The River Princess has had a bad erosion effect on approximately 500 mtrs of beach in Sinquerim.

The other 40km of beaches in North Goa are completely unaffected by the erosion.

I have tried to load some piccy's of the beach down the sinquerium end but it takes to long...

Not sure about the 500 metres, but in essence Sam is bang on, it's only a small part of the beaches which are affected.
Still plenty of nice sand in other places.+

Which part of the beach do you go to then Del?...500 meteres or 5,000 meteres it's an eyesore and the erosion will only get worse. It should of been moved long ago.

I use various beaches, but actually I tend to use Candolim very close to RP, Monicas shack usually.

I agree that RP should have been moved a long time ago and that corrosion will extend the longer it stays there.

The point I was making re the 500/5000 mtrs, is simply that for anyone going for the first time is that it is not anything like the full beach strip that is spoiled so therefore no need to "head South" to find nice beach.

However, " a nice beach" is pretty much a personal thing, some like deserted beaches and some like a bit more activity on the beach but I can find both on the middle of the Calangute/Candolim area.

As far as an eyesore, I have mixed feelings.
Somedays when I see it, I think "what a mess" and then the next day its more like "I wonder what that guy is doing on the deck".
Certainly, when I am getting a bit bored with my book or MP3 player it does give something to look at.

I would hazard a guess that if and when it is finally moved, there will be posts talking about missing an "old friend" as well as the more celebratory ones!

I suppose also, that many, many posters (myself included) have never seen the area without the RP and do not have a memory of pre RP scenes and so maybe cannot comment as fully as those who have.

Finally, does anyone have any info as to wether the beach will recover in the event of RP going or is the damage pernament?

del949
I saw the beach pre-River Princess but that was in 1994 so the Calangute/Candolim/Sinquerim stretch of beach looked very different anyway as there were very few shacks, even in Calangute and the ones that were there didn't have sunbeds out - just plastic chairs.
If you wanted to lie on the beach, you did so on your towels

It was just a fabulous long stretch of virtually deserted sandy beach.
But, at that time, there WAS a small-ish boat beached between the harbour walls down at Fort Aguarda.

I agree with you, del949, that if you're on the beach towards Calangute you wouldn't know about the damage down at Sinquerim.
That's not to say it's not wrong and not a bad mis-management of a natural distaster, it's just not total devastation of the beaches of North Goa - which is the point samtheboater was making re the "500 meters".

I'd be very interested if anyone can answer this question:

Finally, does anyone have any info as to wether the beach will recover in the event of RP going or is the damage pernament?

I think you will see more than 500 metres of damage when they start cutting the wreck apart and transporting it over land. Also the rust particles/shards and general mess that will be made (have you ever seen the Indians making a tidy job of any construction/ deconstruction job). Would it not put that part of the beach out of action for longer than a monsoon..... imagine the road chaos also.

I'd like to add that I used to stay in a town that had a shipwrecking yard which broke up HMS Mauritania back in '65 (amongst others). I witnessed the whole demolition which took a good 9 months or more while berthed at a dock (I can't imagine the Goan government have access to any more modern equipment than was available back then). Not all the scrap was moved but stored/stacked at the dock, quite a sight, this would be normal practice. Imagine what Candolim would be like if they had to cut this apart and stack up on beach,w here are they going to stockpile? Cutting up to manageable pieces to be transported would be a disaster for the area, w, imagine the road chaos? A logistical nightmare!

I doubt this will ever be moved, too late.

Would it not put that part of the beach out of action for longer than a monsoon

I think it probably would, Neil, and I agree about the mess.

That's something for people to consider when booking for the 2010/2011 season - factoring in the possibility that NOTHING will have been done to move/cut up the RP during 2010.
In that event there will be more damage to the Sinquerim end of the beach but people towards Calangute will still probably not be aware of the state of the beach, unless they take a walk along there.

Maybe road transport would not be a problem. Given the size of the goods vehicles operating in Goa and their payloads, coupled with access roads to the beach area and the lifting equipment required to load them etc, I would imagine that scrap would be better loaded to a barge or similar and moved by sea.
granted this would not eliminate any disturbance to the beach area but it would reduce it a lot.

What would actually happen if the boat was left where it is?

I realise that the beach around it will be destroyed but will other beaches be created?
After all, nature alters things everyday and I wonder if a man made problem of this size will have such a massive overall impact.
If, for example it is only the 500 metres previously mentioned that is affected , then , apart from the obvious effects on shack owners etc, is there a massive problem anyway?
No one wants to see a lovely area ruined but if nature relocates the sand swept away to a new location (which it must) then perhaps there is actually a benefit, perhaps even leading to a new tourist area development.

