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The first of two storms bearing down on the South Coast gave us an all too familiar result Wednesday night.
Two boats came ashore and are in the process of being removed from the beach. Tides are between two and four feet so there is not a lot of help from the ocean to dislodge the craft.
One vessel is carrying 50 gallons of diesel fuel and is in a difficult spot to attempt removing the liquid. Santa Barbara Fire, Santa Barbara Police, Marborg are all working on the problem.
Communication that began with Heal The Ocean (HTO) over a year ago is helping to streamline the removal efforts.
“Communication works,” said Harry Rabin, Program Director of HTO, “all the cost of removal used to be on Heal the Ocean, [now] other agencies have stepped up and it’s been very helpful.”
No word on when the boats will be off the beach. The next storm is due on Sunday night and promises to be more powerful than the last with the National Weather Service warning of potentially life-threatening floods.
If you have any questions about how to protect your boat in bad weather you are urged to contact Healtheocean.org.
Thank you to Heal the Ocean
Damn.
I would love to have that boat.
Not called Fools Harbor for nothing assuming it was parked there.
Looks like the Members of the Harbor Commission should listen to Public’s works. Had they not refused to drop FOOLS Anchorage we wouldn’t be wasting money or worse loose the desalination plant lines. Absolutely at fault.
https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-proposes-dropping-fools-anchorage-free-seasonal-boating-area/
FYI: The “Fools Anchorage” is the seasonal anchorage next to Sterns Wharf.
This area is already closed to boats anchoring from November 1st to April. The boats that washed up in the last storm were either in the approved mooring area further East or anchored even further down the coast at East Beach, where the City does not have jurisdiction.
– The Public Works desalination infrastructure is 100% not at risk for the 6 winter months.
– The Harbor Commission has no way at fault for these boats going ashore.
– “We” are not wasting any money.
Boats of all types have anchored in the waters East of Sterns Wharf since it was built 150 years ago. There is a long maritime history here that reflects the freedom of travel and work on the ocean.
>Public work desalination infrastructure is 100% not a risk 6 months out of the year???
….100%? And the other 6 months?
“The Public Works Department said that in 2019, divers working on the desalination plant’s offshore intake structure reported that one of the intake structures experienced damage, consistent with an anchor dragging on the intake lid, “catching the cover and causing damage to the fastening system.”
Similar damage was discovered in 2023, according to the Public Works Department.
on two occasions there have been “fiber strikes.”
“The area has three zones: the seasonal anchorage, roughly in front of the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, and then next to that a permanent mooring area, and a year-round anchorage, closer to Montecito.”
>Boats of all types have anchored in the waters East of Sterns Wharf since it was built 150 years ago. There is a long maritime history here that reflects the freedom of travel and work on the ocean???
A senior planner in public works, said the people who anchor in the seasonal area aren’t monitored unless there is a health and safety issue.
> “We” are not wasting any money.…
Who is paying for spills, clean up, removal, work hours to respond, removal and clean up?
What happens to the bilge water? What happens to the marine head’s waste? Who monitors? What protection is available during a tsunami ? Why do some pay while others do not?
History changes, hopefully for the better….
Its not called the Fools anchorage for nothing
The bigger yacht near the wharf is a centerboard or dagger board vessel, will be easier to re-float. The other closer to the lagoon is more effort. A fin keel, spade rudder 1970’s racer/cruiser.
One problem I suspect is that California registration is every two years now. Owners move, contacting them can be a problem as the info on file can be out of date. What shows as a lack of an anchor line to arrest the further washing ashore and help control the direction of the vessels… I know, liability