It's funny how quickly we go off topic here. It quickly went from Cape Canaveral security restrictions being lifted, of which there were two replies, to a thread about a ship off California.
Here is the article in it's entirety:
Shock: Canaveral Bight re-opens
Prime sportfishing area had been closed for nearly six years amidst security concerns
BY BILL SARGENT
PORT CANAVERAL - In a sudden and unexpected move, U.S. Coast Guard officials last week announced the re-opening of the Canaveral Bight security zone.
Anglers were shocked because many felt the closure to the prime sportfishing area was permanent.
The 3-by-23-mile zone totaling 69 square miles of ocean had been closed to the public for nearly six years. It was locked down soon after the 9-11 terrorist attacks in 2001 when authorities secured the borders around the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The announcement came Tuesday from Roddy Corr, the chief warrant officer for the Port Canaveral Coast Guard Station at a special meeting of the Canaveral Charter Captains Association.
"The public has the right to use the waterways. We did not feel that we needed to close that area," Corr told the meeting crowd, mostly charter boat captains.
"You can run anywhere you want along the beach. You can spit on the beach if you want," said Corr, drawing a laugh.
Corr pointed out that the area will continue to be closed four days in advance of space shuttle launches and four hours before rocket launches.
This inshore area historically has been exceptional for a wide range of ocean fish including king mackerel, tarpon, cobia, tripletail, snook and pompano. The beachhead in the bight drops sharply into a deep trough paralleling the beach and forming a natural feeding zone.
The bight also offers a haven for small boat anglers who find protection from the northerly wind during winter cold fronts.
For those reasons and more, anglers and charter captains lodged numerous complaints about the closure with Air Force and Coast Guard officials. Magazine and newspaper accounts were written about the closure and its effect on the sportfishing industry.
After Tuesday's announcement the word spread quickly and Canaveral anglers started celebrating. Many headed for their boats and the launch ramps to explore and fish the new-found waters. There were days last week when 50 or more boats were spotted inside the Canaveral Bight.
The entire security area, which includes a very shallow shoal at the tip of Cape Canaveral, extends past the Cape to the offshore "A-Can" buoy on a line east of Haulover Canal.
While there are other agencies involved in the security enforcement in and around the KSC and the Air Force Station, including the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, the Coast Guard takes the lead, Corr said.
"The Air Force and all security personnel approve of this decision to re-open," Corr said assuredly.
Anglers inside Port Canaveral also got a bonus because security restrictions along the north jetty and in the Middle Turning Basin were lifted.
"People can anchor up right along side the jetty, as long as they don't set foot on the jetty," Corr said.
In the Middle Basin anglers must follow the standard security restrictions set up for vessels and docks.
The Trident Basin, the eastern most basin in the port, will remain closed.
Contrary to early reports, the eastern half of the 8-mile long No Motor Zone in the Banana River also will remain closed. Only the western half of the zone will be open to the public.
Mark Carstens, the Coast Guard's Space Launch Coordinator, said the security and safety zones during space shuttle launches will continue to be expanded well beyond the Canaveral Bight area.
"Those zones vary according to the flight azimuth of the vehicle," Carstens said.
Details of those closures will be offered through the local media as well as VHF channel 81, or by calling Carstens office at (321) 868-4238.
Historically a "red ball" system on a 90-foot pole on the beach immediately north of the entrance to Port Canaveral has been used when security zones are closed, and this visual notice, which includes a rotating red light, will continue for mariners.
Corr said a "misconception" by officials of the original emergency regulation for the Canaveral Bight closure accounted for the nearly 6-year delay for re-opening.
"Everyone thought it was a permanent security zone after 9-11 and we didn't realize that it had expired," Corr said. "At this time we simply want to go forward with the new regulations."
Officials and members of the Canaveral Charter Captains Association were among those working to get the closure lifted.
Boaters are finding that the deeper cuts across the shoal around the tip of Cape Canaveral have filled with sand during the six years making navigation by larger boats hazardous.
"I don't remember it being that bad before the closure," said Jim Ross, an inshore and shallow water guide. "Outside of those with small skiffs there will be problems crossing the shoal."
Boaters must navigate eastward around the shoal.
If so, I would have to say that's very UNKIND indeed...unless, of course, those wrecks are located in lease areas they already have...which I DO NOT think they are...Please clarify...
