la playa yacht club san diego ca

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La Playa Summer Series #1

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Hosted by San Diego Yacht Club

San Diego, CA

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First Start at 1:45PM

No Start after 3:30PM

Team Debriefs following racing.

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Sabot A - C1 Fleets

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Cruising Guide

• Maritime Radio Nets to Bookmark
• San Diego Bay Mooring and Anchoring Information
• Checking In & Out of Mexico by Boat – Get Online FMM!
• Sportfishing by Boat in US and Mexico
• Our Crew’s Cruisers’ Checklist
• Mexico Marina Association – 2023 Cruiser’s Brochure

Downwind Cruising Guide Page. 17

San diego, ca.

PERMITS FOR DESIGNATED ANCHORAGES AND TRANSIENT VESSEL SLIPS

Anchoring in San Diego Bay is by permit only in designated anchorages for 72-hour periods and must be obtained at least one day in advance – no exceptions. Most permits are issued without fee online by the San Diego Unified Port  District or from the Harbor Police Mooring Office during regular business hours from 0800 –1600 hours Monday-Friday.  (Closed weekends and holidays, and every other Friday.)  

Owners/operators of all vessels with permits are responsible for all applicable state laws and local ordinances, in addition  to any environmental concerns. All boats must have holding tanks or port-a-potties. 

For Online Anchorage Reservations: http://reservations.portofsandiego.org/boating/ or call (619) 686-6227

These designated anchorages are marked on SD Bay Services map on back of this guide with the following descriptions: 

A1 – (LA PLAYA COVE) – La Playa Cove is a 72-hour over weekend-only anchorage located between San Diego and  Southwestern Yacht Clubs in the Shelter Island Yacht Basin and is marked by yellow buoys. The hours of anchoring are from  0900 hours on Friday through 0900 hours on Monday. In case of a weekend holiday, anchoring is permitted for 96 hours.  If the holiday falls on a Friday, anchoring is permitted from 0900 hours on Thursday through 0900 hours on Monday. If the  holiday falls on a Monday, anchoring is permitted from 0900 hours on Friday through 0900 hours on Tuesday. A maximum of  twenty-five (25) boats are allowed in the cove. (Up to 40 vessels can be accommodated with raft-ups of up to 10 boats.) All  boats must have a holding tank. 

A5 – (GLORIETTA BAY) – The A5 anchorage is situated in Glorietta Bay, south of the Coronado Golf Course, and is marked  by yellow buoys. Anchorage is open 7 days a week, with anchoring up to 72-hours only . The hours for anchoring begin and  end at 0900 hours. There is a minimum of one calendar day between issuance of A5 permits and no more than three 72-hour  anchoring permits may be issued to any person or boat in any 30-day period. This area accommodates fifteen (15) vessels,  and up to twenty (20) vessels within raft-ups. All boats must have a holding tank. 

Please note that the A8 – SOUTH BAY ANCHORAGE is no longer in operation! 

Anchoring permits for A1 and A5 may be obtained online or by at (619) 686-6227. Requests for anchoring permits may be  submitted up to 30 days in advance, but no less than one day in advance. No more than three 72-hour anchoring permits may  be issued to any person or boat in any 30-day period. The three permits may be issued at A1 or A5, or both cumulatively. 

A9 – (CRUISER ANCHORAGE) – The A9 anchorage is situated in an area adjacent to the United States Coast Guard Air  Station at the east tip of Harbor Island and is marked by yellow buoys. This anchorage is available to non-residents of San  Diego County only whose boats are not registered in San Diego County either. Permits for this anchorage must be obtained  in person at 1401 Shelter Island Drive and proof of non-residency must be provided . Permit here also requires boat  inspection by the Harbor Police Bay Control Officer. You may dock at the Harbor Police/Customs Check-in Dock and notify  the HPD Dispatch at 619-686-6272 that you are on the dock and requesting an A-9 vessel inspection and permit. A copy of the  permit must be kept aboard vessel as proof of issuance. 

All vessels obtaining a permit for this anchorage are restricted to a 90-day period within any 365-day period. All vessels obtaining a permit must renew their permit every 30 days without exception. The Cruisers Anchorage is marked by three large yellow can buoys that warn of the restricted water space toward the Coast Guard Air Station to the east. A red channel buoy showing the entrance to the Harbor Island lagoon marks the West End. This anchorage is available for up to twenty (20) vessels. All boats must have a holding tank.

