Recreation

Port of San Diego to Welcome Surfin' Santa to Seaport Village

melicone@portofsandiego.org ( Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:07:24 +0000

On Saturday, November 28, the Port of San Diego, Seaport Village and SDG&E will join forces to ring in the holiday season.

It all begins at 1 p.m. with a blast of cannon fire announcing the arrival of a special guest. Santa Claus, minus his traditional fur-trimmed red suit, will debark a pirate ship and head for shore. Donned in swim trunks, he’ll arrive in Seaport Village to kick off an afternoon filled with holiday music and live entertainment.

SDG&E will be hosting a free holiday light exchange during the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring in old holiday lights in exchange for energy-efficient LED holiday lights. Up to three strands per guest may be exchanged. LED holiday lights save about 90 percent in energy costs and last longer than conventional lights.

The festivities will also include kids craft tables, strolling entertainers and music. Staff from the Birch Aquarium will be on hand to assist children in making holiday ornaments out of recycled materials. The ornaments will be used to decorate a holiday tree donated by the Port of San Diego. The tree is a locally grown Monterey Pine, which is native to the California coast.

“This event promotes the goals of the Port’s Green Port Program by demonstrating environmentally–responsible options available for holiday season activities,” said David Merk, Director of the Port’s Environmental Services Department. “Additionally, the event encourages the community to visit the waterfront and support waterfront businesses.”

LED lights will also be illuminating the holiday tree. At approximately 5:15 p.m., Board of Port Commissioners Vice Chair Robert “Dukie” Valderrama will be flipping the official switch to light it up. The tree will remain in Seaport Village throughout the holiday season. It will then be taken to the Miramar Landfill, where it will be turned into mulch that will be used by Port gardeners in landscaping around San Diego Bay. Mulch is a natural way to conserve moisture in soil, reducing the need for watering.

Seaport Village will continue the holiday cheer throughout the month of December.

Santa will be back on December 19 and 20 to have a special breakfast at the Harbor House Restaurant. Free, live musical entertainment will be provided throughout the month, and more the more than 50 shops will provide a wonderful shopping experience. For more information on the holiday festivities at Seaport Village, visit their web site or call (619) 235-4014.

Helicopter Crew Helps Port on Imperial Beach Pier Project

dfrost@portofsandiego.org (Dale Frost (619) 686-6461) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:21:43 +0000

A Huey helicopter was used to lift and then set three 60-foot-long piles on the Imperial Beach Pier to strengthen the structure. This marks the first time a helicopter was used on a Port construction project.

The work is part of a more than $600,000 Port District maintenance project to ensure the pier’s continued safety and longevity.

The innovative pile setting was devised by contractor NEWest Construction Company, Inc. and subcontractor Western Foundations & Shoring, Inc. Weight restrictions on the pier prevented the more common use of a crane to set the piles. The Huey helicopter is owned and operated by El Cajon-based Blackhawk Helicopters, Inc.

Although it took only 20 minutes of helicopter work to set the piles, the operation was planned and orchestrated over eight months and involved gaining approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We got the job done,” said Richard Edwords, Director of Operations for Blackhawk Helicopters, Inc.

The pier will remain closed throughout the week as other upgrades are made to the 1,500-foot steel and timber structure.

The project will be completed in March 2010 and includes replacing 20 percent of the deck boards, repairing portions of the steel ramp/stair structure and replacing guardrail post supports. Originally constructed in the 1960s, the pier was renovated and extended in 1986.

Restored Corsair Fighter Plane Joins USS Midway Museum Collection

dfrost@portofsandiego.org (Dale Frost (619) 686-6222) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:25:46 +0000

Visitors to the USS Midway Museum can get a close-up view of a restored F4U-4 Corsair, a rare signature fighter plane. The recently donated Corsair now joins 25 other aircraft on display at the aircraft carrier museum.

View photo slideshow

During a Veteran’s Day ceremony, the 33-foot-long fighter plane transited San Diego Bay, traveling by barge from its North Island restoration facility to the USS Midway Museum along the North Embarcadero. A crane gently lifted the aircraft onto the bow of the flight deck.

“It didn’t fly here,” USS Midway volunteer and safety officer Rudy Labastida said the day after its arrival as he stood near the meticulously restored plane, answering questions for the many visitors drawn to the new display.

The restored Corsair has the markings of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-225 as it would have looked in 1952 for a deployment aboard the USS Midway.

The Corsair was in production longer than any other aircraft in World War II and was then considered the best fighter-based aircraft in the world. It was also used during the Korean Conflict.

