10-13-2018, 05:58 PM
Big Island: Why A New Beach Created By Lava May Doom A Popular Boat Ramp..
From: https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/10/big-is...boat-ramp/
The Pohoiki boat ramp, which until the recent Kilauea eruption played a key role in supplying a lot of the Big Island’s locally caught fish, is now separated from the ocean by about 14,000 cubic yards of black sand.
Puna’s only boat ramp nearly didn’t survive at all. Lava came within yards of the ramp, and actually covered some of the adjacent Isaac Hale Beach Park, including the lifeguard stands, before stalling in July. The cooling flows now block access to the area except for hikers, and a brand new, sparkling black sand beach has turned the cove by the ramp into a small pond.
A state engineer inspected the area last month, and the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation announced it may be possible to clear a new channel to the intact boat ramp. But Mayor Harry Kim wants the new beach preserved and the whole area turned into a replacement for other recreational areas that disappeared under the lava.
“If it was a first-class pier, there would be a lot of second thought, but it was not,” Kim said. “It was a dangerous one.”
Treacherous waves and currents made entering and exiting the water there tricky even for experienced fishermen, and children playing in the ramp area made an extra hazard.
The opportunity to swim, surf and sunbathe has long been one compensation for living in one of the state’s poorest districts. For residents who’ve lost treasured local swimming spots such as the Kapoho Warm Ponds, the new pond at the old boat ramp may look like Pele’s gift.
But if Kim’s plan goes into effect and another ramp isn’t built elsewhere in the district, it would be bad news for Puna’s fishing community, which for decades has relied on the ramp to access fishing areas. The ramp, though notorious for its tricky currents and vicious waves, was one of the busiest in the state...
The entire article is at the link above..
From: https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/10/big-is...boat-ramp/
The Pohoiki boat ramp, which until the recent Kilauea eruption played a key role in supplying a lot of the Big Island’s locally caught fish, is now separated from the ocean by about 14,000 cubic yards of black sand.
Puna’s only boat ramp nearly didn’t survive at all. Lava came within yards of the ramp, and actually covered some of the adjacent Isaac Hale Beach Park, including the lifeguard stands, before stalling in July. The cooling flows now block access to the area except for hikers, and a brand new, sparkling black sand beach has turned the cove by the ramp into a small pond.
A state engineer inspected the area last month, and the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation announced it may be possible to clear a new channel to the intact boat ramp. But Mayor Harry Kim wants the new beach preserved and the whole area turned into a replacement for other recreational areas that disappeared under the lava.
“If it was a first-class pier, there would be a lot of second thought, but it was not,” Kim said. “It was a dangerous one.”
Treacherous waves and currents made entering and exiting the water there tricky even for experienced fishermen, and children playing in the ramp area made an extra hazard.
The opportunity to swim, surf and sunbathe has long been one compensation for living in one of the state’s poorest districts. For residents who’ve lost treasured local swimming spots such as the Kapoho Warm Ponds, the new pond at the old boat ramp may look like Pele’s gift.
But if Kim’s plan goes into effect and another ramp isn’t built elsewhere in the district, it would be bad news for Puna’s fishing community, which for decades has relied on the ramp to access fishing areas. The ramp, though notorious for its tricky currents and vicious waves, was one of the busiest in the state...
The entire article is at the link above..