This article came out today in 'lectronic Latitude requesting that more sailors need to visit Aquatic Park so the NPS can justify providing amenities. I have always steered away because of the “no motor” signage, but have been told (and it’s reiterated below) that this does not apply to sailboats. We had such a fun time on our first two meet-ups that we need to start planning our Third Annual Bay Area Freedom Rendez-Vous; perhaps in March or April when the weather ought to be really nice and the winds are just starting to pick up. We could tour the vessels in the museum there in Aquatic Park and do some touristy things at Fisherman’s Wharf or Fort Mason. How about we pencil in a weekend now? Please offer some dates. March 7-10 is the Ocean Film Festival at Fort Mason, which is really cool, if you’ve never done it (http://intloceanfilmfest.org/). I don’t tend to schedule out more than a month in advance so everything is wide open in March and April at the moment except for April 13, which is one of the SSS races.
Anchor in Aquatic Park Cove, Please
By Dennis O’Hanlon | January 7, 2019 |
On December 29, sailboats lit up the historic Aquatic Park anchorage with colorful holiday lights for the “Lighted Night in the Cove” to support The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association. It was a beautiful evening with perfect Bay weather conditions as the colored lights sparkled against the spectacular lighted backdrop of Ghirardelli Square and San Francisco. There were five sailboats in attendance — not as many as we hoped for, but considering the time of year, it was a good turnout. Everyone had a great time as Karen and Tim Crowe hosted the evening’s potluck aboard their Catalina 44.5 Crow’s Nest.
The idea behind holding the event was to reintroduce the Aquatic Park anchorage to the boating community in a fun and festive way. Surprisingly, many sailors aren’t aware that they can motor their sailboats into the park and anchor there. According to David Pelfrey, Aquatic Park harbormaster, the cove has the anchoring capacity of 4,380 sailboats per year, yet fewer than 300 boats anchored there last year. Part of the reason for this is misleading signage at the entrance saying “No motorboats” when they are referring to “powerboats.” Sailboats with auxiliary engines and/or dinghies with small outboards are allowed. Another common belief is that only small sailboats are allowed in, when in reality, sailboats are not limited in size. The park requests that any craft over 40-ft in length and/or with a draft of 8-ft or more contact the harbormaster for best anchoring instructions.
In San Francisco Bay, the number of anchorages is limited and needs to be preserved. The Aquatic Park anchorage in particular — with its incredible location — is quite a jewel. According to Pelfrey, the National Park Service wants the boating community to take advantage of what the park has to offer and wants to expand services for the boaters, including a dinghy dock/showers/restrooms. But, they can’t justify such an investment with such low boater attendance and zero boater input. Boaters are an important element of the customer base and part of what Aquatic Park was designed for. However, there are many different constituencies using the park, so without boater input, only non-boaters are making decisions about the direction of Aquatic Park.
According to Pelfrey, “In order for change to occur, we need the boaters.”
