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Milford Harbor dredge project

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5232 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/26/2016 : 08:36:25

Wow! After years of planning and applying for permitting and identifying sources of funding and a ton of legwork, the City of Milford CT Harbor Commission had finally succeeded in getting approval for the dredging project for the Weepauwaug River - the main harbor at Gulf Beach.

Also in that time the channel depths went from bad - about 6 ft at low tide in spots - to worse: finally after the October Nor'easterer of 2012 and Superstorm Sandy in 2013, the mouth of the Harbor silted up so badly that only half of it's original 100 ft width was passable.

This little workingman's harbor is not some Fairfield or Nassau county "Gold Coast" harbor full of 60' and 80' footers with dinghies bigger than my boat. It's a very middle class harbor with tons of great people who just want to enjoy life and friends. We're very fortunate to have had some city planners who recognized the lifestyle and economic value of a small harbor close to a cozy downtown area, and who dedicated funds into making it all that it could be.

The average boat in Milford is an '80s or '90s vintage thirty footer at one of three marinas, at the "upper crust" Milford Yacht Club or at the city marina and boat ramp. You can see an article about the harbor in the current Windcheck Magazine here.

Boating New England on YouTube also has an episode featuring Milford where my boat, Passage, appears. See here.

So at long last the Army Corps of Engineers' dredge vessel Currituck arrived two weeks ago and has been sucking up silt from the channel and depositing it near a beach that's been ravaged by the storms. The sand is being used to replenish what was once a very broad beach. I've been checking depths all along the channel as I go in and out of the harbor, and they're creating a 100 ft wide channel at 12 foot depth at mean low water that extends about 2500-3000 feet out from the harbor.

Yesterday, they took care of the mouth of the harbor. What was once a rocky sandbar sticking out halfway across the channel is now about 16 ft deep! The project is largely complete with the exception of around the last marker buoy RN-6A. It's been a great project and our Harbor Commission will be holding a ribbon cutting at the Milford YC next weekend once it's complete.

Here's the NOAA chart of the area here. Zoom in behind Charles Island to check out the harbor

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - Voyager on 06/26/2016 08:40:29

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9014 Posts

Response Posted - 06/26/2016 : 09:08:55

Milford Harbor and the town marina at its head are local gems! When we brought our "new" boat, Passage, from Mystic home to Darien, we spent a night at the town marina, steps from many nice restaurants in the quaint village (which was nice--it was raining). Now Passage lives in Milford and I live in Mystic... Go figure!

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1736 Posts

Response Posted - 06/26/2016 : 18:16:04

I agree that Milford is a gem. In 78 raced Star class boats with a friend at Milford yacht Club and In 84 when I bought my first sailboat and sailed it from Westbrook to Darien I spent a night in Milford. A very charming and boat friendly port. Glad that the improvements/restoration is taking place, I just hope the the silt from I95 does not relatively quickly head down stream and cause a similar narrowing of the channel.

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5232 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2016 : 00:18:31

Peter,
I like the harbor and the townspeople there. A few weeks ago an Eagle Scout refurbished a small gazebo at the town park and boat ramp. The scout did a great job on it with contributions from the local Lowes Home Center, a paint shop and a tool shop. The town fathers rededicated it on Memorial Day for the Veterans. The USCGAUX, VFW, the Alderman and the Mayor (who lives nearby) as well as the local press all turned out for the ceremony. I was invited representing the Milford Power Squadron as Commander. Just a great town.
The Army Corps thought of the siltation problem you accurately identified. Upstream from the harbor there are three impound dams - one on West River Street above Main St, one next to City hall (the duck pond and waterfall and the 3rd by the Stone Bridge restaurant. Each of these will be dredged in the coming months. These affect the harbor moreso than the navigation channel in the Gulf. The channel is more influenced by "drift" of sand moving west along the shore due to weathering like Nor'easterers and siltation in Gulf Pond, an extensive tidal estuary that's surrounded by highways that receive sand and salt in the winter and homes that have soil runoff due to unconstrained construction (lack of mud fences).

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

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