Note: In the event the Harbor Police or Harbormaster staff determines that any anchorage is congested, and an additional vessel would inhibit access by police/fire boats or in some manner would be detrimental to safe boating, a permit will not be issued. TRANSIENT DOCK – 26 slips for vessels up to 65-feet LOA are available at Harbor Police Guest Dock located at the Harbor Police Sub-Station (1401 Shelter Island Drive) for a maximum rental of 15 days in any 40-day period per vessel/person. Reservations and slip permits are available online via the Port’s Website and can be made up to 14 days in advance.

Payment is required when making reservation. All major credit/debit cards accepted. Check-in time is 1300 hours and check-out time is 1100 hours.

Services available at each slip include potable water and 30-amp shore power connections, plus guests have access to restrooms and showers. Vessels are charged $1.27 per linear foot length per day based on USCG or DMV boat registration. Use of these slips requires current boat registration/documentation with owner and/or operator identification. Make online reservations for slip assignment on first come first serve basis – use the SD Port reservations website or tie up at the Police/Customs dock at the facility and contact the Harbor Police Mooring Office during regular business hours at the phone kiosk provided there dockside. For slips: http://reservations.portofsandiego.org/boating/ Also see Page 6 of this Guide for our list of marinas to contact for price and availability.

La Playa a walking tour by Carol Mendel

Your pier or mine? La Playa docks are dredging up big controversy in this upscale Shelter Island area

Four Shelter Island piers, built and maintained by their upland homeowners, must be made public or torn down, according to the Port of San Diego

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In the wealthy La Playa enclave of Shelter Island a handful of small piers dot the secluded coastline, relics of a different World War II-era bay. They have offered their upland homeowners, generation after generation, an uncommon San Diego privilege: Backyard parking for their boats.

Now the Port of San Diego, which technically owns the piers because they are on public tidelands, is threatening to strip the benefit away as part of its Port Master Plan Update.

The piers that start near the Talbot Street entrance to the La Playa Trail and end near Kellogg Beach must be made entirely public or torn down, the document states. Right now, people can walk out on the piers until they reach gates that restrict access to the private floating docks at the end. Only one, the La Playa Yacht Club Pier, can remain as is, meaning partially open to passersby but otherwise restricted to permitted users.

The seemingly sudden sea change is actually 38 years in making. The California Coastal Commission certified the current Port Master Plan in 1981 on condition that the piers be public or removed. Since then, the port has allowed for a temporary reprieve that was never meant to last this long. Now the agency, because of the planning process for the update, is being pushed to act.

For many locals, the shift is unsettling, outrageous even.

To them, it’s as if the government agency is wading into waters where it doesn’t belong. Some of the families even settled on the point, as they call it, before the San Diego Unified Port District was established in 1962. Now they own multi-million-dollar estates that back up to a picturesque trail and have uninterrupted views of downtown San Diego’s skyline. Worst of all, as residents see it, the agency wants to rip out a piece of San Diego history.

That’s because the piers in question are believed to have been built between 1935 and 1949 — before Shelter Island was Shelter Island.

The pier problem

The piers were first named after the families who built them but are now identified by the surname of the users who rent them from the port. They line the La Playa Trail, starting with the Olsen, Alexander, Graham Pier, formerly the Lacy Pier, near the start of the nature path at Talbot Street. It’s closely followed by Wyatt Pier and then Donnelley Pier. Further down, the La Playa Yacht Club Pier sits at the foot of San Antonio Avenue. Finally, the Arrington, Daly Pier, originally named Cotton-West, is at the Nichols Street right-of-way, just north of Kellogg Beach.

In recent months the port has stopped renewing permits as it prepares to comply with its future plan, leaving upland homeowners in the lurch. Two homeowners who previously had rights to the piers are now selling their properties. Their glossy online real estate listings feature the piers — it’s hard not to when showing off the expensive view — but would-be buyers cannot dock their boats on them.

That leaves three active permits in place. Laurie Wyatt Driscoll, who holds the permit for Wyatt Pier, is renting it and an associated floating dock on a month-to-month basis from the port, paying $20,160 per year to do so. Bill and Barbara Graham rent the pier closest to Talbot Street at a rate of $2,289 per month, although that permit is set to expire at the end of November, according to public records obtained by the Union-Tribune.

Meanwhile, the La Playa Yacht Club Pier is permitted through April 2022. Its future is more certain than the others thanks to a 1986 determination by the port that the pier is not residential because it is available for use by club members and the general public.

