HomeMy WebLinkAboutSara Molyneaux_re_ Bonnybrook Realty Trust, 185 Ocean View Avenue, Pier Extension ProjectFrom: Sara Molyneaux <meauxmo1@comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, April 3, 2023 12:41 PM
To: Cavanaugh, Kimberly
Subject: re: Bonnybrook Realty Trust, 185 Ocean View Avenue, Pier Extension Project
To the Members of the Barnstable Conservation Commission:
I write to submit my opposition to the Levanthal/Bonnybrook 25 foot dock extension into the record. As one
who has had the privilege of enjoying Cotuit Bay for over four decades, as a sailor, a rower, a windsurfer and a
swimmer, I have some personal knowledge of just about every nook and cranny of the bay’s topography.
First, I take issue with the speculation put forth by the applicant, that the proposed extension “does not impact
any leisure activity or sport taking place within 100 ft. of the resource area.” This is false, given the proximity of
the westernmost end of Dead Neck/Sampson’s Island, part of which is submerged as the natural process of
longshore drift continually builds up sand and fills in to the west. A sandbar results, which can be partly
submerged. The area of the existing dock is one of the most congested and highly travelled narrow channels of
the Three Bays - a channel that is getting narrower over time. The “resource area” mentioned in the application
is never any wider than several hundred feet to begin with, and navigators routinely pass within 100 feet of the
existing dock!
Secondly, the narrow and restricted shape of Cotuit's channel produces the Venturi effect, causing the velocity of
the water to be increased, as the water needs to flow faster in the constricted area. Faster flows tend to produce
more problems for all recreational users - sailors, power boaters, kayakers, and others. One can only imagine
what effect higher sea levels, and increased intensity and frequency of coastal storm events will have on these
natural effects of drift and erosion and damage to the barrier island.
An embayment such as the Three Bays is affected by other interesting rules of physics, as you know. Because
of the twice daily ebb and flood cycle, and the volume of seawater in the Bays, any change in the openings
from Nantucket sound is resisted by natural forces. Equilibrium requires the daily exchange of water to be the
same. * In 1898, the year the Osterville Cut was opened and its opening made permanent by significant stone
jetties, the Cotuit channel began its efforts to close up, just as we see today, after its recent re-dredging.
Of all the dock applications sent through the conservation process in the last several decades, I cannot name
one that more clearly should be denied.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Sara Molyneaux
581 Old Post Road
Cotuit MA
meauxmo1@comcast.net
* https://churbuck.com/2019/01/13/a-history-of-the-osterville-cut/
CAUTION:This email originated from outside of the Town of Barnstable! Do not click links, open a achments
or reply, unless you recognize the sender's email address and know the content is safe!