Boating and Navigation

For as long as anyone has called Cape Cod home, the sheltered harbors and bays have been ideal for both recreational and commercial boating. The placement and design of the wind park ensures that these waters will continue to be ideal for this. Specifically, the turbines will be placed away from any commercial shipping lanes. Horseshoe Shoal is shallow—at mean tide the range is from 2 to 50 feet and at “low low” tide some of the bottom is exposed—making the Shoal dangerous for commercial shipping.

"As Master of Steam, Power and Sail, I have had over 35 years experience running large passenger vessels from Hyannis to both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard...The towers are nowhere near the commercial routes to the islands and are far enough apart to pose no threat to recreational boaters. There is no doubt in my mind that the wind farm will turn out to be of benefit to tourism here on the Cape and will go far toward reducing the pollution of our atmosphere, to say nothing of the potential savings on electrical power." Captain "Red" Lambert West Yarmouth, MA

The turbines will be placed a third to a half mile apart—making them easily navigated by recreational boaters and fisherman—so the park will not impact public use of Nantucket Sound.  The figure above shows what a 45 foot sailboat would look like centered between 4 turbines within the wind park.  Click on the image for a larger view.

To further ensure the safety of boaters, the area will be well marked with navigational lights. These lights, while easily visible to boaters, are designed to minimize visibility from shore. Tower lights will also alert small aircraft pilots to the presence of the turbines. All cables used to connect the towers and transmit the electricity to shore will be buried 6 feet under the ocean floor and so will not create an obstacle to navigation. Appropriate authorities, including the Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration, will review and approve the project prior to project construction.