Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Quick Article Index . . .
A new twist to an
old channel.
Black Friday slow, but by Cyber Monday sales
were upbeat.
Westport Rivers
hosted their annual holiday show.
Lees and the WFD
lend a helping hand.
|
A
new twist to an old channel. EverythingWestport.com
Saturday, November 28,
2009
Revolutionary War British warships avoided
it. More than a few lives have been lost navigating it, and small craft have
long dreaded it. “It is not
without peril,” said Harbormaster Richie Earle.
Three weeks ago the Coast Guard’s Aids to
Navigation Team from Bristol R.I. relocated navigational aids (bouys) to the
east side of Halfmile Rock. “The harbor channel has been designated a federal
channel, and the U.S. government is responsible for its upkeep and channel
maintenance, including channel markers,” said Westport’s Harbormaster Richie
Earle. “This unit maintains waterway navigation
equipment and support of other Coast Guard units. “The Army Corp of Engineers decided to
relocate the channel to the east of half Mile Rock as part of the
federally-funded channel dredging project of 2007/2008,” Earle said Click here
to read the article and view photos of the channel dredging project. “Bouys 5 and 6 were relocated to the east
side of Halfmile Rock,” Earle said, “and they added bouys 5A and 5B.” The
channel now runs east of Halfmile rock, straightening out a bend that has
long been an annoyance for small craft and sail-powered vessels. Back at the turn of the 20th century
Westport’s harbor channel was to the east of Halfmile Rock. With the addition
of a light on the Nubble and other navigational aids further out, the channel
entrance was moved to the west of Halfmile Rock so that mariners could take a
line-of-sight (no GPS navigation back then!) to the harbor entrance and stay
clear of Halfmile Rock and other underwater hazards to the east. On the rocks. Early on the morning of July 31, 2005
harbor residents woke up to the astonishing sight of the 70’ trawler
Fishermans Dream hung up on Halfmile Rock outside the harbor entrance. The
story was the Fishermans Dream’s navigational system’s chip was outdated and
the captain thought he was going into New Bedford Harbor. He got on the wrong
side of Halfmile rock before he realized his error, and in trying to get out
he ran aground on hidden rocks. Westport and Little Compton’s coastline is
littered with rocks and ledge, and you have to know the waters to stay out of
trouble.
Left: The
newly-designated federal channel now exits Westport harbor to the east of Halfmile
rock, eliminating the sharp bend. Right: Navigational aids (bouys) have been
relocated to the east of Halfmile Rock (Gooseberry causeway is in the
distance). Click on images to enlarge. High tide floated the trawler free and the
tug Jaguar towed the boat to New
Bedford for repairs. Luckily
no one was injured. “But that’s not always the case Earle said. “I remember
in the early 70s when Bill Kirby and Timmy Flores took out Bill’s new boat he
built that spring. They ran into heavy turbulence at the channel entrance and
decided to turn the boat around and come back in. The waves flipped them over,
and Bill and Timmy and the turned-over boat floated back up the river. The
last anyone saw of Timmy alive, he was clinging to the channel marker across
from the old whaling dock.” The
channel back then imposed a radical starboard-side turn on vessels, and high,
choppy seas driven by southwest winds made the confluence of sea and tide at the harbor entrance
extremely treacherous to small craft. “Albert
Rozena took out Jim (crab) Manchester’s skiff and saved Bill,” Earle recalled.
Dredging project
fights the ebb and flood. ‘We
put temporary markers up on the east side of Halfmile Rock just before last
winter,” Earle said. “Pyne’s barge used that channel in November and in early
summer to transport the dredged material from around the town docks to the
dumping ground out at sea. He couldn’t make that turn west around Halfmile
Rock.” The
channel dredging in 2007/2008 wasn’t always easy either. “The moon tides were
just kicking our butt,” lamented Mike “Twink” Will, the burley Southwind
Construction senior Field Superintendent in charge of the channel dredging
project. “We put the pipe straight out there at slack tide and started
pumping, but the outgoing tide bowed the pipeline, broke the 1000 lb anchors
free, and snapped the line like a twig. Twink, as his friends call him, had
to fight high, rapidly moving, full moon tides for most of the first two
weeks.
Left: This aerial
photo (submitted photo) shows the almost 180 degree turn to the west of
Halfmile Rock when going to sea that will be eliminated with the new channel.
