Mike's May Musings...

With the return of the warm weather, we are really glad so many of you have been out lately!  The water is warming up and many of you are getting the jet skis out.  Fun times ahead!  On that note, please be mindful of the no wake zone inside the harbor.  That means you can’t “open it up” until you pass the harbormaster’s house.  Also, all boaters, please “shut it down” so your wake does not wash into the shore under harbormaster’s house either.

Hopefully you have noticed the spring cleaning we had done around the marina.  It is ongoing, and we want the marina to be a place you look forward to coming to.  With that note, we need each of you to do your part and be sure you keep the area around your boat picked up and maintained as well as getting all of your trash inside the dumpsters and the lids closed. 

With the drought in its 4^th year, we must conserve an additional 30 % at the marina.  We need your cooperation by being ever so vigilant in your water use.  When washing your boats, please do not use hoses that do not have a grip trigger; one that stops the flow of water when you are not using it.  Also, sweep your berth areas rather than spraying them down and, please, please wash your cars at home…

The Department of Water Resources, in their infinite wisdom, will be installing the “temporary” rock barrier at False River between Bradford and Jersey Islands on May 7^th.  When traveling to Frank’s Tract you will need to detour through Dutch Slough or Fisherman’s Cut.  The barrier is scheduled to be removed in November.  If using Dutch Slough, remember that the Jersey Island Bridge is a fixed bridge, so watch your tides.  Clearance at high tide is 15 feet and 19 feet at low tide. 

Happy Boating,

Mike

Happy Spring 2015!

Happy Spring, All!

Well, Spring has sprung and we all have changed our clocks an hour ahead.  I have noticed the last couple of weeks that many of you have been out working on your boats - spring cleaning!   It's nice to see the Marina getting busier, now that our winter months are behind us.  

Last week, Kathy and I visited one of our neighboring Yacht Clubs (Sportsman's) for St. Patty's Day celebration. It was a great time had by all, and several of our breathers cruised in with Diablo Yacht club for the party.

I want to encourage each of you to go out and go fishing, or cruising, and to just enjoy your boat and the 2015 boating season. Please be sure to come out and join us to kick off the season with the Opening Day parade, Saturday April 11th!

And lastly, wishing you all a Happy Easter - may the Easter Bunny be good to you all.

Happy Boating,
Mike

February - going, going....gone(this week!)

Dear Driftwood Community,

Where oh where has February gone? It feels like we blinked and we were almost in March. A very belated Happy Valentine’s day and Happy Chinese New Year (Gung Hay Fat Choy!) too all!
  

I don’t know about you all, but February was a pretty sleepy month here at the Marina. We weathered a few storms, saw some rain and wind and a few crazy tides, but other than that Driftwood has been on a pretty steady course.   It’s hard to believe Spring is less than a month away and you know what that means…opening day will be here before we know it!  Although a few months of peace and quiet are not unwelcome following the holidays, we always look forward to the hubbub of the marina starting back up in the Spring.  We’re looking forward to seeing more of you all in the coming months!

As we head towards Spring, we’re doing a little “spring cleaning” of our own out here at Driftwood. You may notice the tree trimmers and landscapers out moving around a bit– we apologize for any inconvenience in the interim.

A few housekeeping reminders:

• Please remember to closer the gates behind you when you’re coming and going on the docks!
• There are still berths of most most sizes available – covered and uncovered – and even a few over40 feet. Please pass along the good news to your friends and neighbors because they likely won’t last!
• We have a new supply of gas in - $3.95 per gallon
• The commercial space that formerly housed the yacht club is available for lease – if anyone is looking for a space to run  their business from please let us know. We’d love to have someone from the Driftwood community move in!

That’s all for this month folks!

Happy Boating,

Mike

January 2015 greetings

Happy New Year to all at Driftwood Marina.  We had a wonderful holiday spent filled with family and friends, and are now looking forward to a fun-filled 2015 – hopefully with lots of time on the water!

As we kick off the new year, a few updates below for you:

•       I hear through the grapevine that the San Francisco Boat show this past weekend was a roaring success. We didn’t make it down to this one, but if anyone has any pictures or stories feel free to pass along and we’ll post to the FaceBook page. 

