Corps of Engineers debris team hauls remains of marina out of San Pablo Bay

By Brandon Beach, USACE San Francisco DistrictSeptember 2, 2009

Cleaning Up the Bay
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A crane operator from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District debris crew lifts out pieces of a 300-foot long, 40-foot wide dock that broke off when gusty winds flipped it over forcing its owner to cut it from his boat. The owner was ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cleaning Up the Bay
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cleaning Up the Bay
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Cleaning Up the Bay
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

San Francisco District debris crews responded to a call in May reporting that a wooden-covered pier debris from a local marina had become debris floating in the waters near Concord, Calif.

The collapsed wooden-covered pier was estimated at about 300 feet long and 40 feet wide.

"It was being towed by a person looking to start a marina," said Joe McCormick, captain of the M/V Raccoon, part of the district's fleet of debris removal vessels. "The wind kicked up, and it unfortunately got away from him."

Crews from both the Raccoon and the Grizzly, a small debris removal vessel, were dispatched to the scene early on the morning of May 7.

Over the course of two days, crew members from the Raccoon alone hauled out more than 20 tons of debris.

"When you collect something like that, it gives you a good feeling," said Rick Curry, a debris collection worker. "You're really doing something."

Though the marina was initially discovered outside of Federal waters, by midweek, the large floating wreckage had entered the north part of San Pablo Bay, falling under the Corps' jurisdiction for removal.

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