Clipper Cove Anchoring Permits

Earlier in the year, we reported that Mirian Saez, Director of Operations at Treasure Island Development Authority, was working on a plan to require permits to anchor in Clipper Cove. According to Saez, the permits were not to inconvenience responsible boaters, but to clear out the derelicts that had littered the Cove in the years since the Navy pulled out. Throughout the months-long process, Saez asked for our and our readers’ input on the plan, which she says weighed heavily in the creation of the new requirements.

Last week, Peter Summerville, Treasure Island Project Office Staff, let us know that the plan had been finalized and approved by City Supervisors, and signs had been installed with the Cove’s new rules. Now that they are posted, anyone planning to spend more than 24 hours in Clipper Cove needs to be aware of the basics:

• Boats spending one night (24 hours) in the Cove don’t need to do a thing.
• If you plan to spend more than one night but less than four — a long weekend, for example — you must contact TIDA by phone at (415) 274-0382 or through their website with your name, contact info, boat name, registration numbers, and the dates you’ll be there. You don’t need a permit if you’re staying less than 96 hours, but you must make contact.
• If you need to stay longer — from 97 hours to three weeks — you must fill out an application and present it in person to TIDA during normal business hours. Applications are available from TIDA, the Treasure Island Marina or Treasure Island YC. 

It should be noted that TIDA hopes to extend the no-contact time period from 24 to 96 hours, but that may take a while. When the plan was in the gestation phase, TIDA needed the Supervisors’ approval for a permit system before proceeding, so they submitted a general plan using the 24-hour time limit. "As we got into the mechanics of the plan," said Peter Summerville, "we realized things would be easier with an extended time period." Unfortunately, it’s not a simple thing to change the rules so we’re stuck with it for the time being.

The Cove’s rules are pretty common-sense and, for the most part, address the prohibition of dumping waste into the Cove and a boat’s seaworthiness. From our perspective, the new rules won’t negatively affect 99% of the boaters wanting to visit Treasure Island. In fact, when we visited T.I. in May, there were nearly 30 boats in the anchorage that had been there for more than 30 days, two of which were mostly submerged. During our stay over Thanksgiving, there appeared to be about five long-termers, and no half-sunk hazards. We were able to anchor close to shore with plenty of swinging room.

It’s unfortunate that a few bad apples took advantage to the point of forcing the City’s hand, but the new rules should make visits to Clipper Cove for the rest of us more pleasant.