Starboard view of the dredge "Sea Way" at work. This is the business end of the    dredge. It is hard at work here.   Port view of the dredge "Sea   Way." What a great machine!

Stern View of dredge.   Output pipe from the stern    park boat ramp.   Sub Aqueous employees refuel the dedge tender.

The dredge tender refueling at the L dock on the inlet's S. side. Yep, that's me, Jim Culberson, on    the dredge. I was impressed.   Inlet Administrator, Martin Smithson   on the District's rented boat. Thanks for the ride!

12/03/09 It has been way too long since I updated this page.   Dredging of the channel was successfully completed in 2007. The improved channel has been a boon for boaters in that now larger vessels can safely navigate from the Atlantic to the intracoastal waterway and the clearly defined channel is keeping almost all the boat traffic off of the sea grass beds. Its a wonderful thing to witness.   The channel does have a narrow dog-leg at marker 21. It is a current goal of the Sebastian Inlet District to correct this problem. It arose due to the prescence of a large bed of sea grass right at that spot which thwarted the District's initial channel design. The permitting agencies wouldn't allow the District to dredge through the sea grass. As a marine biologist I know sea grass is important, but in my opinion boater safety is more important. All the sea grass on planet Earth can't replace one human life and the dog-leg at marker 21 is dangerous enough to warrant inmprovement. Efforts are underway to correct this problem.   Inlet Administrator Martin Smithson gave me a ride on the District's rented boat "Mud Hen" on July 7, 2007 to visit the dredge "Sea Way." The photos on this page are from that visit.   What an amazing machine.   It was my first visit ever to a dredge and as impressive as it seemed to me I hear there are much larger ones. Nevertheless, "Sea Way" is really something to see operate as it swings itself back and forth cutting the channel while moving forward at the same time and pumping many hundreds of cubic yards of sand.   The photos on this page were all taken by myself, Jim Culberson, except for the shot of me on the dredge which was taken by Administrator Smithson (thanks Marty!).   This project has been permitted after years of work on the part of many people. This list includes Congressmen, State and local legislators, Inlet District Administrator Mr. Martin Smithson, the District's talented team of engineers and biologists, the District's dedicated office staff and the District's Commissioners. Thanks are also due all the members of the public who have supported the District in its efforts. For more information contact the Sebastian Inlet District's office at 114 Sixth Avenue, Indialantic, FL 32903, phone 321-724-5175.     Sunset view of dredge pipe in the inlet. Submerged pipe sign. Boaters be careful. Pelicans on dredge pipe.       M. Smithson and F.I.T. Grad student Clay tow in busted channel marker. Grad student Clay and fearless dog Willie with Mud Hen and busted pole.   Park personnel help Inlet District by lifting pole out of water for repair. Big thanks!        F.I.T. grad students Clay and Adam prepare for a day of turbidity monitoring . Willie the dog is there. Work on the Inlet's boat launch has been ongoing also. Soon to be finished    This is the first of four pumping stations moving dredged material.        If you want to email you can do so by clicking here.     You can also mail me, Jim Culberson, at 218 Ash St., Melbourne, FL 32904.     (P.S Click Here to read a fishing story I wrote about The Inlet)