Capt. Bruce Cowen and the Anna W II have retired. The Nantucket waterfront sure will miss them and the ice cream cruise.

Nantucket Adventures and the Juice Guys have a new Ice Cream Cruise for you.

It’s worth a look. It’s free Ice Cream. Yep, free. On Nantucket. Look Here:

NantucketIceCreamCruise.com

Read: Nantucket Ice Cream Cruise »

Nantucket Plagued by a Vocal Fringe Element Minority

We found out who the minority really is!

Thank you to everyone for your overwhelming support during the April 15th election. A message was sent loud and clear that Nantucket won’t be fooled by propaganda and that we as a community can see through BS a mile away. We all deserve a pat on the back. A special thanks needs to be sent to the The Coalition for Responsible Coastal Management folks in the photo above for their work. A little bit of money and a huge effort can go a long way.

Everything is not all roses

If you missed Kermit Roosevelt’s Letter to the Editor of the I&M on April 16th, it’s worth a read. We’ve scanned it and posted it here:

I&M Letters to the Editor

It’s pretty obvious that $BPF did not get the message and that they really do think that they will be able to sway public opinion with spin and more lies. Nobody on Nantucket believes for a second that Mr. Roosevelt’s thoughts about waiting for government review of the environmental consequences of his project are a good idea. After all, $BPF is paying private contractors to create the data that is submitted for permitting. Yes, that same data that hid the live bottom and shellfish beds in the mining site from their public application. The same people that fired Woods Hole to hire CP&E to get “better” data. The very data that $BPF calls an error by a subcontractor. They didn’t fire CP&E for making these mistakes, they have them out looking at a new borrow site off of Sankaty.

Yes Mr. Roosevelt Nantucket did rush to an emotional decision

It was done to stop $BPF’s corrupted data and corrupted process from being furthered on the State level. You got caught, you got stopped. Maybe, just maybe, you will learn a lesson. We can only hope.

A Battle Won, the War Remains

Question #5 is Non-Binding

What does that mean? It means that the people have spoken but the Board of Selectmen are not obligated to act. The Selectmen should act now to stop $BPF but they are not required to do so.

What can we do?

Contact the Board of Selectmen and let them know how you feel. Let them know that you expect them to act. It’s a sad fact of Nantucket Government that the Selectmen would need to be contacted, but they do. $BPF is a powerful force that is fighting for their lives. Our collective voice from on-island and off will hopefully send a message that will be received.

Contact the BOS: Nantucket Board of Selectmen

Important News Coming Soon:

Keep checking back and keep your eyes and ears open. There will be news in the next few days about the BOS. Your support will be appreciated.

 

Let SBPF know how you really feel

Get your stickers, T’s and hoodies from BagTheBluff.com

Click HERE

 

 

Read: 85% Oppose $BPF on April 15 »

Corey Hart - 1984?

Nope

How about ‘Sconset Beach all summer long?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the $BPF project not happening during July and August and how it couldn’t possibly happen at night.

Wrong on both accounts. The no work during summer rumor is based only on a small offshore area for one pipe that $BPF was considering excluding during the summer. So that means June through the finish date sometime in the Fall, the work will proceed 24/7. All day, all night.

This video will give you an idea of what that looks like.

I Wear My Sunglasses In ‘Sconset at Night

Read: Sunglasses at Night »

 

$BPF Infomercial on PlumTV

Our friends over at PlumTV are hosting a $BPF infomercial on their website. We encourage everyone to take an honest look at it and draw your own conclusions.

You can find the infomercial here:

SBPF Beach Nourishment Project Infomercial

After you watch the video, we ask that you take a moment and write a few comments (good, bad, pro, con, or otherwise) below the video on the PlumTV website.

Plum asks that all posts adhere to the following: Comments are reviewed and posted provided they’re on topic and respectful.

Read: Plum TV »

The following is a letter to the editor of the I&M

Written by Capt. Bob Decosta and published on 04/10/08.

 

 

FISHERMEN SPEAK OUT

It has come to our attention that the SBPF canvassers have been telling people that the fishermen are in favor of the beach nourishment project. I want to be very clear about this. NO NANTUCKET FISHERMEN IS IN FAVOR OF THIS PROJECT!!!! Here are some other myths and facts that have been misrepresented.

 

 

Myth: The fishermen picked the borrow site.
Fact: The fishermen did not pick the borrow site SBPF did.

Myth: No beach construction is planned for the mid-July-to-August period in the area identified by Nantucket fishermen as being most important for “Sconset fishing”.
Fact: The fisherman did identify an exclusion zone over the most important habitat in the Sconset fishing area. However SBPF told the fishermen that the area was too big and decided to cut the area in half. The fishermen also requested that no work on the water happen between June 1^{st thru} September 15^th. SBPF decided the time frame was too long and cut it in half.

