The "Y" trestle mark and the trestle are both missing.
When the fleet in last Sunday’s race went out to the “Y” mark, Dan on Pegasus was the first to discover that the mark had disappeared. Dang it, another one done gone AWOL.
Satch has spent the year working on making our “permanent” race marks more permanent. After far too many years chasing wandering marks around the Bay, he has systematically been increasing the ground tackle and making them less attractive as a mooring buoy by removing the top ring and planting a very clear sign on the top of the buoy that states “THIS IS NOT A MOORING BUOY!”. If only that were enough. In the early part of last week he was explaining that boats still used the mark as a mooring buoy, not realizing they were being held by three cinder blocks and a line so covered in barnacles it worked better as a sail than an anchor. The plan was to get out and replace the “Y” mark’s anchor line and the anchor in the next couple of weeks. Now the first task is to locate the buoy and bring it back to the correct location.
In past years when our race buoy’s went on a sea cruise they tended to end up on the beach between Pt Hudson and Pt Wilson, or around the corner by the kelp beds under the Ft Worden cliffs. Keep your eyes open and let us know if you find the missing race mark.
For many of us, the “Y” buoy will forever be the “Trestle Mark” as it is located at what used to be the end of the railroad trestle. Gone but not forgotten, the above photo shows the end of the trestle that some of us found a useful guide to finding the mark on a beat up from the Tower.
