I promise this is my last political comment on this newsgroup (for the
time being at least) but I just can't resist.

Facing growing criticism about the loss of manufacturing jobs, the
President's chief economic advisor wants to reclassify McDonald's and
other fast food restaurant employees from the service to the
manufacturing sector. Seems he thinks assembling Big macks is an
industrial job.

And ketchup is a vegetable.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

How come the marina's and communities along the ICW that soak the boaters
have not yelled yet?
They can't be that ignorant ;-)
--
c ya Wim
www.cork.org


"Norm" wrote in message
...
: I bet in the end the cost of maintaining all of these waterways will
: be passed down to the people who use them. "User Fees". If you pass
: thru, you pay a fee. It will soon be too expensive for most of us.
: Back to being a rich man's sport? That will also solve some of the
: pollution problems and most importantly, we lose some more of our
: freedom. There are lots of places that ban anchoring or you have to
: pay a fee to anchor. The ICW is most likely next in line to see these
: user fees passed down to boaters.
:
: On 20 Feb 2004 12:43:29 -0800, (anchorlt)
: wrote:
:
: Salty Southeast Nautical Newsletter Supplement
: 02/23/04
: Critical News Concerning the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
:
: Hello Fellow Cruisers:
:
: This is perhaps the single most important installment of the Salty
: Southeast nautical newsletter to ever reach your In-box. At least,
: it's that important if you EVER navigate the track of the Atlantic
: Intracoastal Waterway between Norfolk, Virginia and Miami, Florida.
: Even those of you who reside and cruise exclusively in the Florida
: Keys, along the western coastline of the Sunshine State, or on the
: Northern Gulf Coast, will want to read the startling information
: below. While this critical situation may not affect you as immediately
: as it will those of us who cruise along the eastern seaboard, the
: budget cuts outlined below will almost certainly impact your waterways
: eventually.
:
: Allow me to begin with the "short version," and then I will present
: some of the more detailed information that has reached our office. All
: this began when I returned from a trip to Eastern Florida this past
: Thursday (February 19). As you might imagine, after being out of the
: office for almost a week, there were several hundred e-mails that
: required my eventual attention. As I sifted through these many
: messages, a couple stuck out. While all were cryptic, they referred me
: to a series of announcements and press releases from the "Atlantic
: Intracoastal Waterway Association." This is an organization with which
: I've had some contact. Some three years ago, Boat/US asked me to come
: to an AIWA conference in Charleston, South Carolina, to represent the
: cruising community's point of view. I addressed this meeting, but
: except for myself and Judith Light, former editor of "The Waterway
: Guide," all of the other attendees were commercial tow captains or
: officials of commercial Waterway shi pping operations. While, to be
: su re, the goals of these commercial captains and operators were in
: many ways analogous with the cruising community, clearly the emphasis,
: at least at that time, was bent towards non pleasure craft interests.
:
: All of which is a long winded way of explaining why I did not follow
: up on these messages immediately. All that changed this morning when I
: received an urgent summons from Penny Leary Smith, director of the
: Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center. Penny is a long time friend, and
: also one of the most knowledgeable people going as to what's happening
: on the water in Northeastern North Carolina. Anyway, Penny said I had
: to look at the AIWA's web site NOW, and believe me I then lost no time
: in doing so.
:
: What I discovered was, to say the very least, ALARMING!!!!! And, I
: suspect it will alarm most you as well. I have now learned that we
: have both a long term and a critical short term problem with the
: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Within the next few paragraphs, I'm
: going to give you a brief overview of these problems. Please
: understand that for the sake of brevity, I'm going to simplify a bit!
:
: Well, with all that build-up, let's finally get into the real
: situation (at last). In the United States Federal Budget, recently
: sent to Congress by the Bush Administration, there has been $0
: allocated for maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
: That's right, at least as I understand it, a big, fat goose-egg for
: any dredging and/or maintenance of aids to navigation along the entire
: track of the Atlantic ICW. I must admit to being floored by this utter
: lack of funding!
:
: How long does anyone think the Waterway will remain a viable entity to
: pleasure craft (not to mention commercial) traffic without dredging
: those shoal prone spots we can all think of? I can answer that
: question - "NOT LONG!"
:
: And, that leads directly to the critical short term problem that I
