The Morning After For Bethany Beach And The R/V Russell W. Peterson
May 13th, 2008 by Maria Evans
Today, the Russell W. Peterson, the vessel Bluewater Wind contratcted out to research the effects of its proposed wind farm on avian life, was still aground in Bethany Beach. One crew member was killed aboard the ship.
I was told officials think the ship has about 1,500 gallons of fuel on board, and at around noon today, about 800 gallons had been pumped out. This was the truck they were pumping the fuel into.
I was told the next step is pumping the water and sand out of the engine room, and then a tug boat will tow it to it’s next destination, where its fate will be determined.
Meanwhile, this is the view from the south, looking north, up Bethany Beach towards the vessel wreckage and the boardwalk.
And yes, that is massive erosion. I was there at low tide and there wasn’t much beach.
And that shows the end of one of the walkways to the beach. This particular walkway was closed off because it was quite a drop when you got to the end, and the Army Corps of Engineers was there with a contractor, checking out the damage to the $23 million beach replenishment project.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Again, great job Maria…
May 13th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I took all of those pictures with my Atlantic Celluar phone. They were sitting in my e-mail by the time I got home. I love that.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Maria , since there was loss of life I will refrain from jokes about BWW.
But your photos of the errosion of the beach are very telling.
It shows that no matter how much money or sand we throw at mother nature , she will always win. What your photos really show is millions of dollars washed out to sea, and of course we will now spend millions more to replace it and then watch as that is swept out to sea also.
Storms like these show just how tiny and insignificant man is in the grand scheme of things , and how little we do and can effect nature. You can read between the lines I’m sure.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Isn’t that the truth, Frank! We can go so far then Mother Nature reins us in…
May 14th, 2008 at 7:49 am
Most importantly the loss of a life during this storm was tragic, and I hope this doesn’t morph into the conception that Wind Energy is extremely dangerous. This was a most unfortunate incident. I do have to question, though, why they were out there in the first place on a day like this. As to the beach replenishment program, if we believe the federal government is going to cut another check, we are sadly mistaken. I think Bethany Beach, The State of Delaware is on their own. Between the inlet bridge and the beach problems, tourism in this region is going to become greatly hampered, but I guess for locals, that may be a good thing until they realize it’s taking a toll on their piggy banks.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Apparently, Ron, the vessel had been out at sea for weeks doing a bird migration study. The crew was described as “two captains” by Aqua Survey, the company that owned and staffed the boat.
May 14th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Is this the point where the residents of Bethany Beach will stop complaining about the taxpayers sand obstructing their view of the ocean, and start whining about the loss of the said sand?
May 14th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I can tell you that the overwhelming sentiment in Bethany was thankfulness for the dunes.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:09 am
So, yeah, Realist this seems to be the point.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Good job Maria.
On our loss of the $23 million beach replenishment project I wonder how much of that beach replenishment expenditure was for the public’s use and if the Feds will fund it again.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
As global warming heats up, we will get faster sea level rise and more violent weather. This sort of destructive storm will become more common.
We need to set more effective limits on waterfront development.
am
May 18th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Stop it Alan your scaring the children . And just for information sake recent studies are predicting a ten year “NATURAL” cooling trend. Now how does that happen if “MAN MADE” global warming is so imminent ? Sorry Maria , I know this will turn your report into something completely different.
And as someone who has been out spoken as being against the wind project from the start , just let me say that this boating accident is just that a boating accident, it has nothing to do with the bad idea that wind power is, this could have happened if this boat and crew were out there fishing. I have many reasons for being against wind power, but they do not include bad seamanship.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Joan Deaver Says:
May 14th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Good job Maria.
On our loss of the $23 million beach replenishment project I wonder how much of that beach replenishment expenditure was for the public’s use and if the Feds will fund it again.
100% public use…thats why sea colony (private) and north bethany (private) couldn’t participate in the project, and the entire beach in Bethany was required to sign a public use easement.