Reason why Cabrillo Mole in Avalon is closed to fishing.

Mahigeer

Senior Member
#1
I will have more information here to post after Tuesday and talking to Harbor Master.


Here are some of the reasons the Mole needed major reconstruction.

I am also told by a longtime resident, that the Mole blocks the flow of the water inside of the Avalon Bay.

Thus, poor record of water quality for many years by Heal the Bay.



1-A very small sample of damaged concrete walkway.








2-The metal beams (girder) are rusting very badly along with the grids.







The grids provide an escape route for the water during the storms. I have seen five (5) feet of water like a volcano come up vertically.




3-I hope they will remember to save these four regulation plates that I provided with

approval of previous Harbor Master.







Side note:

This is a kayak that can be taken on the Catalina Express to Catalina.

 

Ken Jones

Administrator
Staff member
#2
As for the pollution in the bay, I don't think they are ever going to remove the Mole unless they are willing to build a large ship landing down by Pebble Beach (one proposal). The larger problem of pollution was due to (a) water draining into the bay from surface pipes and (b) to a lesser degree pollution from all the boats in the harbor. I believe they have solved part of the problem from the pipe runoff. I think it would be a terrible mistake to actually remove the Mole.
 

Mahigeer

Senior Member
#3
The water has become cleaner due some efforts.

I don't think they will eliminate the Mole.
Perhaps they will built it like a pier rather than a jetty. That way the water can flow freely underneath of it.

How it will effect the de-boarding from the Catalina Express boats during the rough seas is to be seen if it is like a pier.

The cruise ship terminal project is not planned anymore, as far as I know.
 

Ken Jones

Administrator
Staff member
#4
Building it like a pier will not work, it would suffer the occasional damage to boats and structures in the harbor from winter storms as happened before the Mole was built.
 

Mahigeer

Senior Member
#5
I am hoping all of the existing shortcomings will be considered.

Even with the Mole, a storm was cause for one young Harbor Patrol to die. He was pinched between two boats.

A dive boat also was severely damaged.
 

Makairaa

Well-Known Member
#6
Short of making a break wall all the way across the harbor there would be no way to stop the waves from a santa ana wind event like the one that took the harbor patrolmans life. The depth of the harbor on the outside would keep that from happening and it would make the pollution even worse. That harbor has always had problems with santa anas. I remember one year they did not pull the gas dock soon enough and it ended up 15 feet up the cliff behind it. Another year I got a mooring and on the bottom underneath me was the entire side of a 20 something foot sea ox that sank the week before. Another time I actually got caught in the wind. When I got to the harbor I was met by 5 boats floating out of the harbor with no one onboard. The harbor patrol rounded up about 25 boats that had broken their moorings the next day about 5 miles off the island and they were ferrying the boats owners out to them. Great place 360 days of the year. Not a good place to be on a boat during santa anas.
 
#7
I will have more information here to post after Tuesday and talking to Harbor Master.


Here are some of the reasons the Mole needed major reconstruction.

I am also told by a longtime resident, that the Mole blocks the flow of the water inside of the Avalon Bay.

Thus, poor record of water quality for many years by Heal the Bay.



1-A very small sample of damaged concrete walkway.








2-The metal beams (girder) are rusting very badly along with the grids.







The grids provide an escape route for the water during the storms. I have seen five (5) feet of water like a volcano come up vertically.




3-I hope they will remember to save these four regulation plates that I provided with

approval of previous Harbor Master.







Side note:

This is a kayak that can be taken on the Catalina Express to Catalina.

Very detailed summary - thank you for this info/context.

Hopefully the construction wraps in a timely fashion and we have a place to fish again!