“It was a very effective fighter and attack plane,” said USS Midway Museum docent Dick Bradley, a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant and pilot who flew single-engine prop planes and anti-submarine warfare helicopters during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Corsair’s are now rare because so many World War II planes were lost in training missions. According to USS Midway Museum President and CEO Mac McLaughlin, the bottom of Lake Michigan is home to many Corsairs that crashed during training missions.

The F4U-4 Corsair was one of the first aircraft to exceed 400 miles per hour in level flight, assuring a prominent place in aircraft carrier operations even after the introduction of jet aircraft.

Production of F4U-4 Corsair’s ended in 1952, a dozen years after the prototype first took flight.

More than 4 million people have visited the USS Midway Museum since it opened in 2004, making it the most-visited floating ship museum in the world.

Imperial Beach Pier to be Temporarily Closed for Pile Replacement

melicone@portofsandiego.org ( Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:50:04 +0000

The Imperial Beach Pier will be closed temporarily from November 16 through November 21, 2009 in order to replace three pier piles. A helicopter will be used to transport the piles, which are 60 feet long and weigh approximately 2,800 pounds each.

Because of the large size of the piles, the beach and water areas adjacent to the pier will also be closed during this operation. The closure will go into effect at 6 a.m. on November 16. The helicopter is scheduled to arrive at 9:30 a.m. that morning, but if there is inclement weather, it may have to be rescheduled.

The pile replacement is part of a $639,860 Port maintenance project to ensure the pier’s continued safety and longevity. Other components of this project include replacement of approximately 20 percent of the deck boards, repairs to the steel ramp/stair structure and replacement of guardrail post supports. Additionally, the gravity portion of the pier’s sewer system will be replaced and pilecap connection hardware connections will be installed.

Originally constructed in the 1960s, the pier was renovated and extended in 1986. Over the years, the pier’s steel supports and timber components began to display signs of corrosion. In 2006, the Port completed a $1.2 million structural renovation of the pier that included recoating the steel pilecaps, upgrades to the electrical system and replacement of light poles. Minor timber and sewer line improvements were also included.

Scores of Baja-Bound Sailboats Parade Out of San Diego Bay

dfrost@portofsandiego.org (Dale Frost (619) 686-6200) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:13:09 +0000

A procession of 180 sailboats paraded out of San DiegoBay on October 26 as they began the 16th annual Baja Ha-Ha Cruiser’s Rally which finishes in Cabo San Lucas.

At 10 a.m. sharp, while aboard a boat positioned near the west end of Shelter Island, Captain Luis Rios Hernandez, the Captain of the Port of Ensenada, fired a shotgun blank into the air, signaling the official start of the race.

In the spirit of the Halloween season, and as is tradition for many light-hearted but long-range cruising rallies, many of the sailors started out in costumes. Of course there were pirates, but also shiny mermaids. There were also skeletons haunting the decks.

Following two weeks of sailing south with stops in Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria, the Baja Ha-Ha fleet will reach Cabo San Lucas.

For many of the participants, the event serves as the first step in a new lifestyle of international cruising.

Since its inception in 1994, approximately 6,000 West Coast sailors, originating from home ports as far north as Alaska, have visited San Diego to begin the Baja Ha-Ha rally.

Swimmers to Make a Splash Across San Diego Bay at Inaugural Sharkfest™ Swim

lverzosa@portofsandiego.org (Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:17:55 +0000

Experienced open-water swimmers will race across the Big Bay in the first-ever San Diego-Coronado Sharkfest™ Swim on Sunday, October 25.

But don’t be alarmed by the name. There won’t be any real sharks in the Bay, just as many as 500 swimmers churning up the waters between Coronado Island and San Diego’s bayfront.

During the inaugural San Diego event, which is not intended for novices, a ferry horn blast will send swimmers into the water at 9 a.m., where they will race across 1-mile of the bay. The course begins at the Fifth Avenue Landing, located at 111 W Harbor Drive behind the San Diego Convention Center, and finishing at the Port of San Diego’s Tidelands Park beach, located at the foot of the Coronado Bridge. (View map course.)

A “sister-swim” of San Francisco Bay, known as the Alcatraz Sharkfest™, draws a sell-out crowd of 800 swimmers from around the world. Enviro-Sports are the organizers of both events.

“My husband (Dave Horning) and I were down in San Diego for a race director’s conference ten years ago. And he started looking at it then,” said Wendy Hunt Horning, the event’s executive producer. “(Dave) saw the Coronado Bridge and it planted the seed.”

“The slowest swimmer is going to take up to 50 minutes, so this shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you haven’t trained, you shouldn’t be thinking about it,” said Dave Horning, co-organizer. “But for those experience swimmers, when they finish, they can say, ‘I swam the Coronado Bridge.’”

