The Last Hurrah Before Christmas

Posted on by under anchoring, living aboard

Since we have had a busy autumn this year on land focusing on such things as Buttercup, Wesley, car parts, and the workshop–as well as Schooner Chandlery–somehow the sailing has gotten shoved to the side of the plate.  OK, perhaps back burnered so far that it’s fallen behind the stove and is in residence down there with the dust bunnies.  So it is appropriate that for a couple weeks in early December, David and I scurried around and cleaned up the dust bunnies whilst also preparing Mahdee for some time out on the water.  Last minute we found ourselves checking systems as well as putting the ground tackle in order for anchoring, checking shroud tensions, making sure the forecastle was organized and then digging out the autopilot tether from beneath the pile of unmanagable stuff in the engine room.  Oh, I thought “how quickly we fell into life in a slip where things can be in disarray without significant worry” and how quickly everything became a mess.  So after a bit of minor “stash and lash” for the Bay sailing we determined that if we didn’t get Mahdee out on the water the weekend of December 9th and 10th it would be a full month before we could do so again!  Our plans were to put on the Christmas lights after our jaunt about the Bay. Once the boat is dressed in Christmas lights, no sailing could be had.

The boat's wake


Motoring along with the solid fuel stove still heating the boat and the shorepower cord just coiled on the fairlead seemed the epitomy of “liveaboard” not “sailor” as we gazed forward over the less-than-tidy deck.

Tides were perfect with plenty of water under the keel for transiting our sometimes shallow channel to the marina.  The channel was to be dredged this year but the BCDC decided to flex it’s muscles and just say “no!” to that action.  So it will be another year before boaters with deep draft can breath easy during the zero or negative tides.  Ah, but depth was perfect on the 9th and off we went for our Bay adventure.  As we motored out of the slough and up the channel I wondered if we’d have any wind at all.  The answer: a resounding “nope,” and so we motored and contented ourselves with the lazy and sunny day.  Temperatures in the high 50’s and the heat of the sun with no winds made for sweater weather instead of windbreakers, too.  We meandered up the Bay and towards the Financial District wondering what we’d do with our weekend.  Here it was a Saturday with glassy calm waters.  We expected the power boats to be out and about but yet there was nobody on the water save us and a couple sailboats drifting about trying to find some wind but instead being carried by the strong Bay currents.  We’d considered anchoring at Clipper Cove (David’s choice) and Aquatic Park (my favorite) but lost our appetite for adventure along the Financial District and decided to turn back to the South and make Sunday a “decorate the boat” day getting the lights strung up in the rig.


One sure way to get a smile from David is to go somewhere on Mahdee. Anywhere will do.

We headed back towards our marina a few hours lazy motoring away.  An anchored ship to the East gave us the 5 blasts of warning — and we were nowhere near their anchorage or swing.  The anchored ship was pointed in our direction so it was conceivable they were about to get underway. With the binoculars, David scanned their hawse pipes and chains to see if they were making ready to leave.  No movement of the chains.  Not quite happy with the information at hand but yet not keen to hail the anchored ship on the VHF radio “um, why are we in Danger from you?..”, we upped the engine RPM and scurried on by remaining in the western edge of the channel and wondering what that was all about and the mystery still remains.

With no winds, it was easy to motor back into our slip for the evening.  Conflicting thoughts about “well that was nice to be on the water but now we need to put up the Christmas lights” and “now why didn’t we just go ahead and drop the hook up at Aquatic Park?” were dancing through my head, briefly, that evening.  The thought hit me after adding some Anthracite to the Shipmate and baking some banana bread — all of which could have been done at anchor.

Westpoint Harbor Marina faces BCDC fines

Posted on by under News

Westpoint Harbor (WPH), in development over the past 20 years, is the San Francisco Bay’s newest marina but it is now facing severe fines and punitive actions by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) that jeopardize the marina’s continued ability to operate and support the public’s access to the Bay.

WE HAVE UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT WESTPOINT HARBOR AND BCDC  AND MADE IT AVAILABLE HERE ON OUR SISTER SITE.   Bookmark the link — share it with your friends or add it to your blogroll because we’ll keep it up to date for you.

January 13 2018 ACTION ITEM:  please sign the new petition here on change.org! And, share it with your friends, too!

The WPH website is linked to here and if you don’t know the marina or its owner, Mark Sanders, you may read this 2015 article about both marina and owner.  We first met the owner of WPH in 2012 and when we re-visited the Bay area in 2016 we decided to stay at this safe marina largely because we appreciated the friendly owners who happened to also have a penchant for preserving traditional wooden boats and soundly conserving the Bay environment.

