Attention Alameda sailors

Allan12210 · Mar 10, 2015

sfgary said:
I just left my boat where I found the dock lines on my bow broken. Someone (I found out later was the harbor master) secured the bow with some of the remaining line. The harbor master informed me that a Coast Guard rib went by the marina at a very high rate of speed causing what a witness said was about a 4-5 foot swell causing damage to boats and the docks. My slip is right on the Alameda Oakland estuary which exposed to the shipping lane. I have been in this location for 13 years and have never had anything like this happen before. If your boat is in the Alameda marina I suggest you contact the harbor master as soon as possible. He has contacted the Coasties and has forms and people to contact if your boat has any damage. Even if your in a marina close to Coast Guard (Grand Marina) island I would suggest you check your boat.

Thanks Gary. We're just down on the other side of Coast Guard Island. I just talked to my liveaboard friend on the end of dock 7 and she didn't experience anything like that in the last few days. We are one slip in on Dock 6, so very close to the estuary as well. I'll be up at the boat on Thursday so I'll check things out. I think all the riff raff must be at your end of the estuary.

BTW, more than 13 years ago the San Francisco Bar Pilots used to have their boats down your way. About 1:00 in the morning they went roaring out and damaged boats and docks all along the estuary. Then about 4:00 am they came back and did exact same thing. It was so bad that masts of boats in adjacent slips locked together. There were hundreds of thousands of dollars of claims on that one. I don't remember what happened to the responsible parties on that one. At least the Pilots have moved somewhere else.

So, things like that do happen.

Allan

Stu Jackson · Mar 10, 2015

Gary, thanks for ther heads up, I'll check tomorrow.

FYI, that big diesel spill last week or so was from the Coast Guard!!! They were emptying fuel from Morgenthau (#722) prior to drydock work, and WOOPSIE...

The gift that keeps on giving...

CloudDiver · Mar 11, 2015

9 times out of 10 I have total faith in USCG, I also have a family member currently serving as a 1st Class Petty Officer and my brother served as diesel mechanic many moons ago.
BUT, like any organization you can end up with people who ruin it for everyone. If you recall from a few years ago in San Diego a USCG RIB collided with a pleasure craft at night during the Parade Of Lights (a holiday event) that resulted in the death of a 5 year old boy. This is what happens when you give small craft authority and security/police type authority to a 2nd Class Petty Officer, who for the most part has been well trained and behaves professionally but on occasion acts with the maturity of a frat boy or worse. The few times that the power of the vessel and the authority they hold goes to their heads can end up causing damage or injury.
After 10 years in the Navy I've seen this happen too many times in various scenarios... You train, train, train under controlled circumstances with cool heads but when you face a 'real world' scenario or incident and some people allow adrenaline to get the better of them and come off as over-bearing weekend warriors. Kind of in the same sphere as when small town cops finally see some type of action and just go off the deep end and seriously beat people or shoot them.

fstbttms · Mar 11, 2015

Stu Jackson said:
FYI, that big diesel spill last week or so was from the Coast Guard!!!

Not according to the Coast Guard.

All U Get · Mar 12, 2015

When I read your post I thought the same about speed being the factor in creating the swell. You would know better if there are any other factors that create swells in your area. 4-5 feet from a rib seems rather big since when they're up on plane the wake is usually small. It could have been a focal point from several sources that created the wave. On a chart for Baltimore I read a notation that swells could exceed 10 feet near the shipping channel. Could it have been that strange coincidence of two factors at the same time and the CG just happened to be the boat going by? I would probably be angry also, but knowing what I've experienced, there could be more to the story. Hope all turns out well.

All U Get

woodster · Mar 12, 2015

Stu Jackson said:
Gary, thanks for ther heads up, I'll check tomorrow.

FYI, that big diesel spill last week or so was from the Coast Guard!!! They were emptying fuel from Morgenthau (#722) prior to drydock work, and WOOPSIE...

The gift that keeps on giving...

where was this spill what port?

fstbttms · Mar 12, 2015

woodster said:
where was this spill what port?

