Sandals to build a JETTY on the 7 mile beach?

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

I, too, have signed the petition. But after downloading and reading the actual report commissioned by Sandals - I am not nearly as worried as I was when I heard the word JETTY. I pictured a huge rock pile extending out from the beach at the southern end of Sandals's property - one, ruining the unbroken view of beach/sea - and two, just blocking the flow of sand down the beach - and selfishly depriving their neighbors of their sand. But that is NOT what they are proposing.

Below is pic from the report that should help crystalize the discussion. It shows the locations recommended for Sandals to add the various structures to keep the replenished sand from eroding away. Almost everything is OFF-SHORE and UNDERWATER.

a)The main one is an underwater breakwater 175m long made of large boulders running parallel to the beach about 140m offshore. It is designed to be about 0.3m below mean sea level (MSL) in water about 2m deep. It should be underwater except at very lowest tides.

b)The other two are underwater artificial reefs at 58m and 178m length, made of something called BioRock. They are also roughly parallel to the beach about 170m and 250m offshore, respectively. They are in water about 2.5m deep and designed to be about 1-1.5m below MSL. They are less of a breakwater because they are not solid and farther under the surface of the water.

c)The final one is a 26m extension to the existing so-called northern groyne. It will be a typical jetty, but covered with timber so Sandals can use it for a dock for their water sports toys. It appears to be very minor.

d)They had also originally planned for 5 groynes (labelled A-E in the pic) along the beach that would be UNDER THE SAND, not the water. But their study found that the sand movement was the same with/without these. So in their final recommendation to Sandals, these sand groynes were removed from the plan.

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

Some further thoughts...As I said, I signed the petition and wish they weren't going to add man-made stuctures. But now my mind is way more at ease.

I had thought this was going to be a small, not very well thought through, proposal consisting of a short statement about Sandals plans and a few pictures and diagrams showing where a jetty would go. They typical Jamaican building project.

I also had thought they were talking about a typical boulder-rock jetty starting on the beach and extending out into the sea the approx 175m everyone has been mentioning. Beside destroying the natural ocean view, I thought this jetty would simply block the flow of sand south to other properties, selfishly.

Instead, this seems to be a very professional study done by experts making a recommendation to Sandals after looking at many options. Also, most of the proposed structures will be underwater and therefore out of sight.

Also, it seems to take into account many factors I thought they would ignore. For me, the main one being the affects on the rest of the beach properties - seems they will not be affecting them adversely. They also propose, just for one example, that the sea grass in places where the structures are to be built, be relocated to other areas in front of Sandals that are now barren of sea grass. So no net loss of any more sea grass.

I would bet this proposal will probably get approved. So my thoughts are that we should concentrate on demanding that the actions they propose that Sandals take to mitigate the affects of this project on the environment, and neighboring properties, are enforced. There is a whole section on this covering many things.

What they are proposing as mitigating steps won't be easy or cheap, and in Jamaica things like that can easily be skipped over at construction time. To me, it seems like that has a more likely chance of success.

Just my 2-cents.

[DaveC]

The only link I have been able to find to the actual proposal has expired. It seems alot of people are signing the petition without reading or even looking over the proposal since it does not seem available anymore for some reason.


This one is the only one I have been able to find and once I get there there download link says the document has expired.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...a41833b61ebe00

Does anyone know where I can find a valid. working link to a copy of the actual proposal?

Thanks for any help!
Dave

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

The only link I have been able to find to the actual proposal has expired. It seems alot of people are signing the petition without reading or even looking over the proposal since it does not seem available anymore for some reason.

This one is the only one I have been able to find and once I get there there download link says the document has expired.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...a41833b61ebe00

Does anyone know where I can find a valid. working link to a copy of the actual proposal?

Thanks for any help!
Dave

I had downloaded it to my PC.
I just put a copy up in my Google Docs and shared it out. First time doing that, so may have to tweak the permissions if doesn't work.
Try this link and let me know how it works.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0U...thkey=COPOrccI

[Jamerican Revelations]

Perhaps the people who signed this petition could find some more worth while causes that truly affect the world.

[captaind]

Rob's assessment is correct. I first saw the beach in 1969 and had a water sports business from 1973 to 1986 and I saw the beach change many times. As with most beaches in the world it's always a dynamic situation. The sea giveth and the sea taketh away.

I realize that many of the signers of the petition are well intentioned but perhaps it's was a bit of a knee jerk reaction.

Just one sailor's opinion.