[Paddlewise] There's Bombs in them there waters!

"Hey" P'wisers.  I haven't posted much in the last few months... I've been
having difficult times at work and at home.  But, something came up recently
that I just had to share with the group.



Do you remember Hurricane Isabel from last Fall?  Well, my hometown of
Poquoson, VA got hit hard.  Lots and lots of people still living in trailers,
fighting insurance, and so forth.  Clean-up and rebuilding continues.



Anyway, the Chesapeake Bay is HUGE.  We had hurricane winds from the east, and
lots of surge.  As all of us on this site know, that means that there were
lots of hydrology in action (is that the correct word for various water
dynamics?).  Anyway, just recently, after > of a year, the Wildlife Refuge
managers - did a hurricane damage assessment/inspection of the east side of
Poquoson, which is Plum Tree Island NWR, and is accessible by water only.
Decades ago, Plum Tree was a strafing and bombing range for nearby Langley Air
Force Base, and perhaps the Nay Base in Norfolk.  Guess what, in a single
morning, they discovered over 40 unexploded ordinance in the shallows and/or
the beach and marsh.  Shallow here means mud flat at low tide, and only a few
feet of water at high tide.  Our tidal change is only about 3.5 feet.  The
area has obviously been changed by the hurricane, and lots of buried stuff has
surfaced and been uncovered.



Anyway, the entire area is closed until July of 2005 for "clearing of
ordinance".  Around here, that means expect it to be July of 2006 before they
finish.



First.... DAMN!!!!  That's my back yard and usual paddling spot, and now I
can't go there for a while!  On the other hand, DAMN, do you know how many
times I swam in the shallows, walked the beach, and drug my boat around over
sand bars and stuff!!!!!!!  I could have been blown up!



Most locals know about Plum Tree being a bombing range.  But, it's been
generally accepted that decades ago, the place was cleared of unexploded
ordinance.  Come to find out today, they cleared it by visual inspection only.
I had just assumed that they cleared it with metal detectors and the whole 9
yards.  That was back in the 40's or 50's.  Had I known it was visual
inspection only, I wouldn't have been wondering around out there since my high
school days back in the 70's.  Okay - yes I would, but once I hit my 30's I
probably would have wised up and stopped.



The good news is that I'm forced to get out of my rut and go do some
adventuring in other waters that I hardly ever visit.  That will be a good
thing. Silver lining in every cloud, I suppose.



Here's a link to a local News Story.



http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-46954sy0jul20,0,6031420.story?coll=dp
-news-local-final



Rick



BTW - I suppose I really need to get a bombproof roll now..... sorry, I
couldn't stop myself.  :-)
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************