A recent
legal decision ruled that the Navy must complete further environmental
impact studies regarding the controversial Outlying Landing
Field ("OLF") in Washington and Beaufort counties.
The Navy has countered by simply moving the location.
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Admiral
Z.Z. McKenzie shows the route taken by the carrier.
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“We
thought flying over Lake Mattamuskeet wouldn't of bothered nobody"
said Navy Admiral Z.Z. McKenzie, "but since those rabble
rousers got in the way we thought we best just go ahead and use
a place we already have rights to fly over."
The place is the prohibited zone just east of the Bay River, near
Hobucken. The Navy has brought in an aircraft carrier and moored
it there - bypassing government red tape in the process.
Admiral
McKenzie spoke to the NewsExtra news team Friday about
the challenges of getting the carrier into place.
"Now a carrier of this class draws 40 feet of water, which
may seem to be a problem in navigating near Hobucken. She's
nuclear, and we got her up to a full 35 knots coming in to the
Ocracoke Channel. She weighs 80,000 tons, and when we hit the
4 foot depths it hardly slowed her. That ship just glided right
through the muck, and slid right into her new spot pretty as
she could be."
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The
aircraft carrier at speed crossing the Pamlcio Sound.
Here the carrier slows to 20 knots as she pushes through
Brant I Shoal.
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An added
benefit to Pamlico Sound boaters is that there is now a dredged
40 foot channel from Ocracoke Inlet all the way to the Bay River.
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This
chart shows the route (in blue) used by the carrier to
get to the prohibited zone near Hobucken (shaded red).
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The new
OLF location will use existing training facilities east and
north of Bay River, expanding the range of those restrictions
across the western half of the Pamlico Sound. In documents obtained
by TownDock.net's NewsExtra news team the sum total
of the restricted area would extend from Hobucken to the tip
of Brant I Shoal and south as far as the Neuse River Junction.
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Thrilled
Hobucken residents line up to catch a glimpse of the nearby
aircraft carrier.
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“We
understand some folks are upset,” McKenzie stated. “We
would have preferred to use the Washington county site. But
given the necessity to have a new training facility in place
we had to move forward with an alternative location. This new
site in the Pamlico Sound insures that the training of American
pilots will not be disrupted.”
Because
of the size and length of the aircraft carrier and the required
security buffer around the practice area, most of the lower
Pamlico Sound will be off limits to civilian vessels during
flight training exercises.
Boat traffic navigating the ICW from Belhaven south to Oriental
and Beaufort will be re-routed across the Pamlico Sound, through
the Ocracoke Inlet and around Cape Lookout.
As a result,
much ICW traffic will no longer visit Oriental.
"It
might sound a bit inconvenient" says McKenzie, "but
Ocracoke Inlet is now at 40 foot depth. People should be thankful,
and true patriotic boaters will consider the detour as the 'freedom
bypass.'"
