Nov 08 2007
Not Sailing Today
It is a great day to not go sailing.
The fog yesterday was really thick. I couldn’t even really see the marina wall, which is saying something, because we’re berthed right next to the thing. And then my pal Jonathan sent me this.
If you look on a map, this is really, really close to us. And we zip back and forth under that bridge all the time. My first reaction was incredulity. I mean… one, the piers on that bridge are huge. Two, they’re probably tremendous on radar. Three, the roar of the morning traffic at that time is a pretty clear clue you’re close, even from right down on the water where we are. From on top of a big vessel’s bridgedeck, you would be hard-pressed to miss it. Drunken recreational boaters hit them all the time, but a big boat is supposed to be a little more clueful.
Today, we’re hearing this. 58,000 gallon oil spill. Barely contained. The Coast Guard helicopters have been buzzing around all morning. Thank goodness there’s very little wind and the seas are supercalm.
Oddly enough, the marina is packed with birdlife. I’ve seen more pelicans hanging out here this morning than ever before, I think. It’s almost like they know there’s death over the breakwater wall. Although with that much oil floating around out there, I imagine it’s gonna be pretty gross all over, pretty soon. The numbers for reporting oiled wildlife are (877) 823-6926 for Fish & Game, and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network can be reached at (530) 304-1241.
Oh, that totally sucks! I bet the pelicans are trying to get to slightly cleaner waters. They fish there around the bridge, and with all that muck in the water, well they have to go somewhere. Sounds like they’d better travel a lot farther than the harbor though.
This is bad, bad, bad. Keep us posted on how clean-up efforts go.
Dana