Bellingham Comments from Digital Recorder - EISs for the Proposed ...

GATEWAY PACIFIC TERMINAL EIS SCOPING HEARING VOL. II
COURT REPORTER: BETH DRUMMOND PROCEEDING DATE: October 27, 2012
Page 40
1 THE SPEAKER: My name is Mike Praetzel, and my
2 wife Jill and I have lived here in this area for close to 40
3 years. We live out at Lummi Bay, and we also have spent
4 time in the water. We've sailed through San Juans. We've
5 sailed across the seas in good weather and foul weather.
6 We've seen the effects of wind and the weather on not only
7 ourselves in a small boat, but also in larger craft that are
8 in the area.
9 The main concern that I have is one that I don't
10 know has been addressed, and it has to do with the holding
11 capacity of the anchors that are attached to these ships.
12 These ships are a thousand feet long. They are
13 -- have considerable area that is exposed to the wind. The
14 winds have been documented at close to 100 miles an hour in
15 areas along the water.
16 You have an unimpeded stretch of water from
17 Rosario Strait on a long distance from the south to north at
18 Cherry Point. We live only a few miles from Cherry Point.
19 These ships are terribly vulnerable to winds of
20 that type. The anchors that they use are all cast in China.
21 The anchors have been known to break apart under stress.
22 I think it is imperative that any -- any major
23 consideration of this issue take into effect the stress upon
24 the anchors that are vulnerable and that are really not --
25 not capable of withholding the kind of stress that we've