This Thursday, November 16, 2017, WPH will appear for a public hearing in front of the BCDC Enforcement Committee. Public input and oversight of the enforcement process can help assure the BCDC actions are appropriate to the situation and in the best interests of the public and the environment. Your help is needed to that end.

The hearing is taking place because BCDC staff brought an enforcement action against WPH, alleging the marina violated a number of its BCDC permit conditions. Disputes between the marina and BCDC have escalated for over a decade. As part of this current enforcement action, BCDC staff seeks to require major changes at the harbor, issue a cease and desist order against the marina, and pay a penalty of more than half a million dollars. The marina owner is vigorously contesting BCDC staff’s claims and maintains that the allegations are false. The marina owner is not a big faceless corporation, but just a regular boater who, in retirement, wanted to improve Bay boating and create an environmentally sound marina environment for other boaters to enjoy.  This is another story of the small guy and the public interest getting buried in the red tape of big government agendas.

Westpoint Harbor’s “statement of defense” was submitted to BCDC last month and can be downloaded from BCDC’s website here. The BCDC staff allegations and the proposed “cease and desist and civil penalty order” are available  here.

Letters from concerned boaters and all members of the public can prompt the government agency to act on behalf of the public, thoughtfully, rather than rubber-stamping fines punitively against the marina owner and ultimately to the harm of both the general public and the boating community.

Our own assessment of the situation is that the Westpoint Harbor owners and employees have consistently taken actions to protect and improve the Bay environment, foster and encourage Bay access by pedestrians and boaters alike, protect the personal and boating safety of boaters in the harbor, and encourage safe boating in the San Francisco Bay. The information linked to in the hearing documents above presents as a series of arbitrary and capricious actions on the part of the BCDC that simultaneously harm public access to the Bay while purposefully seeking to undermine the success of a privately owned marina. It presents as government at its worst.

We can’t stand by and let such unjust actions take place. Input to BCDC from the public is needed, now. David and I are writing a letter requesting the BCDC staff stop the nonsense and work with the marina to the benefit of the public and the environment. You can do the same. If you are in the area, you can attend the enforcement hearing.

What can you do?

1. Email

If you wish to show your support for Westpoint Harbor, you can comment on the proceeding by sending an email addressed to the “Enforcement Committee Members” and the “BCDC Commissioners.” The email can be sent to BCDC’s legal counsel, Marc Zeppetello, at marc.zeppetello@bcdc.ca.gov with a copy to info@bcdc.ca.gov. You can include “Westpoint Harbor Proposed Order No. CDO 2017.04” to easily identify what your comments are about.

2. Attend the hearing

If you would like to attend the Enforcement Committee hearing, it is open to members of the public. It will be held on November 16, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Milton Mark Conference Center, Monterey Room, Basement Level, San Francisco, CA 94102.

3. Why do anything?

WHY take action? Because the only way to protect the rights of the public and the Bay environment is to speak up. Let the BCDC know that the WPH is important to us all.

If you are a member of the public who enjoys kayaking, SUP, boat launching, or other public access activities at the Westpoint Harbor, please send an email or letter of support to BCDC stating as such.

If you are a boater who has visited the harbor or who plans to do so some day, please provide an email or letter of support to the same.

If you are concerned about big government bullying private citizens and businesses, please send an email to BCDC asking those concerns to be addressed.

If you are concerned about government waste, fraud and abuse within BCDC, please send an email asking those concerns to be addressed.

Thanks so much!

Westpoint Harbor Marina BCDC fines

Sample Email–If you don’t know what to write, consider this a start:

emails:
marc.zeppetello@bcdc.ca.gov
info@bcdc.ca.gov

To the BCDC Enforcement Committee:

In the matter of Westpoint Harbor Proposed Order No. CDO 2017.04, I am writing to express my support for the Westpoint Harbor (WPH) marina and request that BCDC carefully consider all options to work with the marina to achieve the public access and environmental goals of this privately funded marina.

I have accessed the Bay via the WPH walkways, boat launch, docks, or other facilities at WPH 1529 Seaport Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063.

It appears that BCDC permit requirements, including those for unbounded public pedestrian access, at WPH were put in place to provide an enforcement trigger rather than to enhance the benefits of the public or environment.

I believe that WPH owners and employees have consistently taken actions to protect and improve the Bay environment, foster and encourage Bay access by pedestrians and boaters alike, protect the personal security and boating safety of boaters in the harbor, and encourage safe boating in the San Francisco Bay.

It greatly concerns me that the BCDC appears to have undertaken a series of arbitrary and capricious actions that simultaneously harm public access to the Bay while purposefully seeking to cause financial harm and undermine the success of a privately owned marina.

