quote:
Posted on another board:
I love the trip up the Petaluma River and a stay in the turning basin. You're right in the middle of a great historical town with great bars, music clubs, restaurants, shops, etc. I think I've done the trip over 10 times. But the area is going to hell.
On Friday and Sat. night there are roving bands of teenagers and slightly older kids that have nothing to do but cause vandalism to the docks and to the boats docked there. This weekend was the last straw.
Back a few years ago we brought Pane e Vino up there with a couple of friends boats also. Having cocktails with a customer of mine in the sloon of Pane e Vino I noticed Bostonian (whose owners had just gone to bed) seem to drift from the dock some. I though at first that the dock lines weren't tight enough but George has been boating all his life and wouldn't do that. As I went outside I noticed Bostonian's docklines in the water and were untied from the cleats. Also, the cooler that they were ussing as a step on the boat was gone. Luckily, I was able to grab a line before they drifted much further. With the tide going out they would have surely hit the D street bridge causing major damage to a very expensive boat. People at the yacht club saw four kids walk up the ramp wiht the coller. I took off in that direction and saw four kids walking away but no cooler so I couldn't tell is that was them. As we found out the next day they dropped the cooler in the river. It was them and I was so mad I would have ended up in jail that night.
Since then I have heard of other similar incidents and there is absolutely no police presence.
Then, this weekend, my good friend Capt Dale Walters of the Que Sera Sera tooke some time from chartering his boat to take his wife and her elderly father to the bay. I suggested Petaluma river and the turning basin figuring the problems that we had were isolated. Well, they were to spend three night there but all the nights were not restfull as there were people yelling, cussing and fighting near the boat. And one morning Dale woke up to find his padded bolsters in his cockpit (that he had redone not long ago) were slashed. One of the dock power towers was kicked over and there was grafitti everywhere. And there is no gate to the dock to protect the boats or a cop to be seen!
And you can't find a nicer guy than Dale and now I feel like for recommending it to him.
Complaints to the city have fallen on deaf ears saying that the docks are public walkway. That is fine. Boats that go there spend thousand of dollars in the Petaluma economy and they apparently don't want it. It is not safe for your boat unless you stay up all night to protect it.
So, until they install a gate for only the berthers and their guests can gain access to the docks and do something about the gangs of little punks I will not be recommending to anyone to go there. It is not safe. I am also considering writing to all of the local yacht clubs that routinely cruise there to put them on watch.
C'mon Petaluma! You have such a jewel in your town. Have you wondered why it is often empty?
If you live in Petaluma or enjoy a stay there or are considering it one day I'd recommend that you write the Chamber of Commerec. If I have a moment I'll try and find the contact info.