The North Carolina General Assembly approved $ 1.9 million to pay for the dredging of 2.2 miles of waterways off Manteo, while another $ 170,000 came from the state and city of Manteo Shallow Draft Navigation Fund.
A South Carolina contractor started digging the canals in late December and planned to complete the job this week.
The Elizabeth II wooden hull was built by hand in what is now the site of the Maritime Museum on Roanoke Island using privately raised funds and was launched in 1984 as part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Roanoke’s Travel to the New World.
It was then donated to the state and became part of the attractions at Roanoke Island Festival Park, across Dough’s Creek, on the Manteo waterfront, and operated by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Kim Sawyer, executive director of Roanoke Island Festival Park, said the ship would be transported to a shipyard in Wanchese for a series of hull repairs.
The park staff and volunteers with the Friends of Elizabeth II, many of whom make up the ship’s crew, will document the work that will take place during transportation with videos and social media posts.
Plans are for Elizabeth II to return to its home port in about three weeks, just before the park’s opening in 2021, Sawyer said.
For more details on Roanoke Island Festival Park, visit RoanokeIsland.com.
OBX Today is the community website for JAM Media Solutions’ Outer Banks radio stations: Beach 104, 94.5 WCMS, 99.1 The Sound and Classic Rock 92.3. The site is run by local journalist Sam Walker and journalist Kari Pugh. Coastal Review Online is partnering with OBX Today to provide our readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories about our coast.
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