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Angel Island fire

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
None of the buildings were damaged

The fire burnt 400+ of the approx 700 acres on the island. However they don't think that it killed all the trees even though most of them were in the fire.

I don't understand that completely, but they said that it could be greener sooner than we might expect.

None of the public is allowed on the island till they declare it safe. Which means they have to look for unexploded ordinance that may have been uncovered by the fire (That is what they say). And make sure that trails etc are safe from fire damage.



Guy
:)
 

ChrisS

Member III
In the end, no structures burned, and as Guy notes, park officials say that most oaks, though blackened will come back. Fire is part of the California landscape, and can have a renewing effect, but it was jarring to see the photos of the fire.

We spend many weekends out there, so many in fact that my co-workers were telling me that "my island" was on fire. Ayala Cove is a special place-- there's nothing like being on a mooring on a warm evening when the last ferry leaves, or exploring the island before the first ferry gets there the next day. Any time we take people out there who have never been, they are always amazed that it is "out there."

We were sailing back from Benecia the Sunday of fleet week, and got boarded by the Coasties in Carquinez Strait. They were really happy to have gotten out of the pandamonium of Fleet Week duty. I can't help but wonder if the fire was started by a cigarette butt dropped by a spectator. It's be great if park officials could pin down the cause and somehow educate people to realize what a little carelessness can cause.
 

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
Hey yeah what is the story there?

Tell the story about the coasties....

Was it random?

If so what were you doing to attract attention so the rest of us can avoid it!

Guy
:)
 

CWM

Chuck
Guy:

We are both in the SF Bay area.

Per experience and conversations with friends, it seems to be when in the estuary.

About a year ago I was on a 32 ft power boat, when the Coasties approached as. The owner had been boarded about 3 mo before that.

One friend on a Catalina 27 was boarded about 6 mo ago.

Several friends (boaters in Marina Village) have been boarded.
 

ChrisS

Member III
No real drama

I have always seen these guys racing around the Bay, and have heard about random boardings, but this was my first. Basically, as we were tacking around Carquinez Strait, waiting for friiends of ours in a smaller boat who was behind us, the CG raced alongside, and asked when I had last been boarded.
"Never," I replied. The next question was if I had any weapons on board. "Nope," I said.

The head officer told me to furl my headsail, and sail around while they did the inspection. They checked my safety gear, the valve setting on my head, and a few other things, then they gave me a form and told me to show it the next time I was stopped by the CG randomly.

All in all, they were polite and professional, but it's a strange sensation to have two uniformed guys with guns hop on your boat and ask a bunch of questions. At least their boots had non-marking soles.
 

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
We were boarded while motoring out of the Duwamish waterway into Elliott Bay in 2004. They came alongside, asked us where we were headed, and instructed us to continue on course. They dropped off a pair of young guys with guns, who very politely checked for fire extinguishers, noted that we were both wearing horse-collar PFDs, looked over the documentation, and ran wants & warrants checks on our names and drivers licenses. I was able to convince them that my "Y-less" waste system was directing the contents of our head into a holding tank.

My fiance (now wife) was at the helm through all this, rather freaked out about the whole thing - she had no formation "flying" experience before that except in races - and she did a great job. She tells everyone that she arranged the whole thing to see if I had a criminal record (I confess to harboring unregistered cats).

After the excitement, we received a 6-month get out of jail free card in the form of a receipt, sort of a passing grade on a report card.

The Coasties were very professional. It helps that we had nothing to hide and the boat was properly equipped.
 
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