Whilst there is widespread critisicm of the authorities about the wreck surely it's fair to say that in the bigger picture the govt have many more problems with higher priorities than worrying about 500 metres, or even 5000 mtrs of beach and a couple of hundred jobs or so.
Yes, it is important to us holidaymakers and the local population, but if people living 5 kms away were asked for their opinions, would they be that concerned, or would they have a far different perspective?
I am not trying to defend anyones actions or minmise the effects or belittling anyone elses feelings about this, just thinking a bit further afield than usual.

Thanks Polly & Del,

I was trying to emphasis that the damaged area is relatively small compared with the total beach area.

If you look at the beach opposite and to the North of the River Princess you can see there is much more sand here than there used to be. So if it ever gets moved the beach should regenerate easily.

I know that Spaldy & Big Niel are not fans of the Northern resorts and that is fine, but it is about time they stopped having a Pop at every opportunity.

And before they say "I only say it as I see it", that is fine but you only need to say it once not every other day.

Happy Christmas

Sam,

I'm not having a 'pop'. Just having a discussion if that's allowed?

I spoke to a top Goan ecologist 5 years ago about this who has been campaigning about the RP and outlined some of the facts to me about the effects it will have on this area. I too also care about the environment.

Road big enough, hmmmm. Have you seen scrap at a shipbreaking yard before? If you have you wouldn't want this around your backyard. It would certainly mean closure of that area for sometime if the beach/truck disposal method was taken. Can't imagine the real big businesses in that area would care for all this on their doorstep.

While not a fan of North Goa (Baga/Calangute), Sinquerim I did have a soft spot for.

I spoke to a top Goan ecologist 5 years ago about this who has been campaigning about the RP and outlined some of the facts to me about the effects it will have on this area. I too also care about the environment.

Neil
Care to share what this guy said about the effects? As both del949 and I have said we'd be interested in hearing from someone who knows what the effects will be rather than just speculation.

Sam
I think most of us understood the point you were making.

I had a very long discussion with two Ecologists staying The Wildernest around 5 years ago (who predicted the erosion problem happening now). One was a Professor, the other a top lecturer who had been around the world researching tidal erosion. I also talked to a Captain of an oil tanker.

I started a post many years ago here but stopped as I was accused of scaremongering.

Regarding the effects of pollution with rust particles, metal shards and general debris being washed up was predicted to be as far reaching as Calangute (not 500m).

Apart from the RP, what was also predicted was the pollution of the wells with sewage and the possible health problems associated with it. (Already happened) And the effects of building and overpopulating that area which relies on the water table (now polluted).

I will say no more.

OK, I have been considering this for the last couple of hours ( I've a sad life) and got to wondering.
Most of us on this forum seem to be very concerened with the damage done to our "little paradise" by the RP.
We are led to believe that a couple of experts have confirmed the potential long term damage.
If we accept these experts as correct, then it follows that we should accept other experts, especially those on climate change.
As climate experts claim that mans actions are about to raise the water level around the globe by a significant amount,sufficient enough to cover the beaches in Goa, are we in fact destroying our "little paradise" anyway by flying there?
Would the best way to protect Goa be to stay at home for holidays instead of flying?

Stay at home, no!

What these 'experts' said was that if Goa started developing it's hinterland and the tourist department promoted other areas apart from CBC strip and spread building evenly rather than overbuild in one area things wouldn't get over polluted.

Apparantly the water table around CBG is so polluted that the water is now undrinkable due to sewage seepage. Too many people in an area with no solid infrastructure for waste disposal. Erosion is one thing, contamination is another. 10 years ago the locals could drink the water from the wells. It wasn't that long ago you could eat mussels from Baga River.... now no longer.

How many of these new hotels/apartments are actually in use? How many new shops are doing good business?

Anyway, enough... I did say "I will say no more'... just really replying with some thoughts, we all know it's politics that interfere.

Samtheboater: I think your totally wrong but that doesn't mean i'm "having a pop at you".
As for not liking the Northern resorts i've lived in Calangute for 7 years.

What these 'experts' said was that if Goa started developing it's hinterland and the tourist department promoted other areas apart from CBC strip and spread building evenly rather than overbuild in one area things wouldn't get over polluted.

I must have misunderstood. I thought that you meant the experts had discussed the RP situation.