: mentioned above. Over the past six months or so, the Waterway has been
: shoaling, as it often does, along its passage behind Lockwoods Folly
: Inlet, and across the mouth of Lockwoods Folly River in southeastern
: North Carolina. Depths in the Waterway channel at MLW have dropped to
: a mere 3 feet. This portion of the ICW has now been CLOSED to
: commercial Waterway traffic except at high water, and, even then,
: apparently the tow captains have to get special permission to proceed.
:
: With the new and seemingly total lack of funding for dredging the
: Atlantic ICW, the Army Corps of Engineers is scrambling to try and
: find the necessary moneys in some other part of their budget to dredge
: this channel. There is NO guarantee that they will succeed.
:
: Can you imagine the chaos this situation will cause this spring, if
: not remedied by dredging, as the annual snowbird migration begins
: moving north???!!!! Consider this; the nearest, completely reliable
: inlet south of Lockwoods Folly is Charleston, while the nearest
: reliable seaward cut to the north is the Cape Fear River. (Of course,
: you could use Little River Inlet near Calabash or the Winyah Bay
: inlet, but, while both are good enough for local captains, visiting
: cruisers may, quite rightly, not feel totally comfortable using either
: of these channels). Imagine all northward bound boats, large or small,
: sail or power, being REQUIRED to go outside from Charleston to Cape
: Fear, no matter what the weather, to continue their northward
: migration!
:
: Clearly, this is a situation that requires the cruising community's
: immediate and full attention. It's time to call and write our US
: Congressional representatives to make our feelings and alarm
: forcefully heard. Below, in copies of several messages, from the AIWA
: and our faithful cruising reporter, "grandma Rosalie," you will hear
: specific recommendations as to how this critical goal can be
: accomplished. By all accounts, you need to visit the web site of the
: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association immediately!!!!
: (http://www.atlintracoastal.org/)
:
: You may rest assured that we will be pulling out all the stops here at
: Waterway Publishing to get the attention of our Federal government.
: May we strongly suggest that you do the same!
:
: We also strongly urge any of you who receive this message, and are
: yourselves editors or contributors to other nautically oriented
: newsletters, to include an account of this serious problem in your
: publications. You may rest assured that you have my permission to use
: any of my words presented here without the need for further
: permission!
:
: Thanks so much for your time and attention. Let's go to work!
:
: Claiborne Young
: Watermark Publishing
:
: http://www.CruisingGuide.com
:
:
: Dear Members and Friends,
:
: We have received a request from the Transportation and Infrastructure
: Committee of the House to gather for them anecdotal information
: (basically, whatever you can give us) on the current status of our
: waterways -- shutdowns and near shutdowns, etc., and how it affects
: you. Congressmen would like to have this prior to the Water Resources
: Subcommittee hearing on the Corps' FY05 budget which is scheduled for
: February 26th. And, they are seriously considering having another
: hearing just on this issue. We know about several "hot spots" -- GIWW,
: AIWW, Black-Warrior, MRGO, etc.-but having your input is vital
: (including if you are on the aforementioned rivers.) They want the
: information in YOUR words. Feel free to e-mail me with status reports
: , and we'll take care of the rest. Many thanks for
: your responses--and don't hesitate to forward this on toothers!
:
: Worth Hager
: President
: National Waterways Conference
: 1130 17th Street, N.W.
: Washington, DC 20036
: (P) (202) 296-4415
:
:
:
: I heard from many of you that you were communicating with your elected
: representatives regarding the funding crisis affecting the AIWW. Thank
: you for your messages. I am sharing your emails describing your
: difficulties navigating the AIWW with members of Congress and the
: House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. We need more emails
: and phone calls. If you haven't contacted your Congressman yet please
: stop what you are doing and do it now! We have many members who don't
: live in the South but frequent the AIWW. I've heard from several of
: them wanting to know who they can contact. There are two very powerful
: committees that can help us. I urge all of you all to contact members
: of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and members of the
: House Energy & Water Development Committee. These committees are
: holding hearings in Washington in the next few weeks and it is
: extremely important that they hear from you. The contacts are as
: follows: Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Water Resources
: & Environment subcommittee
: Chairman- Rep. John Duncan (TN)
: Go to www.house.gov/transportation to find the email links to
: committee members. Chairman John Duncan must hear from you and you
