“Bring Your Own Shovel” Party at Marina Harbor Entrance
Sometimes you have to make fun of a bad situation. That’s what a group of Bay Area sailors decided to do after work on Monday, May 18, with a “Bring Your Own Shovel” party at the entrance to the San Francisco Marina West Harbor.
The sand buildup and blockage of the Marina West Harbor has been a source of frustration for sailors and cruisers alike over the past months. While dredging has been going on for about two weeks now, and the entrance is generally passable at high tide, the sand still extends out significantly.
While the shovelfuls of sand were only half serious, every little bit counts, right? Especially since the dredgers were not on site Monday. Several sailors’ dogs even decided to chip in and try to help move some of the sand, though not always in the right direction.
During the party, several boats made their way into and out of the harbor. Mike Peterson towed a Knarr back into the harbor, and several powerboats came in and out. Several J/22s that were practicing 2v2 team racing sailed successfully back into the harbor with the help of good boat handling and a fairly southerly breeze.
The shoveling party culminated with an impromptu surprise birthday party for its primary organizer, Maddy Kuhn. As frustrating as the sand buildup and the ineffective action at the harbor entrance have been, it’s important to have fun and find ways to laugh at the situation.
South Beach Marina is run by the Port of SF, while SF Park and Recreation runs and keeps revenue from West basin and Gas House. Park and Recreation needs to get a call from Daniel Lurie and they need to start using ALL the revenue from the slips to maintain that facility and stop using that money for park projects or “overcharging” with park employee’s for regular maintance. Follow the money and have a regular robust dredge program and stop this bs.
Maddy Kuhn needs to “invite” the head of Park and Rec, Harbor Master, and the Mayor for a visit and demand a robust and regular silt removal as this should be done monthly or quarterly. They get huge revenue and need to do this regularly. Ever since the Presidio Trust “made” the pond, sliting has become a bigger issue