It happened on the Oakland Estuary (USCG Base Alameda) on 2/10/15. The Coasties claim it was diesel and came from the Alameda Marina. The marina claims it was jet fuel and came from the Coasties.

woodster · Mar 12, 2015

fstbttms said:
It happened on the Oakland Estuary (USCG Base Alameda) on 2/10/15. The Coasties claim it was diesel and came from the Alameda Marina. The marina claims it was jet fuel and came from the Coasties.

thanks ...after reading the articles it looks like a he said she said sorta thing

fstbttms · Mar 12, 2015

sfgary said:
...a Coast Guard rib went by the marina at a very high rate of speed causing what a witness said was about a 4-5 foot swell causing damage to boats and the docks.

I don't doubt that there was damage but I suspect the witness is exaggerating. I have been working in a 13' inflatable boat for over 20 years on the Estuary and have never seen a 4'-5' wake thrown by any boat, much less a Coast Guard RIB. In fact, I doubt that those boats are even capable of producing a wake that large.

Stu Jackson · Mar 12, 2015

Checked yesterday, all was fine.

Stu Jackson · Mar 12, 2015

Fuel spill

woodster said:
thanks ...after reading the articles it looks like a he said she said sorta thing

Well, not really, for those of us who boat there.

The reality is that the fuel was heavy and brown, like bunker fuel.

That type of fuel is NOT used in recreational boats.

And the quantity couldn't be surpassed if EVERY SINGLE RECREATIONAL BOAT in ALL the marinas in the neighborhood ALL LEAKED AT THE SAME TIME!!!

This is another case of the govt blaming the victims.

I'm getting pretty tired of their bassackwards approach to responsibility and accountability.

It's call LYING.

fstbttms · Mar 12, 2015

Stu Jackson said:
The reality is that the fuel was heavy and brown, like bunker fuel.

I have to disagree with you on this. The product that was spilled was most definitely not heavy and brown. In fact, it was much lighter and more aromatic than marine diesel. I know, because I was at Alameda Marina on the morning following the spill and actually dived in the marina the day after that. I couldn't tell JP5 from apple juice, but I can tell you that the product in the water was neither diesel or bunker fuel.

Stu Jackson · Mar 12, 2015

Matt, I was passing along what my friend in Grand Marina told me, and he has a boat (liveaboard) on A dock.

Are you of the opinion that the CG (or their "de-fueling" contractor) did indeed create the spill, as compared to recreational boaters?

fstbttms · Mar 12, 2015

Stu Jackson said:
Are you of the opinion that the CG (or their "de-fueling" contractor) did indeed create the spill, as compared to recreational boaters?

Absolutely and in fact, at the behest of the Alameda Marina harbormaster, testified as much to the Alameda City Council last week.

Stu Jackson · Mar 12, 2015

Fuel spill

Thanks, nice to confirm it.

Manureva · Mar 12, 2015

fstbttms said:
I don't doubt that there was damage but I suspect the witness is exaggerating. I have been working in a 13' inflatable boat for over 20 years on the Estuary and have never seen a 4'-5' wake thrown by any boat, much less a Coast Guard RIB. In fact, I doubt that those boats are even capable of producing a wake that large.

I have driven the canadian navy rihbs, and they produce a 4 to five foot wake when you take them from full throttle to a much slower speed, seems to be when the boat come of a plane.Maybee the driver slowed down to fast....

Stu Jackson · Mar 12, 2015

sfgary said:
My boat is just out of the photos FSTBTTMS posted on the far right.

Odd if it was one of those red boats with the dual Honda gray outboards and the 50 ca machine guns in front. They live on the other side of the island, just west of the CG Island bridge. If they were coming down the estuary at speed, they could have been slowing down to make the left turn under the bridge or slowing down if they continued past Park Street. Very weird and inconsiderate.

Gunni · Mar 12, 2015

Point of Order: While that is a formidable gun kit on the foredeck of a Defender, it is not a 50cal, but rather a 30cal... 7.62cal gun.