Dredging Annapolis Harbor for Round-the-World Volvo Ocean Race

Client: City of Annapolis

Location: Annapolis, Maryland

Services: Environmental, Marine and Geotechnical Engineering

Annapolis, Md., one of the busiest recreational boating centers in the nation, is widely considered the sailing capital of the United States. As such, it was once again chosen, along with Baltimore, as one of 10 stops in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread), an eight-month sailing competition that circles the globe every four years and promised an estimated $50 million in tourism revenue for Maryland this spring. There was just one problem — The 2005-2006 race featured a new class of 70-foot sailing yacht designed for depths that, at the time, exceeded Annapolis Harbor’s.

This issue sparked city officials — who have long considered increasing the harbor depth — to act. In the spring of 2003, the city of Annapolis tasked KCI’s Environmental Engineering Division with providing preliminary concepts for the dredging and an associated environmental restoration project to be undertaken at nearby Greenbury Point. With the information from these concept designs, the city was able to secure Congressional funding for the environmental restoration project through the Water Resources Development Act, which provides capital resources for restoration projects in aquatic ecosystems.

By summer 2005 the final design plans to dredge the harbor, relocate the dredged material and secure the required permits were nearing completion. The design process involved overall project coordination, a geotechnical and environmental investigation, site inspections at Greenbury Point, hydrographic surveys of the harbor, consultation with the yacht designers to obtain boat specifications, and the creation of a partnership of organizations. In all, the dredging design called for the removal of more than 14,000 cubic yards of material from the harbor, increasing the channel depth to 17 feet. In addition, KCI had in place the scope of work for the Greenbury Point restoration portion of the project for use by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Design plans and permitting were completed in October. Dredging began in December and ended in January, well in advance of the Volvo fleet’s anticipated spring 2006 arrival.

“Our overall knowledge of the city’s goals and our project expertise allowed us to take on this project,” said KCI Project Manager Christopher L. Overcash, PE. “It was clear early on that this would entail more than just design and permitting for harbor dredging. Key to completing the project was the knowledge base and experience we were able to draw upon, as well as our relationships with the other organizations involved.”

Among those other organizations was the USACE, Maryland Port Administration (MPA), U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maryland Environmental Service, and Anne Arundel County.

According to Thomas G. Sprehe, PE, Senior Vice President in charge of KCI’s Environmental Group, one of KCI’s main objectives was to show all the potential participants how they could benefit from the project.

“This win-win strategy was instrumental in securing buy-in from all the partners, which can make or break a project of this magnitude,” he said.

As for the race, the two-week Maryland stopover provided sailors with a welcome reprieve from perhaps the toughest leg of the journey — Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore, a 5,000-nautical-mile stretch through the Doldrums, the Bermuda Triangle and the Gulf Stream. The boats docked at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor before sailing to Annapolis. After the Annapolis rest stop, they sprinted (by their standards) 400 nautical miles to New York City.

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