March 27, 2012
Tuesday

I'm writing this in response to James Dornblaser and Charlotte Tanner's proposal of using the USS Enterprise as a bridge to Gravina.

Honestly I feel like I'm being trolled (if you don't know what that means look it up). I can only assume that these two articles were pure sarcasm because the idea is utterly ridiculous.

Although parking an aircraft carrier in the middle of the narrows would certainly be entertaining and unique and people WOULD come visit Ketchikan for perhaps that sole reason, the very logistics of it would be absurd.

Mr. Dornblaser writes, "Any inconvenience to the tourist ships from the blocked channel will be offset by the novelty of tours of such a grand 50 year old historical artifact." No. That is wrong. "Any inconvenience" could easily be translated to mean "complete inability for the cruise ships to visit Ketchikan". The entirety of the tourists visiting Ketchikan for this attraction or otherwise would have to come by plane, which is great and all and I definitely would appreciate the diversity of tourists, but that's not a feasible game plan for this town's economy. Cruise ships would be unable to navigate the narrows in any way. If they decided to still visit Ketchikan they would be forced to do a complete 360 and go back the way they came, either going out the other side of Gravina or some other route. That inconvenience is enough for these companies to cross Ketchikan off their list of stops entirely.

Mrs. Tanner writes, "I, myself, have been thinking of the problem a bridge presents to the passageway of Cruise ships and don't see why a hoist can't be constructed to lift them over the bridge, or in this case, over the scuttled USS Enterprise."

This obviously has to be a joke. I feel like I would become the butt of that joke if even responded to this.

All tourism aside, a scuttled aircraft carrier in the middle of the narrows would severely inhibit a lot of the local float plane traffic, Alaska Marine Highway Traffic, or the traffic of other large vessels that our town has pass through.

Need I remind anyone that a bridge to Gravina in of itself is a terrible idea. The ferry does more than a good enough job as it is.

Anyway the joke is probably on me because both Mr. Dornblaser and Mrs. Tanner had to be kidding.

Peter Jacob
Ketchikan, AK

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