: might find your representative on the list. Remember Congress will
: work hard for an issue that is important to their constituents. It is
: up to you to tell them about the situation. It doesn't help if I am
: the only one lobbying for funds. House Appropriations Committee,
: Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman, David L. Hobson
: (OH) http://appropriations.house.gov This will bring you to the
: committee's main page. Select Subcommittees from the menu and then
: Energy and Water Development. This will bring up the list of members.
: I urge you to send your messages to every committee member on this
: list. This is the committee that will approve funding for the Corps of
: Engineers.
: I've stated that we need 100 emails or phone calls a day. Our waterway
: needs are not a priority since there are so many others in the same
: condition. It's time for us to become the "squeaky wheel."
: Below is an excerpt from Worth Hager, President of the National
: Waterway Conference response to a question about the need for funding
: the AIWW. "The Office of Management and Budget has made its own little
: "rule" that so-called "low-use" waterways not be maintained. That is,
: waterways that carry less than 1 billion ton-miles of freight. Is it
: fair? No, its not. But, the guys at OMB making these arbitrary rules
: aren't willing to look at any other way of valuing our systems. They
: can't seem to understand the impact their decisions have on the lives
: of everyday people, regional development, our military installations,
: and the ability of our waterways to provide economic, environmental
: and recreational benefits. They only see it as a way not to spend
: money. We truly are working diligently to find some money for the
: AIWW. I personally know that Corps headquarters is searching the
: operation and maintenance budget as we speak for any spare funds. But,
: it won't be easy. First, their budget this year is a drop in the
: bucket of what they need. Already, the channels that go into New
: Orleans and Harlingen, TX, are silting up--they didn't get enough
: money either--and that affects a lot of our petroleum and
: international trade. Second, even if the Corps could find some spare
: money or just take it from another project,they will still face the
: wrath of OMB, and OMB has decreed that any "reprogramming" of funds
: over 15% of a project's budget has to be approved by them. In
: addition, they have to get approval from the appropriations committee
: staffs." As you can see from Worth's message, we really need to make
: the case for funding the AIWW. We need to hear from those who make a
: living from the waterway. Marinas, shrimpers, dredging companies,
: fishing boats, etc.
: Thanks
: Rosemary
:
:
: Here are some suggestions to help raise awareness about the conditions
: in the AIWW. Ø Use our logo (attached) to make banners, bumper
: stickers, buttons, etc. Take them to Chamber of Commerce meetings,
: City Council meetings and local events
: Ø Write letters to the editor!!! The press can help us make a "splash"
: (sorry I couldn't resist that) Ø Post the attached flyer in retail and
: boating businesses or community bulletin boards. Ø Pass this
: information on to your email list of boating friends.
: Ø See if the community cable channel will display the flyer on air.
: We need to make everyone aware of the serious crisis we are facing in
: the AIWW. If the waterway closes, many businesses are going to be
: affected - not just marinas. Local shops and tourist sites will be
: impacted as well.
: Let me know what you are doing to spread the Save the Waterway
: message. Thanks Rosemary
:
:
: ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY
: ACTION ALERT
:
: December 8, 2003 USACE Bathymetric Survey
: We have been notified Lockwood's Folly, a portion of the Atlantic
: Intracoastal Waterway in North Carolina, is experiencing severe
: shoaling and commercial traffic is being restricted to navigating only
: during high tides. The result is that barges are waiting, sometimes
: for as long as 12 hours before navigating through the area.
: The U.S. Coast Guard has declared a safety zone at Little River Buoy
: 47 and 48. Commercial vessels with greater than three feet draft can
: only transit with COTP Wilmington's permission at high water. Tank
: barges are prohibited from transiting the area. The Corps of Engineers
: does not have money in their budget to do emergency dredging to open
: up the waterway. The situation is dangerous and totally unacceptable.
:
: AIWA is asking that everyone contact your members of Congress today
: and ask them to provide emergency funds for the US Corps of Engineers,
: Wilmington District to dredge this area. Go to the Congressional
: Contacts page to locate your Congressional representatives. Please use
: phone, email or fax to send your message. Members of Congress need to
: hear from their constituents about this situation before it becomes
: worse.
:
: We are asking all who read this message to voice your concerns. We
: need to make sure that our legislative leaders in Washington DC are
: aware of the far reaching effects of this situation.
:

