Sandals to build a JETTY on the 7 mile beach?

[RastaCrab]

http://www.nepa.gov.jm/Adverts/negri...on_project.pdf

[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.

[rastagirl777]

Well, I stand by my signature. And even though my post was removed, I'll ask TR again - I'm open to hearing about something that you think is more globally important that needs attention so that WE ALL can be part of the solution as opposed to part of the problem. In my opinion the environment is a global issue.

Nick, do you have a link to that article? Rob, its OK to post a link, correct?

[Rob]

RG777,

No posts of yours have been removed in this thread other than the ones you removed yourself. If you are asking TR or Jamaican Revelations the above question, you are asking it here for the first time. No question or post of yours was removed. Please do not misinform people.

As for wanting to share copyrighted information, using links to relevant copyrighted information is the correct way to make such posts. Re-posting copyrighted information is not allowed just as you have complained about others posting your copyrighted photos.

[Jamerican Revelations]

>>If you are asking TR or Jamaican Revelations the above question, you are asking it here for the first time. Please do not misinform people.


Thanks for noticing Rob

As for her, it is nothing new.

>>I'm open to hearing about something that you think is more globally important that needs attention

More globally important then this, well just about anything...& they all would be way to many to list & let alone for the sake of feeding into your constant badgering

[rastagirl777]

That's what I thought Rob just confirming.

I posted something on this thread yesterday and it wasn't here today. Techno oops perhaps. I certainly wasn't "misinforming" anyone intentionally. No matter, all that I need to say on this matter has been said.

Peace!

[Rob]

And even though my post was removed, I'll ask TR again...

RG777,

You said a post that you never made was removed. That is intentionally misinforming people.

[Nick]

Here is a link to the article re Mullins Bay, Barbados where the construction of groins (jettys) contributed to the loss of the beach due to a halting of the natural sand migration. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35816900

About the size of the beach now. When I first set upon the Negril Beach in 1969, it was very narrow with coconut palms reaching the waters edge in places. When I was a science teacher, many moons ago, one of the experiments that we did in the Earth Science class was to observe the effect of a jetty on the migration of sand along the coast. We did the experiment in a small wave tank and the result was a loss of beach down stream from the jetty. That was a 9th grade experiment. I believe that the most important thing that can be done to protect Negril's beach is a replanting of coconut trees and related vegitation where ever possible, combined with a concerted effort to revitalize the coral reef.

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

I still see people calling this a JETTY project and objecting how the unspoiled beach view will be ruined.
Was my first thought too, based on the title of the Thread, and posts on this board and others.
But that was before I read the proposal from the Sandals' consultants.

In a nutshell, here is the situation.
Because of where they are located on the beach, just south of a huge, natural sand-flow blocker (the Point Village land mass that separates Bloody Bay and Long Bay compounded by Booby Cay Island) it is as if they are on the downward side of massive natural jetty and the sand-flow to their beach is not as good as other areas of the beach.
Because of this, sand they have replenished their beach with in the past simply eroded away way too quickly.
They don't think they can run a multi-million dollar beachfront mega-resort without a decent beach and they can't wait possibly years for mother nature to swing their way and deposit it naturally.
So they either have to move to a better beach location - or find a longer term fix to the situation than just continually transplanting sand.

In a nutshell, here is their solution.
The plan is to put in off-shore underwater wave-breaks to keep the sand they are going to transplant from an off-shore site from being eroded away so quickly.

This is way better than the simplest solution - a huge jetty at the south end of their property that would essentially "steal" the sand flow from their downstream neighbors and ruin the view to boot.

To me, this seems like a minimally intrusive way for them to do it. I think we're lucky they have the money to spend to do it in a responsible way. A smaller resort without their resources would have probably gone with the cheap fix of a huge jetty we all THOUGHT they were planning.

[RastaCrab]

The problem with the Sandals proposal is not in the proposal but in how it is explained to others that lack a full understanding of the issues. Too often people react in ways that are not pragmatic. And if a crowd is involved, the reactions can be really off the mark. Petitions are like that sometimes. You get stopped on your beach walk by someone that looks friendly, they ask a question that is a bit misleading such as "Do you want to see cruise ships coming to Negril?", you answer in the negative, and are asked to sign a petition about beach erosion.

Back in the 1970s I was involved in designing and engineering a power plant that burned a combination of coal and trash. We won national and international engineering awards from our peers and the city was 100% behind it. Solved both a power problem and reduced the landfill requirements. The press called it the "Trash Burning Power Plant" and that was when the problems started. It was built on a swamp that had a natural stink to it. Before it was built the swamp stank, after it was build the swamp stank. BUT the people believed the stink came from the power plant. Despite expensive analysis to determine the cause of the smells and several community meetings (largely attended by activists who knew nothing about the natural environment and shouted down any engineering explanations), the plant was shut down and now rots. On top of that the landfills are filling faster and the power in use is created by coal burning only. How environmentally good was that?

The preservation of a beach in Jamaica is a good thing but certainly not the biggest environmental problem on the planet. If you want to focus on something useful for the future, focus on clean water for drinking.