Reader Rant — Channel Islands Harbor Light Needs Repair NOW

This year’s dredging for the northwest entrance of Channel Islands Harbor was canceled (reportedly because of reduced federal funding, as covered in The Log’s article “Reduced Funds for Dredging = More Shoaling,” in the Feb. 1-14 issue).            

Regarding the northwest entrance’s white light and its leaning structure (currently in serious need of repair), I guess the old saying is true: “It’s going to take an Army Corps of Engineers to fix that.” It has been broken for nearly two years now.            

Without that white light, it is very hard to identify the breakwater at night — even in times of great visibility.            

As of now, the Harbor Patrol can only say (to people who complain about this situation at the northwest harbor entrance), “That is not the preferred entrance.”            

Furthermore, whoever set the shoal markers with lights on them should have found some markers with brighter lights. You can barely see them at night, until you are almost on top of them.            

The Harbor Patrol says that they comply with the “minimum standards.” There you have it in a nutshell: MINIMUM STANDARDS.

All I keep hearing from the authorities regarding fixing this problem is (that they have) funding and budget problems. I am thinking, how much do they have in their budget for lawsuits?            

Now, with the combined problems at that side of the entrance, I predict some serious accidents are in the near future, as we approach summer boating season. So many boaters have been using that side as needed, and it is — as of now — an accident just waiting to happen.            

There seems to be so much bureaucratic B.S. red tape (keeping our officials from getting) anything done about this, and I fear that someone is going to have to get seriously hurt first.

Peter Stader,
Channel Islands Harbor boater