difficult to expand the operation at Wancheseo Oregon Inlet is 

 too shallow and too unstable for the safety of the large vessels 

 required for efficient swordf ish ing , 



On March 12, 1965, the Dare County Board of Commissioners 

 held a public hearing on improvement plans to Manteo (Shallowbag 

 Bay), Oregon Inlet and a channel to Wanchese in order to aid 

 U. S. Army Corps or Engineers in studying the situation and in 

 preparing their reports^ The people of the region were asked by 

 the Corps of Engineers to submit factual information on the type, 

 number, origin, destination and the light and loaded drafts of 

 present and prospective vessels expected to use the improvements 

 proposed. This information was prepared and submitted as a basis 

 for the proposed project. 



The existing project was completed by the Corps of Engineers 

 in 1963» It provided a channel 400 feet wide and 14 feet deep 

 from the Atlantic Ocean over the bar and through Oregon Inlet. 

 This channel then narrows to 100 feet by 12 feet and junctions 

 with three smaller channels, each 100 feet wide and 12 feet deep. 

 One ran from the inlet channel to the Pamlico Sound via Old House 

 Channel. The second provided a branch to wharves in Mill Creek 

 near Wanchese, and the third connected the Inlet with Manteo. A 

 turning basin 12 feet deep and 200 feet wide by 600 feet long was 

 provided at Manteoo At Wanchese, a turning basin 12 feet deep 

 and measuring 180 by 615 feet was cons true ted » In addition, a 

 channel 6 feet deep and 100 feet wide was extended from Manteo 

 into the Albemarle Sounds It was found during the next 18 months 

 that proper maintenance of these channels was a crucial factor 

 since they proved to be very unstable^ It was recommended that 

 the depth be increased to 21 feet at Oregon Inlet and that 

 protective devices become an integral part of the installation. 

 It was found that the inner channels had sharp turns which were 

 difficult for ocean-going vessels to negotiate, and that the six 

 foot draft of the channel from Shallowbag Bay at Manteo to 

 Albemarle Sound was too shallow to accommodate existing needs and 

 that it should be increased to 12 feet deep« 



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