly on that small stretch of beach.
Bushwoods - I think you have the Ike confused with the Enterprise. The cost for the work necessary to clean the hazmat and contamination, it would probably be cheaper to build a big ass seawall/jetty/reef from scratch .
You are talking about sinking a sh1t-ton of valuable scrap metal. My guess is that the value of 10% of that ship hull in scrap would more than cover the cost of a concrete artificial reef.
Someone needs to find a couple independently wealthy individuals with nothing better to do with their money than to build a series of artificial surfing reefs on the East Coast, just to see if it would work. Anyone got Richard Branson's number? He just sold half of Virgin Atlantic for a cool $40 billion in cash yesterday.
We built two rock jetties in Delaware on the ocean in 2007. All of the rock had to be trucked 100 miles from the nearest quarries in SE Pennsylvania. The cost of building both of them was about $2 million. This section of beach has gone from experiencing bad erosion and damage to having a wide beach since with no problems. There have been no negative impacts to the downdrift beach due to sand building up and bypassing around the ends of the groins. Six years after the project was completed the $2 million is starting to look like a real bargain having turned around about a mile of heavily used coast from major problem area to stable/building.
We need this down here. We have IOP yuppies b1tching to the marine engineers about beach replenishment to save their golf course, while the Folly county park falls into the ocean. Beach replenishment has been, and always will be, a lost cause on barrier island. Drop some coin and put in an artificial reef if you want to do something more permanent.
My sister has a place on Fripp Island SC... a barrier island of Beaufort, SC. In the late 80's the ocean took the front deck off her house. The powers that be did a beach replenishment and over a period of 20 years, the beach went from twenty yards of sand at low tide, to over a quarter of a mile of beach with multiple sand dunes, tons of vegetation and a huge tidal pool in front of her place. I jump deer out of beds when hiking to the water. I don't know where all that extra sand came from. If the island was like this during developmental stages in the late 70's, my sister's place would be third row instead of beach front. At CB they do a replenishment every three years or so. My beach access at Carolina Beach was destroyed in the last Nor' Easter'. Why do some replenishment projects work (maybe too well) and some don't?
I did....I did indeed confuse the two. Sorry for the confusion. They are already doing the Hazmat necessary anyway to scrap her. Then they are using Tugs to carry her around Cape Horn to Bremerton Washington. Once they remove here nuclear power plant she will not have her own propulsion system. The old girl is to wide to thru the Panama Canal.
Interesting idea. If there we're no environmental impacts, this could be a legitimate idea. good way to reuse the thing too. Can we test an artificial reef here in VB? i would definitely sign up to be a tester.
they are using Tugs to carry her around Cape Horn to Bremerton Washington. Once they remove here nuclear power plant she will not have her own propulsion system. The old girl is to wide to thru the Panama Canal.[/QUOTE] thats a rough sea to tug something like a carrier through. hope they document the voyage. Id watch it