The area where finishers come ashore is near protected eelgrass along the tidelands. The Port of San Diego’s environmental department worked with organizers to design a route that would prevent the swimmers from causing any harm to the habitat.

Various incentives will be provided for all San Diego participants, and the top three swimmers of all age groups in each division will be honored at the awards ceremony. Afterwards, post race festivities can continue at the Coronado Ferry Landing to enjoy San Diego’s waterfront on the Big Bay.

The name Sharkfest™ comes from the tales of the Great White sharks that kept prisoners from escaping Alcatraz, also known as The Rock. But don’t worry about sharks at this event.

“If we really had to worry about sharks during the swim, we wouldn’t be doing the swim,” laughed Dave Horning.

A race day itinerary and registration details of the San Diego Harbor Sharkfest™ Swim are provided online. If you can’t make the inaugural Sharkfest™, there’s always next year, said Horning.

"There will be a second annual – I’m already planning a second race."

Disabled Veterans Compete in VA Summer Sports Clinic on San Diego Bay

bmoreno@portofsandiego.org (Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:00:46 +0000

For the second year in a row, the National Veterans’ Affairs Summer Sports Clinic has come to San Diego Bay – changing the lives of our nation’s wounded veterans. Sixty-four men and women are participating in the event from September 20 to September 25. The participants come to San Diego from across the country.

“The goal of the National Summer Sports Clinic is to heal the whole person – body, spirit and mind through these adaptive programs – that’s what you get here. That’s the true mission of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs,” said Richard Olague, Public Affairs Coordinator.

The veterans participate in several sporting activities including surfing at La Jolla Shores, kayaking at Mission Bay, and field sports at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. Two events are hosted on Port tidelands: cycling at Embarcadero Marina Park North and sailing. Port tenant San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina serves as the host hotel and marina for the sailing venue. The sailboats were donated by Port tenant, Challenged America.

Among the sailing participants was former Navy cryptographer Benjamin Brown from Kentucky. He was left paralyzed following a motorcycle accident.

“I’ve been injured for 7 years. I was always trying to find something to plug into and the Summer Sports Clinic, it’s phenomenal,” Brown said. “The things you’re opened up to and you realize you can actually do – no matter your ability level. It’s very rewarding.”

Urban Miyares, co-founder of Challenged America on Shelter Island, was instrumental in bringing the event to San Diego. His non-profit, all-volunteer organization has been recognized as a pioneer in the field of free adaptive sailing opportunities to kids and adults with disabilities.

“I had been part of the VA Winter Sports Clinic which is in Colorado each year. In the early 1990’s I said, ‘Why don’t you do a summer sports clinic? After all, we have sailing with Challenged America,’” said Miyares.

He worked with VA national coordinator Sandy Trombetta to make the dream come true in 2008. The first event had 50 participants. This year, 64 signed up.

“People don’t realize the value of sailing. It’s more than a recreational sport. For vets who have come back from the traumas of war, with Post Traumatic Stress, there’s nothing like sailing. When you’re in a sailboat, you forget about everything else,” Miyares said.

Kevin Miller was poisoned while in Afghanistan which left him with nerve damage in 75 percent of his body. He suffers short-term and long-term memory loss. But the inspiration he gets from the games is beyond words.

"There's people out here with no legs, no arms and prosthetics. If they can do it, anybody can," Miller said.

At least 75 Challenged America volunteers help out for the week. Ken Guyer, Marina Manager at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, also a Vietnam Vet, hosts the sailing venue.

“You can’t describe watching these people as they go through these evolutions,” said Guyer. “They’re a little nervous at first, then they go out, and the smile you see when they come back, it’s very much worth it. As a vet myself, this is just absolutely unreal.”

“We’re excited to find out that the summer clinic is going to be here for at least the next five years. So that’s a great boost for San Diego,” Miyares said.

Participation in the clinic is open to military veterans who are eligible for VA medical care and who have orthopedic amputations, traumatic brain injuries, burn injuries, psychological trauma, certain neurological conditions, visual impairment, spinal cord injuries and other injuries incurred in the last six years. Contact your local VA office for information on signing up for next year's events.

“The Department of Veterans’ Affairs thanks the Port of San Diego tenants for the use of the wonderful harbor and the warm welcome from all of the business and the community,” said Olague.

YachtFest Makes a Splash on San Diego's Shelter Island

dfrost@portofsandiego.org (Dale Frost) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:57:04 +0000

YachtFest 2009, which has been called the West Coast’s premier boutique yacht show,is underway at San Diego’s Shelter Island. Visitors from around the world come to San Diego to take advantage of opportunities to tour elegant yachts ranging from 48- to 156-feet.

