Swinomish Channel Will be Dredged in 2012-gctid351145

[mmichellich]

Lobby efforts have secured $2.3 M to dredge the eleven mile channel. It was last dredged in 2008 and has needed dredging every three years since the 1930s when established. It should have been dredged last year.

[Guest]

Good news, it was very shallow in places.

[mmichellich]

I had several friends that hit bottom/debris and did substantial damage in middle of the channel last summer. These are folks that have made dozens of trips through the channel for many years with no issues. The area by the railroad bridge and the sharp corner past the South end of LaConner were particularity shallow even above low tide levels. There was also a very shallow spot just in front of the Shelter Bay area. Hope they dredge these bad areas early.

[Guest]

Yes, very good news. That channel was getting very scary.

[Guest]

The worst section is the south entrance, I hope they start on that first as you really have

to go out on a rising tide to get threw that part, I saw 4 boats last year stuck in the middle of the channel and NOT ON A LOW TIDE. did they happen to say when they are going to start ?

[mmichellich]

boating777 wrote:
The worst section is the south entrance, I hope they start on that first as you really have

to go out on a rising tide to get threw that part, I saw 4 boats last year stuck in the middle of the channel and NOT ON A LOW TIDE. did they happen to say when they are going to start ?

Unfortunately too late for many of us, who will skip LaConner this year: "The dredging is expected to be done sometime during a "fish window" ÔÇö a period of least impact for fish ÔÇö between July 16 of this year and Feb. 14, 2013."

[Guest]

Thats to bad, as the summer boating traffic appears to have to deal with this for another year :thumb