Powerboats and other motorized watercraft are making Mission Bay unsafe for rowers and other users, according to members of the ZLAC Rowing Club.
"It’s an accident waiting to happen. It’s not if, it’s when," ZLAC athletic chair Susan Wills told the Mission Bay Park Committee (MBPC). The advisory board also discussed bicycle and pedestrian bridges as well as other recommendations for Rose Creek Canyon at its general monthly meeting Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the Santa Clara Recreation Center, 1008 Santa Clara Place.
Longtime water-safety concerns came to a head when a rower’s leg was broken on Oct. 18. Waves created by a powerboat sent a rowboat entering the water crashing into the woman’s legs, said ZLAC member Annette Frank.
Mission Bay is used not only by rowers and powerboaters but wakeboarders, Jet Skiers, sailboats and other groups. "We have technology on the water that does not mix," Wills said.
Wakeboarding relies on the type of huge waves that upset rowboats, MBPC member Judy Swink said. "It’s more fun the bigger the waves," she added.
Wills and other ZLAC members believe that use of the bay should be reserved for nonmotorized watercraft from dawn until 8 a.m. They would also like more buoys to be installed to prevent motorized watercraft from coming too close to rowboats and other nonmotorized vehicles.
Additional buoys could create more clutter, Mission Bay Park Manager Susan Gonzales said. The area between existing buoys at Fanuel Park and the Catamaran Hotel is a no-wake zone, she added. Currently, motorized watercraft are not authorized within 100 feet of such zones.
Lifeguards indicated in a meeting on water safety that they would first like to address motorized watercraft in restricted areas by enforcing existing rules and regulations, Gonzales said.
"We don’t set the policy, we just enforce it," said Sgt. Rick Strobel of the San Diego Lifeguard Service, newly assigned to the Boat Safety Unit.
The existing policy might not be enough to prevent conflicts between nonmotorized and motorized watercraft, said Sgt. Mark Heacox, who supervises the Mission Bay Harbor Unit. The wake from a motorized watercraft can travel more than 100 feet without diminishing, he explained. "Mixed uses of the bay may not be compatible," he said.
"We need to learn how we can cohabitate the island," ZLAC member Susan Dieckmann said.
MBPC member Don Peterson suggested a committee consisting of MBPC members and users from various groups meet to discuss mixed-use issues and possible solutions.
A group that began meeting in 2003 to discuss the Rose Creek Watershed is making recommendations on the vast area that extends from Scripps Ranch down to the beaches and bay.
The Rose Creek Watershed Opportunities Assessment’s ultimate goal is "to define and later implement and create a natural, visual and recreational gateway from the upper watershed down into Mission Bay Park," said Swink, who has been involved with the project for years.
"Once the plan is adopted, we can seek funding," she said.
The group’s plan recommends the creation of a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Rose Creek Canyon railroad tracks and under the freeway at the intersections of State Route 52 and Interstate 5. There are currently no legal crossings there.
Group members are also suggesting a similar bridge from the upper watershed to Mission Bay Park via Lower Rose Creek to connect the incomplete path.
Project planners also recommended connecting the Mission Bay Bicycle/Pedestrian Trail across Rose Creek, pending a study to confirm that such a structure would be compatible with wetlands.
Construction of the wetlands called for in the Mission Bay Park Master Plan also depends on the removal of the Campland RV Park and Campground when its lease expires in 2017. The facility could be relocated sooner if a site that is agreeable to both the lessee and the city can be identified.
The Mission Bay Boat and Ski Club, which has been on "holdover" status and operating on an expired lease since 1988, has been slated for removal and relocation to a site between South Shores Park and the eastern boundary of SeaWorld.
“It’s going to come to a crunch at some point here," Swink said.
Removing nonnative vegetation and restoring water quality are also top priorities. For more information about Rose Creek, visit www.rosecreekwatershed.org.
The committee also discussed the role played by Fiesta Island as a refuge during recent tragedy.
As wildfires tore through San Diego County in October, Fiesta Island provided shelter for horses, chickens, dogs and other displaced animals.
"It was a good use for Fiesta Island," park manager Gonzales said. "There were a lot of grateful people. It was heartwarming to see the community rally."
Fiesta Island could also become home to Mount Soledad debris storage. In light of the recent Mount Soledad landslide and the possibility of a previously unknown fault, the debris may be moved to Fiesta Island’s interior lot.