The largest superyacht, Piano Bar, was the 2008 winner of YachtFest’s 2008 Best in Show award-and of course there is a piano on board.

There are more than $60 million worth of yachts docked at the Island Palms Hotel and Marina at 2051 Shelter Island Drive, offering a glimpse of luxurious décor, antiques, art, and the latest technical advancements in marine equipment.

“YachtFest is the foremost place in the Western United States to buy, sell or charter a premium yacht,” said Doug Sharp, chairman of the YachtFest board and a yacht designer.

San Diego was recently named the “new super-yacht capital” by CNN News. Yachting is a significant and growing business for San Diego.

“We recognize the economic impact that superyachts have on our region, and wholeheartedly endorse the efforts of the San Diego Superyacht Association to attract more superyachts to San Diego,” said Stephen P. Cushman, chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners.

Last year the Port added eight Mediterranean mooring berths at the North Embarcadero to serve the increase in superyachts visiting here.

The Port of San Diego contributed $10,000 to the YachtFest event.

YachtFest will run through Saturday, September 19, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, September 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ticket prices vary. For more information, please visit yachtfest.com or call Integrated Sports Marketing at 858-836-0133. General access tickets start at $34.

YachtFest sponsors include San Diego Marine Exchange, Landmark Aviation, Sharp Design, Fraser Yachts Worldwide, Driscoll Boat Works, Wright & L’Estrange, Marine Group Boat Works, Bartell Hotels, Shelter Island Marina and Knight & Carver.

Hollywood Film Crew Recreates Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center

bmoreno@portofsandiego.org (Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:08:04 +0000

It’s déjà vu for San Diego as a flood of costumed pop culture fans hit the streets outside of the San Diego Convention Center on August 20. Just one month after the country's leading comics and popular arts convention Comic-Con came to town, the buzz once again is being recreated by the magic of Hollywood. The San Diego Film Commission announced that a production crew is in town to film the motion picture, "Paul."

The comedy, from Friedgold Films, Inc., stars British comedians Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two comic book fans who travel across America and experience Comic-Con. Pegg and Frost are known for their other comedies, "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." Pegg also recently played "Scotty" in the 2009 version of Star Trek.

"San Diego will certainly appear as a character in this movie,” said Kathy McCurdy of the San Diego Film Commission. “This should lead to movie-enhanced tourism and new interest in San Diego as a vacation destination. Movies are good business."

This is the second film this year to put San Diego’s bayfront in a "starring role." The summer blockbuster "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," from Michael Bay, DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, contains several scenes set against the military backdrop of Port of San Diego tidelands.

"The San Diego Film Commission does an outstanding job arranging for film projects like this, and the Port supports the SDFC with funding through our Marketing and Fee for Service Program,” said Jim Hutzleman, Assistant Director of the Port’s Communications and Community Services Department. “Film projects - from photo shoots to commercials to feature films - bring significant revenue and recognition to San Diego while livening our waterfront and cities. Our cooperation and assistance are key to attracting keeping this business here in town."

"This type of filming requires absolute control (the main reason they could not film during the actual event last month)," said Kathy McCurdy of the San Diego Film Commission. "To be most effective, the San Diego Police Department will be replicating the traffic plan used during the actual Comic-Con. This footprint is proven to work well and is easily anticipated to work well during the filming. The production company pays the cost of these personnel to guarantee good oversight and maintain public safety during the filming.”

"Paul" also stars Sigourney Weaver, Jason Bateman, Seth Rogan and is directed by Sam Mottola of "Superbad" fame.

Next year's Comic-Con dates are already set for July 22 to July 25, 2010, so start making your plans to spend it on the Big Bay®!

Construction to Begin on New Restroom at Pepper Park in National City

melicone@portofsandiego.org (Marguerite Elicone (619) 686-6222) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:08:15 +0000

Visitors to Pepper Park, located on San Diego Bay near the Sweetwater Channel in National City, will soon have the convenience of a new, modern restroom. Construction will begin Wednesday, August 12 on the new facility which will incorporate current accessibility requirements and architecture that will complement the theme of the future National City Aquatic Center.

During construction, the existing restroom will remain open. That facility will eventually be taken down because it is in need of repairs. In addition, the City of National City needs the space the restroom currently occupies for the new aquatic center, which will begin construction in early 2010.

The new restroom will be about 800 square feet and include four stalls in both the male and female areas. It will feature split-faced masonry walls, a curved concrete roof and an aluminum shade trellis. A drinking fountain will be installed just outside the building.

Pepper Park, the public boat launching ramp and the fishing pier will not be affected by the construction and will remain open during the project’s duration. The cost of the new restroom is approximately $399,000. The restroom will be finished by May 2010.

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