Please start the process of working WITH the WPH marina for successful Bay access and conservation rather than trying to shut down the excellent public access and environmental improvements to the Bay at the site of the WPH.

Sincerely,

name,
address,
phone or email,

Invasion of the body snatchers

Posted on by under living aboard, misc, photos, Systems

When there’s a lot on your plate to do, time just seems to wiz right by and this month both David and I can say that the last couple months have flown by with the speed of lightning. We were both busy during the summer and then in September, Schooner Chandlery exhibited at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. It was a fun event and we enjoyed having John Fruehwirth do demos of wood carving at the booth during the event.

John Fruehwirth wood carving Schooner Chandlery booth at Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

Following the Festival, David had a software project in Colorado to attend to for a bit. He brought back a doozie of a Colorado cold and after nursing it for a week, passed it on to me to let it linger in the boat longer. We both finally felt un-sick and capable on Saturday the 14th of October, a full month after the Festival.

Earlier in the week, I was feeling guilty for letting Mahdee get so dirty without a good washdown so I scrubbed a month’s grime off Mahdee’s topsides. I’m happy to say her varnish is still glossy and bright from last fall’s varnish-fest. The covering boards and bulwarks look so perfect so that only I would know that it’s been a year. Running out of time, this may be the first year that since 2009 that I do not complete a full varnish round-robin on Mahdee. I have to do the butterfly hatches as they won’t make it through the winter without another few coats — and the canvas covering their piano hinges needs to be replaced or we’ll have drips of water in the main saloon during the winter rains. I put on the canvas hinge covering–at the suggestion of Chris Frost of Downwind Marine–in 2009 so I’m pretty happy that it’s made it through 8 years without real leaks. However, the edge of one bit of canvas hinge cover is getting frayed and we noticed during spring 2017 saturating rains it would eventually leak below onto the main saloon table.

Mahdee’s charthouse exterior has not been re-painted or weatherproofed since 2010 and it’s showing cracks in the paint along all the structures like the corner posts and whatnot. A few bungs have cracks in the paint showing and one has a nasty red rust stain as a reminder that, while we did replace all the iron fasteners in the hull and deck, we didn’t replace all the iron fasteners in the charthouse. I put together a little pile of scrapers and sanding papers for my assault on the butterfly hatches and charthouse this week. Tomorrow I’ll be out and about most of the day but mid-week begins my “mini” paint and varnish-fest to include aforementioned hatches and charthouse as well as the cockpit bench seats and combing interior that have flaky paint. Midwinter flaking paint is never a good thing and usually, I sand and re-do the cockpit seats every year. Last year I didn’t do it and it’s very easy to see that.

The charthouse roof canvas and the canvas in the cockpit surround are also looking worn and in need of repair or replacement. Since the real water proofing is done with the metacrylic membrane under the canvas I know I can put off the repair/replace until next spring. I may just remove the canvas this week and go with the naked metacrylic through the winter. It’s gray color isn’t as nice as the straw color of the painted canvas but I’d probably be happier to be rid of canvas with little rips and flaking paint. Another project for the list.

Sherwood Raw Water Pump Impeller Housing with broken bolt

The Mahdee tasks that have been delayed by life intervening are now slowly getting put onto a list and much more slowly ticked off the list. This weekend’s Mahdee “togetherness” highlight for David and I was changing the oil bypass filter and replacing the raw water impeller on the Cummins while also flushing out the raw water and coolant systems. Finding the pencil zinc largely intact in the heat exchanger was sort of a bonus. Usually, it’s a pile of mush that has to be cleaned out of the exchanger. The low-lite of the experience for me was breaking one of the three corroded stainless bolts that hold the Sherwood impeller housing onto the engine while I was removing it. Usually, David does the honors of breaking bolts and I can make fun of him for it. This time, I was the culprit. The low-lite for David was tearing up his hands while contorted into the required spot and turning the wrench to get the impeller housing back together. What should have taken us two hours turned into a whole weekend. Break a bolt, 5 minutes. Replace it only after driving to a store and finding a replacement, 2 hours.

Somehow we were both pretty exhausted at the end of our mini-maintenance weekend and wondered what had come of our energetic and nimble bodies we’ve spent a lifetime abusing. Had bodysnatchers invaded and given us these low performing versions in return for our old selves? Happy with the Cummins basics completed, we chose to just enjoy a Sunday evening petting Beryl and watching a movie on the computer, stuffing the spectre of the body snatchers into the recesses of our minds.

Beryl the body snatcher?

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