Patapsco River to be closed (really)

mixman

mixman

Livin' the life.
Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
RO Number
25362
Messages
3,996
If you're planning to boat into downtown Baltimore for the Star-Spangled Spectacular Sept 11-15th, beware that the Patapsco River will be shut down each day from 10am-6pm each day.

http://www.starspangled200.com/star-spangled-spectacular/recreational-boaters/#.VAdEg_ldW_i

http://www.starspangled200.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/SSS2014BoatingSafetyZones_v3.pdf

I actually ran into a Coastie that was dropping off flyers to marinas, which is what reminded me about this. I told her while I understand the safety concerns, it's going to make it very difficult for people to keep their marina reservations. Her reply was, and get this: "well, that's good for business because the marinas can charge them for cancelling." Wow, what a genius, NOT!
 
I sent this to the mayor's office:

Hello,

I want to make the Mayor's office aware that the Patapsco River will be shut down each day from 10am-6pm each day during the Star-Spangled Spectacular September 11-15th.

http://www.starspangled200.com/star-spangled-spectacular/recreational-boaters/#.VAdEg_ldW_i

I was going to come to the harbor via boat for 3 of those days but may have to cancel my marina reservations.. Not only can't I make it downtown before 10am on that Friday via boat, but most marinas do not accept boats until after Noon. And after 6pm if a marina isn't already closed, most of the day has been lost. I do own a business in Baltimore, so I feel sorry for those that will lose income from the closing of the river, but I think I'll make other plans.. I understand the safety issue, but one would think an impact on tourism would also be considered and recreational boat traffic not shut off the majority of each day.

Thank you.

Kurt Kolb
President
Speakeasy Productions, Inc.
3616-B Falls Road
Baltimore, MD 21211
410-889-0374 x114
 
I saw this as well when I downloaded the notice to mariners. I called earlier today to the coast guard sector Baltimore and they confirmed that recreational boaters will not be able to cross the safety zone/flight demo box from 10 AM to 6 PM each day. That means you are stuck in or out of the inner harbor all day. I was planning to anchor out and watch the Blue Angels show closer than from our marina, but that aint gonna happen. They could easily have left a channel for safe passage at the east end of the safety zone.

It is also irritating that they are only allowing commercial vessels in the close viewing area to the North. We spend money all year in the inner harbor and should have an equally good viewing area to the commercial vessels.

The show should be fantastic, and the fireworks on Sat night is from 6 barges and suppose to be the best show since 1814. I guess we will be stuck at the marina for the entire event, but the BMC Lighthouse Point should be the best marina for viewing the air show and fireworks.
 
We'll likely go elsewhere to spend our money. It seems like Baltimore doesn't want it. Perhaps St. Michaels will be more friendly and appreciative of recreational boaters.
 
The closure for the fireworks in the evening seems almost reasonable. Although the area for recreational boats is smaller than the commercial boat area even though there will be many more recreational boats.

But the times for the air show restricted area are irrational. The Blue Angels show will last an hour at most. Closing the area for 8 hours is just plain stupid. An hour on each side of the show plus the option to extend the time if the show was delayed would have been sufficient.
 
I called the coast guard again today, to get clarification on the timing and on the vague wording in the notice that seems to allow recreational boaters to transit the commercial area and even the safety zone with permission from the COTP. I was told today that we may well be able to transit the safety zone before the show starts with channel 16 CG permission. He said the 10:00 AM time was set up to be overly cautious and that the 6:00 PM end time could easily change to open the river earlier once the air show is completely over.

While the CG said there were no guarantees, they do appear to be willing to let boaters transit the safety zone prior to the air show with approval on channel 16.
 
Anybody have a map of where we would be allowed to anchor?

2 years ago, in Baltimore, we anchored just off Ft McHenry. It was a great spot to watch Angels. And river closed just before and just after airshow-- just like always in Annapolis.

I can't find info on safety zone and where to anchor.....

I'm planning on Friday to watch practice.
 
My second link in the OP (the PDF) has maps of where you can and can't be. I'm going somewhere else. I boat to enjoy freedom, not restrictions and bureaucrats. No money for you, Baltimore!
 
2 yrs ago we anchored off of Ft. McHenry and were told by the CG that we were good in that location until the DNR came and told us to move back a couple hundred yards until the Fire Dept. came and told us to move again. 3 anchorages and no one dept. has jurisdiction. We were one of the first in and when it was said and done we had the worst spot of all the anchored boats. Won't go back to have that type of experience.
 
Isn't it ironic that in 1814 it was the enemy (the British) that closed the harbor. Now, in 2014, it's our own government. How far we (haven't) progressed.
 
I anchored out Friday. I decided to stay outside of the safety zone (I did not go through it) as I thought viewing would be no better further in. I also didn't want to get locked in harbor by closing.

They actually did not shut it down 10 to 6. It was more like 11:30 to 4:30.

Not too bad. And by the way, our beloved President visited Ft McHenry. So I'm sure this was a factor in security.

Blue Angels were awesome.

So if anyone wants to see them today or tomorrow, all you really have to do is anchor out south or east of safety zone. Viewing is quite good from there.
 
We were at the show for multiple days and had great time. I did receive a few pleasant personal email responses from the Coast Guard personnel in charge of waterways closures regarding my questions about closure times and areas. Their responses did alert me to the likelihood of actual closure times. The waterway closed at 12:00 noon both weekend days and opened shortly after the end of the air show. So there was not unreasonable closures as was indicated by the notice to mariners. The president and VP were there Fri and Sat respectively which may have caused extra LE.

But I read a separate article that was interesting. It stated that the on water shows were most difficult for the Blue Angels and that the air box is closed for reasons beyond boater safety. They said the cutters are carefully placed in the box and needed for alignment during the solo and two plane maneuvers. They also said that any boat traffic near the perimeters and particularly in the visual marker area for the pilots can be very distracting and dangerous. Anyways, I thought the show was very entertaining and the Blue Angels at speeds approaching 700 mph and only a few feet apart at times make for one heck of a nice weekend on the water.
 
The reason for the difficulty in over-water shows is how the solo pilots maintain separation during their head-on passes. Over a runway they will each keep to one side of the runway and will therefore safely miss each other. Over water they need two clearly visible reference points and must each keep to the proper side of an imaginary line connecting the reference points (in this case the CG cutters). At over 600 knots one boat looks a lot like another, so keeping a sterile area with just two markers is critical.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top