 

Myth: SBPF reduced the scale of the project by 30% to accommodate the fishermen.
Fact: None of the 30% reduction of material happens in the “Important Fishing Area”.

 

Myth: SBPF hired the Chairman of the New England Fisheries Council to work with Nantucket Fishermen to help ensure that the project would be sensitive to their needs.
Fact: SBPF has not listened to the concerns of the fishermen regardless of who has brought them to SPBF’s attention. If fact the fishermen have been told by several representatives from SBPF that is project is going to happen whether we like it or not—so either get on board or get out of the way.

 

To continue Click Read “Myth vs. Fact” below

Read: Myth vs. Fact »

We found a great 3D Animation of dredge ships that helps put things into perspective. A lot of technical terms get bandied about, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

The Wagner Ride of the Valkyries playing in the background adds a nice touch but somehow brings up images of another beach at another time….

And this relates to Nantucket how?

Must be something to do with the Bournemouth Beach project that ruined the surfing there and the proposed reef that they might build to mitigate. It all sound so vaguely familiar. Proposed reef…. might build….

Click Read “A little Perspective” below to continue:

Read: A Little Perspective »

What does Booby Darin have to do with Nantucket?

After receiving the latest dis-informational mailer from SBPF things started to get a little fuzzy. The intra-cranial pressure had to go somewhere. So a little Bobby Darin singing Down by the Sea might help to soothe the nerves.

Still, what does Bobby have to do with anything?

We can’t get SBPF to stop mailing their lies so we’ll just sit back and watch a little video of beach nourishment. A soothing little piece that if SBPF has their way will be played out for our enjoyment in ‘Sconset during a summer very soon.

A little background from one of the locals that was blessed with the good fortune of trying to run a business post beach nourishment.

Immediately following the work, there was outrage from locals and visitors alike, that in the previously sandy areas of Southbourne beach, it had become almost impossible to walk barefoot. There were large swathes of razor-sharp sharp flints and oyster shells, and there was much adverse comment in the local and national press, despite frantic efforts to hush it up and not ’spoil the season’. A1surfshop Bournemouth Beach

Now that is a glowing endorsement for beach recharging. Not only was the beach a mess, but the surf break was destroyed and has yet to come back. There are plans however to build an artificial reef to surf on.

Click “Read” below to continue on to video:

Read: Cool off with a little Bobby Darin »

Just about everyone on Nantucket has been lucky enough to receive more junk mail than usual over the past week. Here is one of the recent pieces.

Let’s take a look at the fine print

Siasconset Bluff One:

“The plan avoids harm to birds and expands their habitat,”

Dr. Orrin Pilkey might not know everything, but he knows a decent bit about beach erosion. This is a direct quote from Dr. Pilkey,

“Beach nourishment is very damaging to the beach biota (i.e., the combined flora and fauna of a region) where a complete and unique food chain exists, topped by the birds people love to watch and the fish people love to catch. No beach biota - no fish and no birds.”

Recharged beach is not friendly to birds nor any other life forms so there is no gain in habitat, only loss. To read more, the above quote was taken from an article titled Beach Nourishment: Not the Answer.

Siasconset Bluff Two:

“the dredging of offshore sand has zero impact on any shoals, protects the fishery, and the needs of our fishermen.”

They must be growing some good weed in Siasconset. You would have to be high to write such a bold face mis-statement of reality.

Dredging 2.x cubic bazillion yards of sand off of the borrow site will have “zero,” let us repeat, “zero” effect on any shoals? Uh, hold on…. puff, puff, pass. Really, read it again and try not to laugh.

Do we even need to examine the claim that this project protects the fishery, and the needs of our fishermen? Nantucket fishermen have been the ones jumping up and down, screaming, HELP! Please god, somebody, HELP!

Read: SBPF - We’re calling your bluff »

Anyone who missed the endless hours of entertainment at the ConCom meetings may not have seen Pete Kaiser’s video. We have it here.

What’s so important about the video?
In over three years of expert testimony by SBPF, not once has there been any mention of the “live bottom” in the borrow site. We have been led to believe that the site was picked due to the low biodiversity of the area. Anyone who has been to the meetings has had suspicions that the SBPF “facts” have been questionable. It has been a daunting task to try to disprove these experts. They get paid to do what they do so they have all sorts of fuzzy reasoning behind everything they say.

The video is proof that SBPF has been stretching the truth with their data.
SBPF has been caught and the only replies from them are disparaging comments about Capt Pete and the rest of the fishermen. It’s pretty telling when you lash out to demonise your adversary. They could have done better.

Read: Capt Pete Video »

The folks down in North Carolina know a thing or two about beach erosion. We found a great video of beach nourishment on the Outer Banks. It’s worth a watch to see what “quality sand” looks and smells like.

Read: Outer Banks Beach Nourishment »