The other piers did not qualify for the same distinction, so in 1988 the port sought to amend the language in its master plan. The Coastal Commission denied the request. An interim solution was reached in 1992. The piers could stay, and users could restrict access to floating docks, so long as the remainder of the piers were accessible to the public.

Everything stayed the same until April 2019, when the draft of the master plan update was released with the following pier-related policies for La Playa:

• No new private residential or quasi-private residential/public piers are permitted.
• Except for the La Playa Yacht Club Pier, all piers and docks in this West Shelter Island subdistrict that are private residential or quasi-private residential shall be removed within two years of certification of this Port Master Plan.

The port’s perceived overreach has dredged up emotions old and new.

“The removal of the docks and piers is especially egregious,” Gaye Macy, who grew up in the area, wrote in a letter submitted to the port during the draft document’s public comment period. “The docks and piers are viewed as belonging to the houses that pay for their upkeep and maintenance and the property taxes. The residents keep them open to the public per port regulations, which is already an encroachment on their privacy as it stands. There is no good reason for the port to meddle with people’s piers or small docks and take them away from them.”

Macy’s reasoning speaks, in part, to why the four piers in jeopardy cannot remain in their current state. They are, as she noted, residential in purpose and appearance. And the port, per state mandate, cannot allow residential uses on the land it governs.

“Under the Port of San Diego’s public trust responsibilities, land and water uses on and around San Diego Bay must serve statewide, as opposed to purely local, public purposes. The Public Trust Doctrine (a common law principle) and the San Diego Port Act prohibit residential uses on state tidelands like San Diego Bay,” said Lesley Nishihira, who is the port’s planning director.

“In discussions with staff at the California Coastal Commission, and as stated in the Port Master Plan Update Discussion Draft comment letter we received from Coastal staff, it’s port staff’s understanding that the updated master plan must call for either making the piers fully accessible — including the pier, gangway and float — to the public at all times, or removing them altogether.”

Simply put, the port feels its hands are tied, and the Coastal Commission seems unwilling to budge.

“Some of the piers are quasi-public. There’s some signage indicating that they are available for public use, but there’s no public access to the the docks themselves. They’re not really public,” said Kanani Leslie, who is a coastal planner in San Diego. “The removal of (the piers) would be consistent with the Coastal Commission’s original decision.”

The only exception would be for the port to make them available for public use at all times, she said.

Thanks to the activist efforts of a few, the problematic piers have resulted in an avalanche of attention to a number of other unwelcome changes spelled out in the port’s planning document.

The master plan is in draft stage and is meant to create a 30-year framework of uses for the 34 miles of waterfront within the agency’s jurisdiction.

The big picture for Shelter Island includes as many as 1,600 additional hotel rooms (there are 1,119 now), as well as public access paths around the perimeter of area yacht clubs. The document also puts forward changes that would encourage visitation to the pier-speckled La Playa Trail, which follows the coast from Talbot to Qualtrough Street and continues southwest to eventually connect to the Kellogg Beach area.

There’s even a proposal to narrow Scott Street, and a passing reference to a relaxation of building height restrictions.

Outsiders may view the alterations as trivial improvements to an area that should, like downtown San Diego or Coronado, absorb its fair share of additional access to public tidelands. Insiders vehemently disagree.

The addition of hotel rooms is outlandish, and the existing hotels are never full as it is, the argument goes. And changes to the trail are totally unnecessary, naysayers say. Plus those public paths through the yacht clubs are just plain unfeasible, according to the San Diego Yacht Club and many of its members. There’s no way to allow access without putting the public’s safety at risk, they argue.

Also the port needs to think long and hard about the traffic implications of taking away lanes on Scott Street, residents say.

Such is the general tenor of hundreds of letters from people who wrote the port about their objections. In total, the port received 3,878 pages of comments to its draft Port Master Plan. Letters addressing the Shelter Island plans comprised a substantial portion of those pages. The agency has scheduled an extra community discussion forum on Wednesday to hear from residents in person.

The legend of Scott Street

The response might have been different, presumably far quieter, had Cameron Driscoll Lilley, channeling her grandmother Patty Stose Wyatt, not decided to do something about the piers — one pier in particular.

Wyatt Pier, which was finished in 1944, is the product of Wyatt’s father, champion yachtsman Clem Stose.

