Posted on August 2, 2016
By Risa Morris, nbc-2
A longtime wish is about to be granted for boaters in Naples.
Gordon Pass is going to be dredged.
Captain Elizabeth Bloch has been leading sailing charters for years. For the past few years, she’s had to change the way she runs her business because of sand shoals in the pass.
“The pass is too shallow now. None of us with deeper draft vessels have been able to use the pass,” Bloch said.
Soon that will all change. The $1.6 million dredging project is set to begin around August 10th. Harbormaster Roger Jacobsen said it’s a long time coming.
“It’s absolutely needed. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it anymore. Zero,” Jacobsen said.
Some boaters said they’ll believe it when they see the work being done.
“I have faith it’ll happen. Do I have faith it’ll happen in August? No. Just the way things run,” Boater Jim Kalvin said.
Bloch said the completion of the project will be a huge relief.
“I won’t have to run my business based on the depth of the pass,” Bloch said.
Jacobsen expects the work to take around two weeks. The dredging will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week until completed.
Source: nbc-2