Right: Halfmile Rock seen from the Nubble’s light. Channel markers are
clearly visible in the enlarged picture. Gooseberry and Cuttyhunk are seen in
the distance. Click on images to enlarge. The new channel entrance doesn’t eliminate
the sometimes treacherous conditions at the mouth of the Westport River. What
it does do, however, is give large vessels with hefty drafts and sailboats
with center boards the ability to more easily navigate into the harbor
without making radical turns in heavy seas. During the American Revolution, British war
ships patrolled the coast and made unsuccessful attempts to enter Westport
Harbor to attack the Point. They failed and took their frustration out on
Westport by shelling a few homes on Acoaxet’s shore. Black Friday slow, but by Cyber
Monday sales were upbeat. EverythingWestport.com Monday,
November 30, 2009
Cyber
Monday, a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation, showed an
11% increase nationally over last year. The NRF referred to the Monday
following Black Friday as Cyber Monday since broadband internet before 2005
wasn’t readily available at home, so Americans waited until Monday morning to
do their on-line holiday shopping at work. That
is no longer the case today as internet bargain hunters impelled a flurry of
discount buying over the weekend, mostly for high-ticket electronic items,
resulting in the double-digit increase over 2008, the worst holiday season
ever. Free shipping played a role in the groundswell of sales. Cyber
Monday appears to be starting on Black Friday, and is becoming Cyber Week. Associated
Press reported retail web sites kept amping up the deals Monday, the first
day after Thanksgiving weekend's strong online sales, to try to maintain the
momentum. More. Signs of life in
stores as holiday shopping begins. AP
reported that nation’s shoppers took advantage of deals on toys and TVs with
some renewed vigor in stores and online on Black Friday after a year of
concentrating their spending on basic necessities. Meanwhile,
a research firm that tracks business at stores reported tepid sales and
customer traffic for Friday and Saturday that confirmed a so-so start to the
season for the bricks-and-mortar world. Though the Web is only about 10
percent of the holiday shopping pie, it's seen most of the growth so far this
year — an encouraging sign after last year's first online sales decline. More. Westport retailers
see mixed results.
“Black
Friday was a little quiet for us,” Charlie McConnell of Sticks, Stones &
Stars said. “People were shopping at the malls and taking advantage of steep
discounts.” However, Saturday was a
different story. “Saturday was a good day for us,” McConnell said. “Our sales
were much better than Saturday of last year.” This fashionable artisans’
gallery of Central Village represents many of the south coast’s finest
artists, painters, glass sculptors, photographers, jewelry makers, and
features the unique pottery and specialty paper making of master potter Wayne
Fuerst. Partner’s
Village Store and Kitchen was busy Friday as the specialty gift and book
store reported brisk activity all day. Partners does an extraordinary job all
year with in-store promotions plus activities and events for people of all
ages. Down
the road at A. S. Deams, Ann Frechette echoed the comments of McConnell.
“Friday is usually a quiet day for us after Thanksgiving, but Saturday was up
to par. We had a fair amount of people looking. We were definitely off from
last year. I guess Black Friday is becoming Electronics Friday for the malls
and mass merchandisers.” Westport Rivers
hosted their annual holiday show. EverythingWestport.com
Saturday, November 28,
2009
View the hi-resolution photo album for this
event now 13 photos | Broadband/DSL
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There’s
no better way to come home for the holidays than with an afternoon at
Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery. The admission was free, as always. The
event featured live entertainment, hayrides, Christmas caroling, hot cocoa
and coffee, kettle fires, walking vineyard tours, Christmas tree lighting
ceremony, storytelling and ornament decorating for the kids, and hot cameral
apple cider supplied by Brian Medeiros of Dartmouth Orchards. But visitors came
for the wine and the ambience of one of the more picturesque spots in
Westport. And
there were the ubiquitous alpacas of Shelly and Chris Riley, always a treat
for kids of all ages. For
a fee many tried a discounted wine tasting. Also available throughout the day
were some light fun food options, and locally made farm fresh beer and wine
by the glass. This family-friendly event is always a great time for all. For
more information about Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery visit them online
at www.westportrivers.com
Lees
and the WFD lend a helping hand. EverythingWestport.com
Tuesday, November 24,
2009
View the hi-resolution photo album for this
event now 8 photos | Broadband/DSL
speed |
Above left: Firefighter Tony Ward lends a helping hand
at Lees. Above right: Loading up the vehicles for Thanksgiving deliveries. Imagine sitting
down to a Thanksgiving dinner, and the roasted turkey so emblematic of this
traditional holiday is unmistakably absent. Sorry, you’re told. There’s just
no money this year. Things are tough. For 60 Westport
families the above scenario will not play out due to the generosity of local
residents, the Westport Fire Department and most notably Lees
Supermarket. Seven off-duty
Westport firefighters pitched in to deliver turkeys and groceries donated by
Westport resident contributions, collected by Lees over the last three weeks.
“Contributions were off this year,” said Lees’ employee and Westport
firefighter Dan Baldwin. “Lees Supermarket made up the substantial difference
to insure that all of the less fortunate Westport families received this assistance.” Families in need
of support were made known to the Westport school system, and the Westport
Fire and Police Departments, and each family received a turkey and a bag of
groceries to lighten their burden this Thanksgiving holiday. We made all of
our scheduled deliveries,” said Mr. Baldwin, “and wish to thank all who
contributed time and money to this very worthwhile project.” Participating
off-duty fire fighters included: Lt. Ledeux and Lt. Andrade; full time
firefighters Dan Baldwin, Glenn MacKillop, and Tony Ward; and call fire
fighters Brian Moniz and Bob Parowski. Hats off to Lees
Supermarket for making our town a community.
Above left: Dan Baldwin (left) gives last minute
destination instructions to Lt. Ledeux (center) and Tony Ward. Above right:
Dan Baldwin and Tony Ward load up for their district distribution. - - - - - End - - -
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