How come the marina's and communities along the ICW that soak the boaters
have not yelled yet?
They can't be that ignorant ;-)
--
c ya Wim
www.cork.org


"Norm" wrote in message
...
: I bet in the end the cost of maintaining all of these waterways will
: be passed down to the people who use them. "User Fees". If you pass
: thru, you pay a fee. It will soon be too expensive for most of us.
: Back to being a rich man's sport? That will also solve some of the
: pollution problems and most importantly, we lose some more of our
: freedom. There are lots of places that ban anchoring or you have to
: pay a fee to anchor. The ICW is most likely next in line to see these
: user fees passed down to boaters.
:
: On 20 Feb 2004 12:43:29 -0800, (anchorlt)
: wrote:
:
: Salty Southeast Nautical Newsletter Supplement
: 02/23/04
: Critical News Concerning the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
:
: Hello Fellow Cruisers:
:
: This is perhaps the single most important installment of the Salty
: Southeast nautical newsletter to ever reach your In-box. At least,
: it's that important if you EVER navigate the track of the Atlantic
: Intracoastal Waterway between Norfolk, Virginia and Miami, Florida.
: Even those of you who reside and cruise exclusively in the Florida
: Keys, along the western coastline of the Sunshine State, or on the
: Northern Gulf Coast, will want to read the startling information
: below. While this critical situation may not affect you as immediately
: as it will those of us who cruise along the eastern seaboard, the
: budget cuts outlined below will almost certainly impact your waterways
: eventually.
:
: Allow me to begin with the "short version," and then I will present
: some of the more detailed information that has reached our office. All
: this began when I returned from a trip to Eastern Florida this past
: Thursday (February 19). As you might imagine, after being out of the
: office for almost a week, there were several hundred e-mails that
: required my eventual attention. As I sifted through these many
: messages, a couple stuck out. While all were cryptic, they referred me
: to a series of announcements and press releases from the "Atlantic
: Intracoastal Waterway Association." This is an organization with which
: I've had some contact. Some three years ago, Boat/US asked me to come
: to an AIWA conference in Charleston, South Carolina, to represent the
: cruising community's point of view. I addressed this meeting, but
: except for myself and Judith Light, former editor of "The Waterway
: Guide," all of the other attendees were commercial tow captains or
: officials of commercial Waterway shi pping operations. While, to be
: su re, the goals of these commercial captains and operators were in
: many ways analogous with the cruising community, clearly the emphasis,
: at least at that time, was bent towards non pleasure craft interests.
:
: All of which is a long winded way of explaining why I did not follow
: up on these messages immediately. All that changed this morning when I
: received an urgent summons from Penny Leary Smith, director of the
: Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center. Penny is a long time friend, and
: also one of the most knowledgeable people going as to what's happening
: on the water in Northeastern North Carolina. Anyway, Penny said I had
: to look at the AIWA's web site NOW, and believe me I then lost no time
: in doing so.
:
: What I discovered was, to say the very least, ALARMING!!!!! And, I
: suspect it will alarm most you as well. I have now learned that we
: have both a long term and a critical short term problem with the
: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Within the next few paragraphs, I'm
: going to give you a brief overview of these problems. Please
: understand that for the sake of brevity, I'm going to simplify a bit!
:
: Well, with all that build-up, let's finally get into the real
: situation (at last). In the United States Federal Budget, recently
: sent to Congress by the Bush Administration, there has been $0
: allocated for maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
: That's right, at least as I understand it, a big, fat goose-egg for
: any dredging and/or maintenance of aids to navigation along the entire
: track of the Atlantic ICW. I must admit to being floored by this utter
: lack of funding!
:
: How long does anyone think the Waterway will remain a viable entity to
: pleasure craft (not to mention commercial) traffic without dredging
: those shoal prone spots we can all think of? I can answer that
: question - "NOT LONG!"
:
: And, that leads directly to the critical short term problem that I
: mentioned above. Over the past six months or so, the Waterway has been
: shoaling, as it often does, along its passage behind Lockwoods Folly
: Inlet, and across the mouth of Lockwoods Folly River in southeastern
: North Carolina. Depths in the Waterway channel at MLW have dropped to
