Opening Day in Marina Del Rey Marks Start of 2012 Boating Season

Red, white and blue bunting adorned the Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club on Saturday morning as about 150 club members and guests celebrated the club's Opening Day for its 72nd yachting season.

The men in the crowd mostly wore white officer pants with dark blue blazers and the women were also color-coordinated as they assembled under sunny skies and a cool breeze.

A cannoneer kicked off the  celebrations at 9 a.m. with a blast heard around the marina, followed by a color guard procession, the singing of the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance and an invocation by David Lumian, a member of the Los Angeles County Small Craft Harbor Commission and a commissioner on the California Boating and Waterways Commission. Lumian asked for a moment of silence in remembrance of members who died in the past year, including Flo Weir, a member since 1966; Ruth Lewis, a senior member and past president of the Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club and Fred Brown, a longtime member since 1987 and staff commodore of the Marina Venice Yacht Club.

A burgee was periodically raised up the club's flagpole array as the ceremony continued with the introduction of guests, the announcement of commodores, the naming of officers and an induction ceremony performed by Assemblywoman Betsy Butler (D-Marina del Rey) and state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) for Lumian as a commissioner on the California Boating and Waterways Commission.

Lieu told the crowd that he opposed Gov. Jerry Brown's recent proposal to fold the state's Department of Boating and Waterways, which has a $69 million budget, into the Department of Parks and Recreation.

"None of the department's expenses come out of the general fund. They come out of your boater's fee. I'm all for saving money in the state general fund, but this proposal doesn't," Lieu said. "It's actually a self-funded department and, to me, it doesn't make much sense to eliminate it."

Lieu said boating accidents are the second-hightest type of transportation accident in the United States and eliminating the department, which is known as Cal Boating, would lead to an increase in boating accidents since the department focuses on boating safety.

Santos Kreimann, director of Los Angeles County's Department of Beaches and Harbors, also addressed the audience and said his department over the past year has done a lot of work to improve the boating experience in Marina del Rey.

He mentioned three specific improvements:

1. A $15 million dredging project between the county and the federal government to improve the shoaling problem in the main channel enrance. Kreimann said that boaters should expect to see a barge around March 19-20. The plans call for moving clean sand to Redondo Beach and Dockweiler State Beach and dumping contaminated sand at a fill site in the Port of Long Beach.
2. The county was granted a coastal development permit by the California Coastal Commission that will allow for the replacement of the aging infrastructure in Marina del Rey. The Santa Monica Windjammer Yacht Club has been involved in those plans and anchorages will soon be replaced with county funds.
3. The Department of Beachs and Harbors will try to create more waterside entrances to the marina so that boaters can stay off the roads. Kreimann said his department plans on working with restaurants for more diner docks and new anchorages, which drew an applause from the audience. "It's long overdue," Kreimann said. "We should've been doing this a long time ago."

The club's Opening Day ceremony ended with Commodore Besim Bilman calling out, "Port Captain, what is the condition of the yacht club?" After being told the yacht club was in "excellent condition," Bilman asked that the burgee of the Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club be raised.

The cannoneer fired another shot as the burgee reached the top of the flagpole and the club was officially opened for its 72nd yachting season.

The California Yacht Club and the Marina Venice Yacht Club also were holding Opening Day events Saturday. The South Coast Corinthian Yacht Club, the Pacific Mariners Yacht Club and the Del Rey Yacht Club were hosting events Sunday.