Update on the Continuing Delay of Repairs to Angel Island Docks
A year ago, we wrote optimistically about the plan to begin reconstruction of new docks in Ayala Cove on Angel Island in June 2026. With June fast approaching, we reached out to Angel Island State Park to find out the status of Ayala Cove for this summer. Unfortunately the news is not what we’d hoped or expected. The updated timeline for construction is now estimated to be between June 15, 2027, and October 30, 2027.
The allowable season for construction on the Bay is June 1–November 1, and it appears the construction would not be able to “meet the environmental window” to finish by November this year. We’re told that the construction plans are still being finalized and the updated timeline for the project looks something like this: May through August, complete State Fire Marshal and BCDC reviews; September through October, prepare the bid documents and announce the project for bid; November through February, award the bid and prepare the contract. An obvious question would be, how could they ever have started in June 2026 if all the above is yet to be completed? Perhaps we’ll never know.
In the meantime, other work being discussed includes the need for dredging, for which the planning and funding process has not yet begun. Our contact at State Parks said they had been advised that the new pilings would not be affected by or prevent dredging because “the pilings are to be set on the bedrock and are not dependent on the depth of soil around the pilings.”
For the upcoming summer season, the outer leg of the docks is out of service due to the number of broken pilings. “We may need to disassemble those floats eventually as the next storm season approaches,” SP says. Though ideally, they’d like to “keep the floats in place as long as possible to protect from broken piling navigation hazards.”
The diagram above illustrates the current open (green) and closed (red) slips and the length restrictions. Most of the 21 closed red slips are the larger, deep-water slips that used to accommodate boats of 40+ feet and a six-foot draft, while the 24 green slips are mostly for smaller, shallower-draft vessels. Not surprisingly, on sunny summer weekends the demand for all of these slips is much higher than the supply.
This is tragic for the legions of Bay Area sailors who have long savored the lunch-and-hike stop at Ayala Cove on Angel Island. It essentially means that access will remain excessively restricted until sometime in 2028 if all goes according to plan, and things rarely seem to go as planned. Like the currently silted-in entrance to San Francisco Marina, the crumbling docks in Gashouse Cove or the abandoned- and derelict-vessel problem in the Oakland Estuary, it remains mystifying why municipalities and the public agencies in charge of managing one of the Bay Area’s most valuable attributes, the Bay itself, seem unable to recognize the community benefits of a waterfront or cope with the challenges. All of these problems limit the public’s access to the Bay. Luckily, once you push off from the shoreline and go sailing, you can leave the failing shoreline infrastructure behind and enjoy a day on the water.
That’s all we have for now. We try to keep our ear to the ground on all the barriers to accessing the Bay, and we’re sorry to hear everyone’s enjoyment of Ayala Cove will continue to be constrained and delayed. If you hear anything else, please drop us a line and let us know: [email protected].
My personal opinion on Angel Island State Park’s dock dilemma. Europe has a different political and cultural relationship with boat ownership, cruising, chartering, than America. Also, Croatia isn’t the perfect ‘apples to apples’ comparison, as its economy is boosted by the massive business from the charter industry from May through October. Angel Island is more of a local gem without the wheelbarrow of cash from foreign cruisers and charterers. Added to that is the management of this harbor is by the State Park. It would make sense that resources would be limited or ‘not popular’ to invest for the small population of ‘wealthy’ boaters in favor of the vast, non-sailing population. (votes) So, yes, as the 4th largest economy in the world, CA could easily afford a quick and thorough repair of Angel Island’s boating infrastructure. Alas, not politically expedient.
You have very eloquently stated that our elected officials simply don’t GAS. As we well know, those docks are frequented by “regular” people with a wide range of vessels. The irony is that the DBW is part of the Parks Department. In business, if you screw up this badly, you usually lose your job. There is nothing known today that wasn’t known three years ago, or 10 years ago, or whenever Ayala Cove was last dredged and the moorings and docks refurbished. Not a political priority – bundled with disregard, incompetence and zero accountability. At least, that’s what it seems like. “We may never no” Even Monica seems to have given up…
An aide to a certain State Assembymember (who must remain nameless) shared with me that introducing a relatively large budget item like that needed to dredge the cove and rebuild the docks is politically untenable. It “looks like” some concession to “rich bay area boaters.” Not a good look with the current “tax the rich” sentiment in today’s fiscal environment.
While we understand the Assemblymember’s fears we think they and the public are suffering a misperception about the boating community. It’s like saying we shouldn’t have public parking for cars because some drivers own Maseratis and Lamborghinis. Yes, there are rich yachtsman but the vast majority of boaters in the Bay Area are small boat owners or sail for free on other people’s boats. The waterfront is a public access point for Sea Scouts, youth programs, classrooms and youth sailing. The fisherman who go out early in the morning on small boats or go for a day of fishing on a charter boat all use the services of the public waterfront.
Most waterfront regions of the country are far more supportive and welcoming to boaters. They appear to have a much better understanding of the boating community and many are likely boaters themselves. There are some very nice sailboats on the Bay but the waterfront serves far more than those few nice boats. It’s not easy to change public perception but we also shouldn’t fold in our commitment to preserving access to the Bay for the next generations.
We like a world where people support youth with dreams like Elliot Aron’s in this week’s podcast: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/podcast/episode-240-elliot-aron-singlehanding-at-any-age/ It would be a shame if, because of no public support, the waterfront truly becomes something that is only for the rich.
Hear hear to what John says! Angel Island used to be one of the few spots the sea scouts could afford to dock at regularly. Our scouts would dock for the day, hike, swim, explore historic sites, and sail back. No more…
I have railed long and hard for some support for ceding Angel Island to GGNRA with zero response. California has 400+ state parks and Angel Island is the only one that is an island. I’ve spoken with a number of park staff who say Angel is the most expensive to operate due to that fact (island). I don’t know but seems like a slam dunk to me giving the island to the Feds.
In the ’70s and ’80s we’d get between the buoys almost every weekend with our kids. It was like a wonderful spiderweb with tons of boats there. There was a tiny friendly staff and no ranger wore a gun. Back then it was not expensive to run. But, it is natural for administrators to keep trying to improve things and ask for bigger budgets. We all remember the huge expensive disaster of building and then not once using the ferry landing on the East side, and the wind generator experiment. I’m thinking the Park higher uppers are not boat people.
Isn’t the major reason the Cove silts up is because of the ferry’s back wash? Id that is true, seems like they should be paying to dredge.
It seems like the typical Bureaucratic BS
This is way way secondary to the docks but it sure would Be nice if the mooring system was the same as used at Avalon at Catalina Island. Just motor forward to pick up the bowline attached to a floating pole, attach it and then follow the same line to the stern and cleat it off. Done. No happy hooker or other gymnastics required.
This article brings up a very important issue for Bay Area boaters. Perhaps one solution is to work with the advocacy group http://RBOC.org to address these matters!
Thanks for the article Dave; keep up the good work