: a mere 3 feet. This portion of the ICW has now been CLOSED to
: commercial Waterway traffic except at high water, and, even then,
: apparently the tow captains have to get special permission to proceed.
:
: With the new and seemingly total lack of funding for dredging the
: Atlantic ICW, the Army Corps of Engineers is scrambling to try and
: find the necessary moneys in some other part of their budget to dredge
: this channel. There is NO guarantee that they will succeed.
:
: Can you imagine the chaos this situation will cause this spring, if
: not remedied by dredging, as the annual snowbird migration begins
: moving north???!!!! Consider this; the nearest, completely reliable
: inlet south of Lockwoods Folly is Charleston, while the nearest
: reliable seaward cut to the north is the Cape Fear River. (Of course,
: you could use Little River Inlet near Calabash or the Winyah Bay
: inlet, but, while both are good enough for local captains, visiting
: cruisers may, quite rightly, not feel totally comfortable using either
: of these channels). Imagine all northward bound boats, large or small,
: sail or power, being REQUIRED to go outside from Charleston to Cape
: Fear, no matter what the weather, to continue their northward
: migration!
:
: Clearly, this is a situation that requires the cruising community's
: immediate and full attention. It's time to call and write our US
: Congressional representatives to make our feelings and alarm
: forcefully heard. Below, in copies of several messages, from the AIWA
: and our faithful cruising reporter, "grandma Rosalie," you will hear
: specific recommendations as to how this critical goal can be
: accomplished. By all accounts, you need to visit the web site of the
: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association immediately!!!!
: (http://www.atlintracoastal.org/)
:
: You may rest assured that we will be pulling out all the stops here at
: Waterway Publishing to get the attention of our Federal government.
: May we strongly suggest that you do the same!
:
: We also strongly urge any of you who receive this message, and are
: yourselves editors or contributors to other nautically oriented
: newsletters, to include an account of this serious problem in your
: publications. You may rest assured that you have my permission to use
: any of my words presented here without the need for further
: permission!
:
: Thanks so much for your time and attention. Let's go to work!
:
: Claiborne Young
: Watermark Publishing
:
: http://www.CruisingGuide.com
:
:
: Dear Members and Friends,
:
: We have received a request from the Transportation and Infrastructure
: Committee of the House to gather for them anecdotal information
: (basically, whatever you can give us) on the current status of our
: waterways -- shutdowns and near shutdowns, etc., and how it affects
: you. Congressmen would like to have this prior to the Water Resources
: Subcommittee hearing on the Corps' FY05 budget which is scheduled for
: February 26th. And, they are seriously considering having another
: hearing just on this issue. We know about several "hot spots" -- GIWW,
: AIWW, Black-Warrior, MRGO, etc.-but having your input is vital
: (including if you are on the aforementioned rivers.) They want the
: information in YOUR words. Feel free to e-mail me with status reports
: , and we'll take care of the rest. Many thanks for
: your responses--and don't hesitate to forward this on toothers!
:
: Worth Hager
: President
: National Waterways Conference
: 1130 17th Street, N.W.
: Washington, DC 20036
: (P) (202) 296-4415
:
:
:
: I heard from many of you that you were communicating with your elected
: representatives regarding the funding crisis affecting the AIWW. Thank
: you for your messages. I am sharing your emails describing your
: difficulties navigating the AIWW with members of Congress and the
: House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. We need more emails
: and phone calls. If you haven't contacted your Congressman yet please
: stop what you are doing and do it now! We have many members who don't
: live in the South but frequent the AIWW. I've heard from several of
: them wanting to know who they can contact. There are two very powerful
: committees that can help us. I urge all of you all to contact members
: of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and members of the
: House Energy & Water Development Committee. These committees are
: holding hearings in Washington in the next few weeks and it is
: extremely important that they hear from you. The contacts are as
: follows: Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Water Resources
: & Environment subcommittee
: Chairman- Rep. John Duncan (TN)
: Go to www.house.gov/transportation to find the email links to
: committee members. Chairman John Duncan must hear from you and you
: might find your representative on the list. Remember Congress will
: work hard for an issue that is important to their constituents. It is
: up to you to tell them about the situation. It doesn't help if I am
