Skip to content

That Sinking Feeling

By John Arndt | March 12, 2018 | San Francisco Bay |

These are good days to own a sailboat. Adding to concerns that sea level rise will inundate much of the shoreline, there is mounting concern that, at the same time, the shoreline is sinking into the sea. For sailors, maybe it just means expanding the local cruising grounds and some new race marks to round like the clock tower at the downtown ferry building?

This New York Times shows maps from Manoochehr Shirzaei illustrating the combination of rising seas and sinking shorelines. You’ll have entirely new sailing destinations in the South Bay.

© 2018 Manoochehr Shirzaei / New York Times

A recent story in the New York Times features maps from researcher Manoochehr Shirzaei showing how the combined effect of rising water and sinking land will put some significant parts of the Bay Area under water. One losing piece of land is San Francisco International Airport. Perhaps we’ll have to go back to the day of flying boats and the Pan Am Clippers.

With rising seas there are whole new possibilities, with Mission Bay becoming an anchorage again, a shorter walk from the shoreline to some SF night spots, and many new destinations along the evolving coastline.

latitude/John
©2018Latitude 38 Media, LLC

It’s never been a bad time to own a sailboat and it’s only getting better.

Leave a Comment





'Lectronic Latitude: Monday, Mar 12
Caption Contest(!)
Aaaaaannnnnnnd here’s your March Caption Contest(!), which will be published in Loose Lips in the April Issue, and will earn the winner a brand-new Latitude 38 T-shirt.
Westpoint Harbor Update
Latitude 38 reader and Westpoint Harbor supporter Bob Wilson wrote to remind us about the next BCDC meeting concerning West Point Harbor.
More 'Lectronics »