From the Boathouse: Bridge scrapes create troubled waters
Ahoy!
The world-famous Brooklyn Bridge was closed last Friday night and reopened over the weekend after the cargo ship Rainbow Quest scraped the underside of the span. The allision did not cause any damage to the ship’s mast tower or the bridge, but the bridge was closed as a safety precaution for further inspection.
Apparently, the ship had left the Brooklyn Navy Yard with a course down the East River when the mishap occurred. Luckily, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had scheduled to close the bridge for maintenance that evening.
The Brooklyn Bridge, a national historic landmark, was the longest suspension bridge when it opened in 1883. I was in New York City in June, and the bridge is undergoing a massive upgrade.
Ships hitting bridges is a more common occurrence than most people might think. You will notice many bridge pylons have been surrounded with protective barriers or small man-made islands.
The Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay bridges have been hit. Most vulnerable are bridges that span major rivers. These allisions can be disastrous when the bridge spans are breached and unsuspecting drivers fall into the waters.
Bridges on major roadways can be shut down while repairs are made, as with Jacksonville’s Mathews Bridge in Florida when it was stuck a year ago. That bridge carried more than 100,000 vehicles a day.
Boaters need to be extra cautious when transiting under a bridge, and remember the currents can be much stronger if the bridge creates an hourglass shape of the shoreline. Of course, recreational boats will not cause the same amount of damage as a large ship, but any boat hitting a bridge can cause a closure, interrupting traffic on the water and land.
News of the week is that Duncan McIntosh has expanded his ownership of Southern California boat shows to include the Fred Hall Fishing and Tackle Show. McIntosh has produced boat shows for more than four decades, including the Newport Boat Show in the spring and the Lido Boat Show in the fall. Both shows are at Lido Marina Village in Newport Harbor.
These two boat shows have grown to be the largest on the West Coast. They are very popular among boat owners and lookie-loos. Additionally, McIntosh publishes his biweekly Log Newspaper, which covers boating and fishing, and two magazines, Sea and Boating World.
Recently, the American Sportfishing Assn. sold the Fred Hall shows to Fred Hall Shows Inc., which is McIntosh’s new corporation. He will be partnering with Bart Hall and Travis Hall in the venture, and this transaction brings the shows back to the Bart family with McIntosh as a partner.
Anyone who has attended the Fred Hall shows at Long Beach or Del Mar can attest to their huge popularity. These are two of the largest recreational and commercial fishermen shows in the nation. The events have expanded over the years to include trailerable boats, recreational vehicles, camping equipment, guns and almost any marine or hunting item imaginable with the primary focus remaining on fishing items.
The shows for 2015 are scheduled from March 4 to 8 in Long Beach, and then everyone moves south to Del Mar from March 25 to 29. This show will be more popular if the predicted El Niño conditions develop.
The Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environment Prediction says there is a 58% chance of an El Niño this winter. This weather condition would make fishing very good and, hopefully, bring rain to the Southland.
As always, just keep an eye to the weather for any changes. Please be boat smart and boat safe. Lastly, please boat responsibly and look behind you before you turn the wheel at the helm.
Check out the original boating program, “Boathouse TV & Radio Shows,” stretching from coast to coast for over two decades, at https://www.boathousetv.com, https://www.facebook.com/boathouseradio and https://www.twitter.com/boathouseradio.
Safe voyages!
MIKE WHITEHEAD is a boating columnist for the Daily Pilot. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to https://www.boathousetv.com.