“In the 1940s that area was just a salt marsh, the bay had not been dredged and Shelter Island was a sandbar,” Lilley said. “At the time it was not the most desirable place to live.”

Wyatt, said Lilley, returned to San Diego while pregnant, following the death of her husband, a military service man, who was killed in a routine training exercise. She purchased the house on Scott Street in 1942. In 1943, Wyatt’s father sought — and was granted —permission from the port director at the time, Joe Brennan, to build a private pier, the story goes.

“As the community grew around her and the location became more desirable, my grandmother treasured the opportunity to share the pier with anybody who came across the path,” Lilley said.

Lilley’s attachment to the pier and everything surrounding it is as palpable as the sand on the tiny beach behind the multi-generational home, which is the most unassuming one on the block. When Wyatt died in 1999, Lilley’s parents, Chuck and Laurie Driscoll, took over the residence. Lilley never lived at the La Playa house. She left for college before her folks moved in. Today, she lives in Ocean Beach with her husband and four kids. But Lilley is always in La Playa, especially now that her children are taking sailing lessons at the yacht club.

“I didn’t want to be this person, championing this fight right now,” Lilley said of becoming the unofficial spokesperson for the piers and the La Playa neighborhood.

She stepped into her role in July. That’s when she grasped the seriousness of the matter and decided to read through the entirety of the port’s nearly 400-page master plan draft.

“I was outraged,” Lilley said. “So I read and read. I made it my mission to educate myself on this (issue).”

A crusade was born. She started a Facebook group and website, drafted a template letter and spoke to more than 3,000 people.

Shock ensued as locals learned of what the document contained. Some couldn’t believe this was happening to their tiny, tucked-away piece of paradise. And while many people are aghast at the prospect of losing piers that have been around for 75 years or more, plenty of others just want the port to look elsewhere when making changes.

Then there’s Art Engel, a local business owner who has a home along the trail. He wants to build another quasi-public pier with a private dock. He’s been rejected in the past and has enlisted a law firm to not so subtly nudge the port to change its position or risk litigation.

“Those piers are a benefit to the community. Their removal goes against providing access to the public,” said Suzanne Varco, an attorney who represents Engel. And some public access is enough to satisfy the letter of coastal law, she said. “If we don’t make progress with the port, we will go to the Coastal Commissioners.”

Engel’s desired pier is a touchy subject for those who call the quiet trail home.

“We do not have a dock. Nor do I think any more should be built,” said Gail Hutcheson who lives along the water at San Antonio Place. “We do think the ones that are there add a lot of character.

I would be sad to see them go ... You see little kids throwing their fishing rods off them.”

Hutcheson speaks of a tight-knit neighborhood that often rears world-class sailors. Everyone, she says, enjoys the piers for one reason or another.

Even still, she has little sympathy for Engel’s plight.

“You bought the house without the pier. Suck it up,” she said. “If he gets to build one, what keeps us from saying, ‘We want our own.’ Where do you draw the line?”

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Shelter Island Guest Docks

Shelter Island Shoreline Park

The Port of San Diego’s Maritime Department manages anchorages on San Diego Bay and the Port’s Shelter Island Guest Docks located at 1401 Shelter Island Drive on the southern end of Shelter Island at the entrance to the Shelter Island Yacht Basin.

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Shelter Island Guest Docks and Anchorage

In order to accommodate boating visitors to San Diego Bay, the Port of San Diego maintains a public access Guest Dock facility at the Harbor Police Sub Station,  1401 Shelter Island Drive , San Diego. The station is located on the southern end of Shelter Island at the entrance to the Shelter Island Yacht Basin.

• The facility has 26-slips
• It can host recreational vessels up to 65-feet in length
• Vessels can stay for periods of up to 15 days, within a 40 day period
• Water and 30 Amp shore power connections are available at each slip
• The slips are rented at $1.27 per lineal foot per day
• Sanitary station facilities are provided at the Guest Dock - Click for more information & additional locations

Shelter Island Guest Docks and Anchorage Online Reservations Click here  

• Visit: http://reservations.portofsandiego.org/boating to see available slips, then call 619.686.6227 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week to make a reservation. Valid ID and vessel registration will need to be emailed to [email protected] . 
• The Port also provides two 72-hour anchorages and a “Cruiser Anchorage.” No fee is required to anchor in these areas; however, a permit is required. Permits for the A1 and A5 anchorages are available online .
• A9 anchorage, permits still require a vessel inspection performed by a Harbor Police Officer and must be obtained in person at the Harbor Police substation located at 1401 Shelter Island Drive.

