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Recommendations for the Design of the Glorietta Bay Boat Launching Facility. Some thoughts relating to the grant from the California Department of Boating and Waterways. February 4, 2013. ~1900. ~1908. ~1923.
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Recommendations for theDesign of the Glorietta Bay Boat Launching Facility Some thoughts relating to the grant from the California Department of Boating and Waterways February 4, 2013
~1900 ~1908 ~1923 Glorietta Bay has always been a great place for boating. It all started when the Hotel del Coronado Boathouse was built in 1887. Prestigious San Diego Yacht Club operated from the Bay as early as 1914, and built their new clubhouse there in 1923.
Today Glorietta Bay—really the birthplace of recreational boating in the San Diego area, and the only natural bay within larger San Diego Bay—remains the perfect place for “beginner-level” small boating, just as it has been for well over a hundred years.
And with Coronado, the Hotel del Coronado, and the Municipal Golf Course nearby, it is also the preferred destination for larger boats that want someplace to go on a day trip, or that want to spend a night or two at anchor.
Port of San Diego 72-hour “A5” Anchorage (very popular—dinghies from boats in the “A5” use the BLF pier to go ashore) Hotel del Coronado Boathouse (built 1887) Coronado City Hall City of Coronado Swimming Pool and Community Center Coronado Yacht Club small boat launch facility (private) Boat Launch Facility (BLF) Coronado Municipal Golf Course Glorietta Bay Park Navy “Amphibious Base” – home of the Navy SEALS – to the south New City of Coronado Boathouse location It’s worth a minute just to get a basic orientation. Glorietta Bay today is in a fully developed metropolitan area. Within that context, the Boat Launch Facility is a key element in the public’s ability to access and enjoy this very special waterspace.
Various kinds of small, non-motorized watercraft are ideally suited to Glorietta Bay’s protected waters. It’s a great place to learn about small boats, and a great place to have fun (and learn more) if you already have some boating skills…
Of course going under the bridge into “North Bay” is also always an option regardless of boat type… Intermediate-level small boat sailors can sail into the open water and steady breezes of “South Bay” for both recreational sailing and racing. Intermediate-level paddlers and rowers can go around the Navy base, past the sand island and Least Tern Preserve, past the beaches of the Navy housing area, and down into Crown Cove at the State Beach. The Boat Launch Facility is also the gateway for boaters who want to access south San Diego Bay—one of the world’s best spots for “intermediate level” small boaters: calm in the morning, a steady breeze in the afternoon, with very little vessel traffic.
Overview • In considering the design of the Boat Launch Facility, the Glorietta Bay Heritage Group recommends that it be improved and modernized to serve all of the vessels that are suited to, and popular in, the adjacent waters.
Overview • More specifically, we believe that the facility should be reoriented to additionally accommodate small, non-motorized, often car-top carried vessels to the greatest extent possible, while still serving mostly trailer-carried jet-skis and motorboats as it always has.
Four Basic Recommendations To accommodate small, non-motorized vessels, the following improvements are recommended: • BOARDING FLOAT • Optimize the design of the boarding float • GANGWAY WIDTH • Increase the width of the gangway • SAND BEACH • Install a new sand beach near the ramp • WASHDOWN • Make freshwater rinse convenient for small, car-top boats (before being placed back on the car-top rack)
4. Finally we recommend that “freshwater rinse” washdown capability be retained in the parking lot for trailer boats, and added at the “loading zone” and on the float for hand-carried boats. 3. We recommend that a small sand beach and “loading zone” be placed here. 2. We recommend that the gangway width be increased so that a small sailboat may be carried or rolled (on a dolly) down it. 1. We recommend that the float be redesigned to accommodate launching and rigging of small boats, while retaining its function as a boarding float for trailer-launched boats. This is a Google Earth image of the present facility. Glorietta Bay Park is to the left and the city’s swimming pool is to the right. Our recommendations involve improvements to just four things: float, gangway, beach, washdown.