Berkeley Marina insider info inquiry

[Lanikai]

I won the lottery! The liveaboard lottery, that is. 32' slip (max boat size 34') in anticipation of two-foot-itis with a multiplier. Did it on kind of a whim and am utterly unfamiliar with the marina, however, except for the traffic on 80. Any inside scoop appreciated: best docks, worst docks, hazards, restrooms, security, the little commuter ferry that goes to pier 1.5, harbormaster gossip...anything. I know at least a couple of you have/had boats at Berserkley.

Oh, hmm...I probably should have looked at the map before I submitted my application. Looks like the 32' slips are all downwind, on D or F docks. My docking skills will get a polishing, if that's in fact where they're gonna put me.

 

[saltandthesea]

Berkeley Marina - not so bad!

I'm on C dock (not a live aboard). I thought about applying for the lottery as a "nice-to-have" - but not so nice that I would want to pay the liveaboard fee.

From what I've seen, C dock is the nicest in terms of dock condition. The pier is stable, concrete, with wide fingers that aren't sinking into the sea, as appeared to be the case with some other slips I visited. I thought about relocating closer to BYC for the socializing, but the slips were in relatively bad shape. Maybe I expect too much.

One benefit of being on the C dock side is that it's closer to Berkeley Marine Center in case you need to make a quick run to their chandlery. Also, OCSC has boats there, so there are always people around.

Haven't had issues with security although I would definitely keep the situational awareness levels high at night.

An important note on the harbor entrances, of which there are three, is that the south entrance is the deepest. Entering through the middle entrance at low tide can ground you close to the breakwater. In fact, I may have dragged a bit of ground coming in last night.

Another point of interest on harbor entry is that there is a rumored windshift around the Berkeley Yacht Club that can cause an accidental gybe if you're on starboard tack (Or the other tack. One of the tacks).

Regarding the wind - you're probably aware that it's right at the end of the slot, so in the summer you get the full 25 kts right off the bat. I believe this is a feature, not a bug.

Also, the WIFI sucks.

Congratulations on the liveaboard!

I won the lottery! The liveaboard lottery, that is. 32' slip (max boat size 34') in anticipation of two-foot-itis with a multiplier. Did it on kind of a whim and am utterly unfamiliar with the marina, however, except for the traffic on 80. Any inside scoop appreciated: best docks, worst docks, hazards, restrooms, security, the little commuter ferry that goes to pier 1.5, harbormaster gossip...anything. I know at least a couple of you have/had boats at Berserkley.

Oh, hmm...I probably should have looked at the map before I submitted my application. Looks like the 32' slips are all downwind, on D or F docks. My docking skills will get a polishing, if that's in fact where they're gonna put me.

 

[Lanikai]

Thanks, Ergo! First time entering the marina was Sunday night about 10pm, before I got a chance to read your email. Man oh man, is that pier awfully spooky in a new moon. Death gripped the tiller all the way in. I wasn't sure which side to enter, settled on right down the middle. Sounder bumped up from 6 to 4 to 2 (not sure what that was about), and that was at high tide. You weren't kidding. South entrance, noted.

D-dock seemed sketchy in every possible respect (nice view of Ergo, though!). C is clearly one of the "good" docks with lots of well kept boats. I was left with no choice but F dock, which will have to suffice until a better option comes up. At least on F I can cook and not worry about disturbing downwind neighbors.

I was at both Marina Village and Brisbane during "major wifi system upgrades", neither of which seemed to have any effect. Still mostly unreliable even for simple text. Forget streaming. Guess I'll start reading books again. Rest rooms seem to be on the lower end of the spectrum at Berkeley, too, even by city-run marina standards. But I'll trade some of that stuff to have the central bay as my front yard.