: the only one lobbying for funds. House Appropriations Committee,
: Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman, David L. Hobson
: (OH) http://appropriations.house.gov This will bring you to the
: committee's main page. Select Subcommittees from the menu and then
: Energy and Water Development. This will bring up the list of members.
: I urge you to send your messages to every committee member on this
: list. This is the committee that will approve funding for the Corps of
: Engineers.
: I've stated that we need 100 emails or phone calls a day. Our waterway
: needs are not a priority since there are so many others in the same
: condition. It's time for us to become the "squeaky wheel."
: Below is an excerpt from Worth Hager, President of the National
: Waterway Conference response to a question about the need for funding
: the AIWW. "The Office of Management and Budget has made its own little
: "rule" that so-called "low-use" waterways not be maintained. That is,
: waterways that carry less than 1 billion ton-miles of freight. Is it
: fair? No, its not. But, the guys at OMB making these arbitrary rules
: aren't willing to look at any other way of valuing our systems. They
: can't seem to understand the impact their decisions have on the lives
: of everyday people, regional development, our military installations,
: and the ability of our waterways to provide economic, environmental
: and recreational benefits. They only see it as a way not to spend
: money. We truly are working diligently to find some money for the
: AIWW. I personally know that Corps headquarters is searching the
: operation and maintenance budget as we speak for any spare funds. But,
: it won't be easy. First, their budget this year is a drop in the
: bucket of what they need. Already, the channels that go into New
: Orleans and Harlingen, TX, are silting up--they didn't get enough
: money either--and that affects a lot of our petroleum and
: international trade. Second, even if the Corps could find some spare
: money or just take it from another project,they will still face the
: wrath of OMB, and OMB has decreed that any "reprogramming" of funds
: over 15% of a project's budget has to be approved by them. In
: addition, they have to get approval from the appropriations committee
: staffs." As you can see from Worth's message, we really need to make
: the case for funding the AIWW. We need to hear from those who make a
: living from the waterway. Marinas, shrimpers, dredging companies,
: fishing boats, etc.
: Thanks
: Rosemary
:
:
: Here are some suggestions to help raise awareness about the conditions
: in the AIWW. Ø Use our logo (attached) to make banners, bumper
: stickers, buttons, etc. Take them to Chamber of Commerce meetings,
: City Council meetings and local events
: Ø Write letters to the editor!!! The press can help us make a "splash"
: (sorry I couldn't resist that) Ø Post the attached flyer in retail and
: boating businesses or community bulletin boards. Ø Pass this
: information on to your email list of boating friends.
: Ø See if the community cable channel will display the flyer on air.
: We need to make everyone aware of the serious crisis we are facing in
: the AIWW. If the waterway closes, many businesses are going to be
: affected - not just marinas. Local shops and tourist sites will be
: impacted as well.
: Let me know what you are doing to spread the Save the Waterway
: message. Thanks Rosemary
:
:
: ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY
: ACTION ALERT
:
: December 8, 2003 USACE Bathymetric Survey
: We have been notified Lockwood's Folly, a portion of the Atlantic
: Intracoastal Waterway in North Carolina, is experiencing severe
: shoaling and commercial traffic is being restricted to navigating only
: during high tides. The result is that barges are waiting, sometimes
: for as long as 12 hours before navigating through the area.
: The U.S. Coast Guard has declared a safety zone at Little River Buoy
: 47 and 48. Commercial vessels with greater than three feet draft can
: only transit with COTP Wilmington's permission at high water. Tank
: barges are prohibited from transiting the area. The Corps of Engineers
: does not have money in their budget to do emergency dredging to open
: up the waterway. The situation is dangerous and totally unacceptable.
:
: AIWA is asking that everyone contact your members of Congress today
: and ask them to provide emergency funds for the US Corps of Engineers,
: Wilmington District to dredge this area. Go to the Congressional
: Contacts page to locate your Congressional representatives. Please use
: phone, email or fax to send your message. Members of Congress need to
: hear from their constituents about this situation before it becomes
: worse.
:
: We are asking all who read this message to voice your concerns. We
: need to make sure that our legislative leaders in Washington DC are
: aware of the far reaching effects of this situation.
:

