Merrimack River Dredging Update

Hurricane Igor may be way, way, way offshore but the high surf has interfered with dredging the mouth of the Merrimack: Dredging stalled by rough seas, broken part. Well, Igor and mechanical problems.

Putting on my tech writer (and geek humor) hat for a second, this is the first time I've seen the phrasal verb "to ground out" used to mean "to run aground". It's more common to see "to ground" used to mean to run a vessel aground. I got this mental picture of a batter hitting the boat on the ground to an infielder who throws it to first base. I'm trying to visualize the mouth of the Merrimack as a baseball diamond. First base at Butler's Toothpick and third at the lighthouse? How far upriver would you have to hit the boat for a home run?

Other Merrimack River news links:

• WBZ has a picture that gives you a good idea of how big the pipe is. That article has some good video of big yellow vehicles moving sand too.
• More on the high surf from Igor: Distant hurricane stirs up waves, currents along coast.
• Obligatory article about tires, junk, and stuff in the river: Haverhill wants exposed debris removed from river.

stuff in the merrimack -- dredging equipment

The dredging of the mouth of the Merrimack has begun. There's lots of equipment in the river between Salisbury Beach and the northern tip of Plum Island right now. The mother ship is The Illinois belonging to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. The Illinois is surrounded by satellite vessels of various types and lots of pipes and hose-like things. They're pumping the dredged sand from the river onto Salisbury Beach. I guess after Salisbury gets its share, they'll pump onto Plum Island. I made a quick excursion to Plum Island Point for a good view of all the cool equipment before heading down to Cambridge for Mass Innovation Night. Cool dredging projects always start the same day as Mass Innovation Night, right? :-) (See my tech writer blog for info on Mass Innovation Night: http://eganwriter.blogspot.com/)

The Illinois

It was hard to get a photo that showed how big the hose is. I kept hoping a kayak would paddle up next to it or something to convey the scale. The vehicles in the campground are too far away to really show the scale.

Big Hose-Like Pipe Thing Near the Campground

I wondered if any seals would haul out on top of the pipe instead of on the rocks or the beach. Probably not.

Pipe Near Butler's Toothpick

Pipes and Ships

Some press coverage of the dredging:

• Merrimack River Dredging Will Require Attention of Boaters -- from Dredging Today
• Salisbury braces for noise, hassle from beach project -- from The Daily News of Newburyport. This article also a cool Tech Note about the cutter dredge.
• Beach nourishment project gets underway -- from the Newburyport Current
  

another stuff in the merrimack entry

Time for another round-up of stuff in the Merrimack:
Tires, shopping carts, and plastic bags: River teeming with tires, other junk: EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
Sand soon to be dredged: Dredging to now start Wednesday from the Daily News of Newburyport

PI Sunset

PI Sunset
Originally uploaded by Captain_Peleg

Sunset on a hazy evening last week, viewed from Stage Island.
Seconds later a flock of great egrets passed right in front of the pink sun, Too bad I missed the shot.