LETTERS formerly Kappas Marina
Concrete Dock System Well Maintained Facilities Beautiful Surroundings
• DEEP WATER BERTHS: BASIN AND CHANNEL DREDGED • CARD KEY SECURITY SYSTEM • DOCK CARTS • PUMP OUT STATION • AMPLE PARKING • CLEAN SHOWER AND TOILET FACILITIES • WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE: MARKET/DELI, LAUNDROMAT, RESTAURANT • AT EACH BERTH: LARGE STORAGE BOX, METERED ELECTRICITY, PHONE HOOKUPS, WATER
BERTH YOUR BOAT IN SAUSALITO 415 332-5510 www.richardsonbaymarina.com 100 Gate Six Road, Sausalito • Fax 415 332-5812
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Servo Pendulum with optional Emergency Rudder Servo Pendulum/Optional Emergency Rudder
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Built Locally – Used Worldwide – Sold Factory Direct We are also the proud manufacturer of: Auxiliary Rudder/Trimtab, no lines, emergency rudder
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Point Richmond, CA 510.215.2010 888.946.3826 scanmar@selfsteer.com Page 54 •
Latitude 38
• February, 2013
SANDY PURDON
MODERN FACILITIES IN A WELL-PROTECTED HARBOR
to celebrate the New Year with many family and friends, we decided that we'd just let the Harbor Police give us a ticket and deal with it later. But oh, no, that's not how the Harbor Police decided they would handle it. They told us that getting a ticket wasn't going to be an option. In fact, we were given five minutes to either depart or have our boats impounded! Not knowing how it was going to play out, the captains of the respective boats had the presence of mind not to exceed alcohol limits. I wonder what would have happened had the captains consumed too much and then been forced to move the boats. So our planned party broke up, and the few who could dinghy ashore did so. It was a bad time This 2009 raft-up in La Playa Cove wasn't to end the 100-year trabroken up by the Harbor Police. dition of rafting boats in La Playa Cove. I'd like to thank the Harbor Police for changing the rules without letting anybody know. Anyhow, I thought Latitude might like to know what kind of stuff goes on in San Diego Bay. With the rates at the Police Docks having gone up 300% in the last year or so, and what I suspect will be a forthcoming charge to anchor in La Playa Cove, it feels as though we mariners are getting pushed around. At least the weather is good here. And with the Coast Guard, Navy, US Customs, Harbor Police, and Navy Security, we sure feel safe. Chris Catterton Sophia, Islander 44 Ventura Chris — We can understand the rationale for there being a limit on the total number of boats allowed in La Playa Cove, as opposed to just the number of boats at anchor. After all, suppose every boat had four boats rafted to her. But as this clearly wasn't the case on New Year's Eve, it seems like a case of overzealous law enforcement. Particularly if permits hadn't previously been required for rafted boats. We've never quite understood the concept of highly paid, gun-carrying law enforcement being in charge of berthing — as is the case at most government-owned harbors on the coast. After all, isn't it basically the nautical equivalent of a parking lot attendant's job, something that can be handled by a low-level employee of Parks & Recreation? If there's trouble, the police can be summoned, just as a parking lot attendant would do. Of course, we're talking about a state where even members of the State Milk Board are also armed — to what, shoot cows? — and paid extra to carry arms, so what do we expect? The other issue is that San Diego has a much different law enforcement culture from that of places such as San Francisco. Part of it is based on the fact that San Diego was long a military town, where you followed orders — or else. It probably also has something to do with the fact that there are no fewer than nine law enforcement agencies who have some sort of authority over San Diego Bay. According to government statistics, if someone is arrested in San Diego, they are 10 times more likely to go jail than someone arrested in San Francisco. Mind you this is despite the fact that it's very difficult to get arrested in San Francisco