All boaters must comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including illegal discharges to land and water. San Diego Bay is a “no discharge” area. The discharge of black water (sewage) from any vessel while berthed, moored, or anchored in San Diego Bay is prohibited. All boats with installed toilet facilities must have an operable marine sanitation device (MSD) on board. Boats must store sewage in holding tanks and dispose regularly at sanitary stations (pump-out facilities).

See Tariffs & Regulations

A1 (LA PLAYA COVE) 

• La Playa Cove is a 72-hour, weekend-only anchorage located between San Diego and Southwestern Yacht Clubs in the Shelter Island yacht basin.
• The hours of anchoring are from 0900 hours on Friday through 0900 hours on Monday.
• In case of a weekend holiday, anchoring is permitted for 96 hours.
• If the holiday falls on a Friday, anchoring is permitted from 0900 hours on Thursday through 0900 hours on Monday.
• If the holiday falls on a Monday, anchoring is permitted from 0900 hours on Friday through 0900 hours on Tuesday.
• A maximum of 40 boats are allowed in the cove.
• Boats must store black water (sewage) in holding tanks and dispose at sanitary stations (pump-out facilities).
• Use shore-side facilities - showers, sinks, laundry
• If not available, save showers, laundry, and dishwashing for home
• If possible, install holding tanks for gray water
• Use water saving devices such as low pressure showerheads to conserve water
• Use more "elbow grease" and as little cleaning product as possible.
• Try to skip the boat wash. Unless you need to rinse the salt water, wiping the boat down with a damp cloth will suffice.
• Use tarps or canvas boat covers to keep boat clean between trips and reduce the amount of cleaning you need to do.
• Use only biodegradable, non-phosphate, and less toxic laundry detergents, soaps, drain openers, cleaners etc.
• Conserve water and use water saving devices such as low volume showerheads
• For more information go to California Department of Boating and Waterways. 

A5 (GLORIETTA BAY)

• The A5 anchorage is located in Glorietta Bay, south of the Coronado Golf Course.
• Anchorage is allowed for up to 72-hours only.
• The hours for anchoring are from 0900 hours on the first day to 0900 hours on the last day.
• Minimum of one calendar day between A5 permits.
• A maximum of 20 boats are allowed in the anchorage.
• For more information go to California Department of Boating and Waterways.

A9 (CRUISER ANCHORAGE)

• The A9 anchorage is located in an area adjacent to the United States Coast Guard Air Station and the eastern tip of Harbor Island.
• This anchorage is available to non-residents of San Diego County only.
• Permit requires a vessel inspection performed by the Harbor Police Officer.
• Permits for this anchorage must be obtained in person at  1401 Shelter Island Drive  and proof of non-residency must be provided. You may dock at the Harbor Police/Customs Check-in Dock.
• Notify Harbor Police Department Dispatch, (619) 686-6272 that you are on the dock requesting an A-9 vessel inspection and permit.
• A copy of the permit will be issued to the boat owner and must remain on board as proof of issuance.
• The length of stay allowed for the anchorage is 30 days with two extensions available for a total stay of 90 days in a 12-month period.
• All vessels obtaining a permit must renew their permit every 30 days without exception.
• The Cruisers Anchorage is marked by three large yellow can buoys that warn of the restricted water space toward the Coast Guard Air Station to the east.
• A red channel buoy showing the entrance to the Harbor Island lagoon marks the West End.
• This anchorage is available for up to 20 vessels.

In the event Harbor Police or Harbormaster staff determine that any anchorage is congested and an additional vessel would inhibit access by police/fire boats or in some manner would be detrimental to safe boating, a permit would not be issued. Owners/Operators of vessels are responsible for all applicable state laws and local ordinances, in addition to any environmental concerns such as sanitary containers and holding tanks.

Recreational Boating

Mariner resources, boat launching ramps, contact harbor police.

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All employees may be reached through the switchboard during front office hours by dialing (619) 221-8400.

Monday: Clubhouse Closed Tuesday to Friday: 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM Saturday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM Sunday: 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

General Contact Info

San Diego Yacht Club 1011 Anchorage Lane San Diego, CA 92106 Phone: (619) 221-8400 Fax: (619) 224-3059

VHF Channel 69

Latitude 32°43'05" North Longitude 117°13'43" West Map & Directions

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