•       It’s that time of year again – the Superbowl is quickly approaching, this weekend! Deflategate aside (it was just another one of those equipment managers gone rogue, really….?), the annual Sturgeon Derby is a go and will be held in Macavoy’s Harbor.  Now in its 31st year, if you’re not glued to your TV then come on down. http://www.originalsturgeonderby.com/
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•      Exciting news related to one of our own!  A big congratulations to Nick Rassushin, on his election and installation as the Commodore of the Diablo Yacht Club for the 2015 Cruising Year. I know the Diablo Yacht Club is looking forward to another year of fun on the Delta Waterways under his leadership. Congrats’, Nick! 

•       As you may have noticed, the hyacinth continues to flourish…ie, grow at a ridiculous pace and in huge amounts. In the words of Rowena Coestsee of the Contra Costa Times, “Delta water weed problems called the worst in years...” and we agree!  (Click here to check out her article). We’re working hard to keep up with the growth and the waterways clear - as are all the other boating communities thorough-out the Delta - and will continue to keep you informed.
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•     For many January can be a month of action (New Year’s resolutions, getting organized for the next year, etc.), so if you have any friends / neighbors looking for a new space to house their boat please let them know that Driftwood does have berths of a variety of sizes available.  Unlike prior years, we even have a few covered slips in the 40’-50’ range!
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•      Lastly, we’ll be hosting two upcoming community social events at the Marina:  Our “Opening-Day” open house will be in early April, and the “Berther Appreciation” picnic will be in late May. Keep an eye-out for the dates and additional details shortly – we’ll likely post the details on the Facebook and circulate fliers.

That’s it for this month folks. 

Happy boating,

Mike

Holiday greetings!

December Blog

Merry Christmas!

The busy holiday season has arrived...it is quite festive here at Driftwood and we hope you all come out to your marina and enjoy the magic of the season on the Delta.  

Social media is a great way to keep up on Delta happenings and one Facebook page that is on top of the hyacinth issue is Ca. Delta Chambers and Visitors Bureau.  They are doing a great job of posting updates on the problem as well as any state action / inaction regarding it.  As many of you have noticed, the hyacinth is everywhere!!!  The Boat parades in /Stockton and Marina West actually had to be cancelled as the waters were unnavigable and hazardous!!  The shipping channels are not being navigated at night by the big ships as their radar cannot decipher the hyacinth islands from land formations.  We’ve luckily been able to keep Driftwood relatively clear with constant, almost daily, sweeping. In the meantime, if you see small pieces floating in your slip please pull it out of the water.  If you can’t get it up to the dumpsters, call the office and we will move it.  We will continue to monitor and post updates and links to the situation on our FB page.  

Speaking of our Facebook Page, we hope you have “liked” us.  I encourage you to invite your friends to “like” like us too.  There have been some great articles and “throwback Thursday” photos there this month!

The 25th annual Antioch Holiday Delites Lighted Boat Parade was the first Saturday of December with 12 boats all decked out in their holiday finery. . The weather was perfect and the view of the boats was breathtaking.  Berthers Phil and Cheryl, Joe and Wrenda,  Nick and Barbara, as well as our assistant Harbormaster Jim and his wife Darlene, had their boats beautifully decorated.  In fact, Joe and Wrenda took first place in the over 35 foot category. The post parade and dinner was hosted by Bridge Marina Yacht Club and attended by nearly 100 people!  What a great way to interact with our fellow boaters.  

While we are on the subject  of Bridge Marina Yacht Club, we would like to congratulate our berther, Jim Davi on being installed Vice- Commodore and his wife, Cheryl on being installed as a director for 2015.  Their contribution and commitment to the  boating community is much appreciated.  

Just a reminder that the office will be closed on both Christmas and New Year’ s Day.

I wish you all a blessed and  meaningful Holiday Season

Mike

Mark one off the 'ole bucket list...

