The Moths were not happy with our polluted water
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club hosted Moths last month. Not the insect, the US Moth Fleet just in from the Bahamas. This was the third event this season for the Moth Fleet and they were back in the Grove for the first time in four years.
The Moth Class is a small development class of sailing boat. It was originally a cheap sailing boat built at home, by hand, now it is a high-end mostly commercially-made boat designed to hydroplane on foils.
The US Moth fleet puts the environment first and they had stayed away according to Class President Matt Knowles, because of the trash and debris in the water. This is one reason for the water clean up that you see at the Seminole Boat ramp often. I had not known about all the dirt and debris that was down below the surface.
It's interesting to see that a whole sailing fleet would keep their distance in the name of the environment. It's also interesting to know that the City of Miami has taken it seriously enough to clean out the waterways.
The Moth Class is a small development class of sailing boat. It was originally a cheap sailing boat built at home, by hand, now it is a high-end mostly commercially-made boat designed to hydroplane on foils.
The US Moth fleet puts the environment first and they had stayed away according to Class President Matt Knowles, because of the trash and debris in the water. This is one reason for the water clean up that you see at the Seminole Boat ramp often. I had not known about all the dirt and debris that was down below the surface.
It's interesting to see that a whole sailing fleet would keep their distance in the name of the environment. It's also interesting to know that the City of Miami has taken it seriously enough to clean out the waterways.
posted by Tom Falco at 10:00 AM
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3 Comments:
I use the ramp about 2/3 weekly and about once a week I look for debris by the water at Peacock. I ran into a few men who were being paid $5,00 for each bag of trash they rounded up. You can't see the bottom at about 5 feet of water by the ramp and going out South past the sailing club the water clears and I've never said junk or garbage on the bottom or floating about. I would take exception to anyone who states the water in this area is polluted, although I wouldn't swim or eat fish in this area. Plus the tides move through this area twice daily, moving in fresher water. Jobie Steppe
Part of what is probably an issue for the Moths is the floating seagrass that is churned up by the shrimp boats at night. You often see it collecting in the boat slip by Scotty's. That grass would wrap around the hydrofoils, and when you are racing at an international level, that sort of drag would be unacceptable.
Respectfully Ms. Niemeyer, I'm a professional beach comber, i.e., I actually make a good living beach combing; anyway the floating sea grass isn't dislodged by shrimp boats because if it were they would have lost their boats 15 years ago; boaters are fined for harming sea grass, as are bay shrimpers. On the East side of all the islands in the Florida Keys, where there is -0- shrimping going on their are tons and tons and tons of sea grass, 3/4/5 feet thick, and even more tons extending from the coast, Eastward, extending 10/15/30 feet. Please don't try to place sea grass loss to shrimpers who shrimp in Biscayne Bay, Thank you. P.S. Where does all the weed lines come from 3/4/6 miles East, out to sea, certainly not shrimpers!
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