WaIIy wrote:

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 15:29:09 -0500, Glenn Ashmore
wrote:


And ketchup is a vegetable.

--
Glenn Ashmore

Why don't you and krouse go back and troll on rec.boats?



That's right, Wally. Running aground in the middle of the channel in the
ICW is only an illusion, and discussing the problems of the ICW and the
shorting of funds necessary to maintain it is purely political and has
nothing to do with pleasure boating. Cruisers, after all, never use the ICW.

Right, Wally?

WaIIy wrote:

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 15:29:09 -0500, Glenn Ashmore
wrote:


And ketchup is a vegetable.

--
Glenn Ashmore

Why don't you and krouse go back and troll on rec.boats?



That's right, Wally. Running aground in the middle of the channel in the
ICW is only an illusion, and discussing the problems of the ICW and the
shorting of funds necessary to maintain it is purely political and has
nothing to do with pleasure boating. Cruisers, after all, never use the ICW.

Right, Wally?

The budget for maintaining the ICW has never been lavish. Now it's just
been cut a bit more...

One of the big problems I see is that the section between Beaufort NC
and Norfolk is going downhill. For much of the Atlantic, going offshore
isn't too terrible an option (*if* the inlets are passable)... but Cape
Hattaras is a deal breaker.

anchorlt wrote:
Salty Southeast Nautical Newsletter Supplement
(very long cut-n-paste spam snipped)

There was an article in Soundings recently about how much the commercial
traffic in the ICW contributes to the economy, and they noted that the
figures don't include recreational traffic. The question is, does the
ICW pay it's own way?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

The budget for maintaining the ICW has never been lavish. Now it's just
been cut a bit more...

One of the big problems I see is that the section between Beaufort NC
and Norfolk is going downhill. For much of the Atlantic, going offshore
isn't too terrible an option (*if* the inlets are passable)... but Cape
Hattaras is a deal breaker.

anchorlt wrote:
Salty Southeast Nautical Newsletter Supplement
(very long cut-n-paste spam snipped)

There was an article in Soundings recently about how much the commercial
traffic in the ICW contributes to the economy, and they noted that the
figures don't include recreational traffic. The question is, does the
ICW pay it's own way?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Dave wrote:

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 20:05:03 GMT, (Norm) said:

I bet in the end the cost of maintaining all of these waterways will
be passed down to the people who use them. "User Fees". If you pass
thru, you pay a fee. It will soon be too expensive for most of us.
Back to being a rich man's sport? That will also solve some of the
pollution problems and most importantly, we lose some more of our
freedom. There are lots of places that ban anchoring or you have to
pay a fee to anchor. The ICW is most likely next in line to see these
user fees passed down to boaters.

Let's all hurry and jump in to defend boaters' divine right to have the
costs of their sport paid from the taxpayers' pockets. That's the American
way. Having to pay your own freight would be downright unAmerican.


I vote to have the thousands of dollars of my tax payments going over to
Iraq and being flushed down that toilet instead be used for maintenance
of the ICW.

Dave wrote:

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 20:05:03 GMT, (Norm) said:

I bet in the end the cost of maintaining all of these waterways will
be passed down to the people who use them. "User Fees". If you pass
thru, you pay a fee. It will soon be too expensive for most of us.
Back to being a rich man's sport? That will also solve some of the
pollution problems and most importantly, we lose some more of our
freedom. There are lots of places that ban anchoring or you have to
pay a fee to anchor. The ICW is most likely next in line to see these
user fees passed down to boaters.

Let's all hurry and jump in to defend boaters' divine right to have the
costs of their sport paid from the taxpayers' pockets. That's the American
way. Having to pay your own freight would be downright unAmerican.


I vote to have the thousands of dollars of my tax payments going over to
Iraq and being flushed down that toilet instead be used for maintenance
of the ICW.

Similarly, I was amazed at the lack of traffic on the Erie and Oswego canals
as we passed through them last summer. Based on what we saw, it is hard to
justify the cost to keep the locks open and channels dredged.

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
The budget for maintaining the ICW has never been lavish. Now it's just
been cut a bit more...

One of the big problems I see is that the section between Beaufort NC
and Norfolk is going downhill. For much of the Atlantic, going offshore
isn't too terrible an option (*if* the inlets are passable)... but Cape
Hattaras is a deal breaker.

anchorlt wrote:
Salty Southeast Nautical Newsletter Supplement
(very long cut-n-paste spam snipped)

There was an article in Soundings recently about how much the commercial
traffic in the ICW contributes to the economy, and they noted that the
figures don't include recreational traffic. The question is, does the
ICW pay it's own way?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King