Aloha and Happy November! I just returned from Pearl Harbor; one of my bucket list items. We were fortunate enough to actually stay on Ford Island, the heart of Pearl Harbor, just steps away from the Arizona memorial as well as having a tour of Hickam Airforce Base, which was heavily damaged during the attack, and the USS Missouri where the Articles of Surrender were signed. It was a very moving experience and I have an ever greater appreciation for our service veterans as we prepared to honor them this Veteran's Day. By the way, did you know the entire deck of the Missouri is teak? No more complaints about the relatively small amount of wood we boaters have to maintain!

Good news: the Aqua Harvester has completed the weed whacking in the harbor so our waters are clear with the exception of the stray water hyacinth that are breaking loose upstream and seem to float in and out with the tides. There is currently a group attempting to get a bond measure started to raise funds to eradicate them and I will be keeping you updated on that front.  Of course with the passage of Prop 1, there are also a lot of meetings addressing the tunnels and we will keep representing you at those, too.

As the holidays approach, we are getting the Marina decorated so stop in and see what we are doing. Be sure to get a glimpse of the marina from the water at night…While you're here, go ahead and get your boats ready for the Antioch Holiday Delites Lighted Boat Parade. Boats of all sizes are encouraged to participate by contacting Jim Davi at 925-698-6856. It is scheduled for the first Saturday in December (the 6th) and the line up is in front of our marina at 4:45 pm. The parade will travel along the Antioch waterfront so that would be the best viewing area from land. Of course you can always anchor out to see it too!

As you may have noticed, we have a new presence on Facebook - Please like our page!  We will be posting there regularly and there will be opportunities for you to win prizes for participating. We plan to also include links to articles of interest for both boaters and fishermen.

Finally, as we update our records, please provide us with an e-mail address so we can have another avenue to contact you as needed.

Happy Boating,

Mike

Fall Happenings at Driftwood Marina...

Attention all Driftwood Marina tenants!   As a special promotion, Driftwood is offering $75.00 off a month’s rent to any berther who refers a friend to rent one of our slips.  If you know anyone who is shopping around for a new marina, tell him or her about us and if they choose Driftwood as their new “port of call” we will deduct $75.00 off your next month’s rent!  Be sure to tell perspective tenants to mention your name so that we can “give credit where credit is due.”

We have been working on H Shed and now are offering a limited number of 26 foot slips at our 22 foot price.  This new program promises to be successful as we’ve rented a few already and with the recent improvements, we hope to be at capacity soon.

Bonnie and I went to a round table meeting with Congressman McNerney at the Big Break Regional Shoreline Visitor Center.  The meeting, held Friday 8/15, was a discussion about the proposed tunnels.  About 15 members of the community were in attendance, including representatives from the sanitation district, other marinas, and various conservation programs.  The overwhelming consensus is that the peripheral canal would be devastating to the Delta.  The tunnel would adversely affect wildlife, agriculture, boating, and the delicate ecosystem that is unique to the California Delta.  Let’s do whatever we can to maintain and improve our home and the habitat for so many.

The Visitor Center at the Big Break Regional Shoreline is right next door and offers lots of hands on activities, trails, and quite a bit of in-depth information about our Delta.  The park district is continuing to grow this wonderful facility as new exhibits are in the works.  Nature based activities are planned for every weekend at the Visitor Center and we encourage young and old and in between to check out this fun place!  For more information, call (510) 544-3050.

The state law of California prohibits smoking and animals in the restrooms.  With this in mind, kindly keep the premises clean and litter free by using ashtrays and picking up after your pets.  Also, dogs must be leashed or within your complete voice control at all times.  These facilities are for berthers and their guests only.  It is the responsibility of our tenants to advise their guests of our rules and regulations.

The weather has been spectacular for fishing!  We hope you fishermen and women are getting out there and casting a few.  September and the approaching months can be the very best for fishing and we look forward to all of your “fish tales.”

Rick, the gentleman from aquatic harvesting will be in the Marina this coming Tuesday, September 9.  We wanted to wait for an optimum low tide.   As in years past, the weeds are always a challenge but nothing that we can’t handle.   Thank you for your patience!

We are pleased to announce that our Marina Office will be open 7 days a week.  We did forgo switching to winter hours last year and as it proved to be a benefit to our berthers, it was decided to try it again this year.

On behalf of the staff, I’d like to wish you all a very fun and safe Autumn Season and look forward to seeing you here at the Marina.