Santa Cruz Harbor Slowly Being Rebuilt a Year Later

Boaters are happy about the new U and V docks, which are the only ones fixed since the tsunami last March 11 tore through the harbor.

Cement and wood is gone, replaced with smooth, sure composite decks with good footing on the first two of 23 docks that suffered damage.

There are two reasons that the work is progressing slowly, according to Harbormaster Chuck  Izenstark. One is that they can't ask the boats to leave, so they shuffle them around while working on one dock, but they can't overcrowd the others.

The other is that the local district still has to come up with its 6 percent share of the $22 million it will cost to fix everything, including dated electrical facilities. The current electric system is 30-40 years old and not up to code.

They are also working on a fuel line that needs replacement.

The work is projected to continue until 2014, he said, bringing a yearly loss of $100,000 in guest berths for boaters who would use the area during the salmon season which starts April 1 and is expcted to be good. Last year was the first full season in five years.

"All that being said, you can see some new docks out there now," said Izenstark. "It's something tangible. There's an emotional impact to tangible evidence that something has taken place. They are willing to put up with some inconveniences because it's all part of the healing."