SUFFOLK, Va. – The Currituck's captain, Martin Willis, prepares to drop one drag arm into Bennett’s Creek to start dredging April 23, 2013. Operating much like a giant vacuum cleaner, the vessel's drag arms hang from each side and are lowered into the channel. Each drag arms sucks a water and sand mixture, known as slurry, from the channel bottom. The slurry then passes through the drag heads and pipelines into the hopper. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' dredge Currituck arrived at Bennett’s Creek April 20, 2013 to remove approximately 4,000 cubic yards of sand to increase the channel depth from 2 feet to 6 feet.