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Doin' the Delta
Flowing more than 1,000 miles into San Pablo Bay near San Francisco, fed by
the waters of more than five rivers and composed of-at last count-55 fertile
islands created by man-made levees for agriculture, the California Delta is
as diverse as it is unique.
It's a vital resource, providing two-thirds of California's fresh water. Were
it not for the many rock-lined levees, the water would be covering most of
the islands since the land sits mostly below sea level.
"I'm looking out the window right now," says Bewain Rosenthal, dockmaster
at King Island (a BoatU.S. Cooperating Marina) in Stockton, "and to my
left there are seven or eight islands and to my right there's probably five
more islands. So my advice to the first-time boater in the Delta is to get
a chart. Everything here is well-marked but a chart is going to show your location."
The word "labyrinth" is used by the California Delta Chamber and
Visitors Bureau to describe the miles of winding rivers and sloughs (pronounced "slew" and
with names like Potato, Snodgrass, Steamboat and, maybe most appropriate, Lost). "It's
a unique body of water," says Philip Delano of Vessel Assist Delta based
on Bethel Island. "There's a thousand miles of waterways and you can go
out every day and never see the same thing twice. And I have gotten calls from
boaters saying they don't know where they are but have a good view of Mt. Diablo,
a 3,900-foot mountain to the south that is also visible from anywhere in the
Delta. Everyone needs a chart if this is their first time." Mt. Diablo
is used to relay VHF signals between Delano and boats in need of assistance.
While most of the Delta islands are farmland (asparagus, pears and grapes
are the most abundant crops), a few, like Bethel Island, are homes to not just
locals, but also marinas, golf courses, RV parks, houseboat rental companies
and campgrounds. [I deleted a sentence here that's already in 2nd paragraph.]A
Delta trip-by boat-usually involves passing beneath a number of bridges that
connect the islands to each other and the mainland. It should be noted most
trailer boats can do this without a problem-the lowest clearance is about six
feet (at Bishop Cut and Eight Mile Road) depending on the tide.
A Few Delta Ramps
At
King Island Resort & Marina, dockmaster Bewain Rosenthal says two lanes
are always open for visiting trailer boaters to launch, and, if desired, tow
vehicles and trailers can remain overnight. "We have three parking lots
so lack of space is never a problem here," he says.
"For location and convenience in the central part of the Delta, Russo's
Marina Resort on Bethel Island is superb for trailer boaters in the Frank's
Tract area [a state recreation area across Piper Slough from the northeast
side of Bethel]," says fishing guide Dan Mathison. "They have a well-designed
ramp and services include a tackle shop, a campground and fuel." There's
a BoatU.S. Cooperating Marina located on Bethel Island too. Sugar Barge (www.sugarbarge.com)
has an RV facility, fuel, a boat ramp as well as a restaurant.
"Bethel Island is the most populated," notes Philip Delano of Vessel
Assist. "I see a lot of trailer boats launching from here and pulling
a tube for the kids. It's a busy area but you'll always be able to find a quiet
slough."
"If you are launching in the northern area of the Delta, there's a good
ramp in Isleton [on the Sacramento River]," adds Mathison. "The best
place is Vieira's Resort where the boat ramp is flat and it's the perfect location
if you are going after smallmouth bass or salmon in the fall. They have bait
and tackle (anchovies are a popular bait used in the Delta), and a restaurant
as well as camping. This is a traditional stop for any serious smallmouth bass,
salmon, striper or sturgeon angler."
Fishermen also talk about
an area two miles north of the Isleton launch ramp near "the Century Plant" which
is a huge cactus more than 20 feet high and 10 feet in diameter. Go just
north of the Century Plant and you'll come home with stripers or sturgeon.
In the waterfront town of Rio Vista (on the western shore of the Sacramento
River) at channel marker 27, there's a two-lane boat ramp that's open 24
hours/day. This month, October 13-15, that ramp is going to be busy as more
than 1,400 anglers come to town and more than 40,000 tourists appear to partake
in a car show, pancake breakfast, live music and, of course, a fishing tournament.
If you come to town in June, there's a huge Crawdad Festival.
Stockton is the largest city in the Delta with a population nearing 275,000.
Located on the San Joaquin River, its beginnings date back to the gold rush
where hopeful prospectors arrived on steamships around 1849 to search the nearby
Sierra Nevada for wealth. Today it's an international seaport with an active
waterfront; you can tie up and walk the city for a while if you desire. Of
the three boat ramps run by the city's Parks and Recreation Department, Buckley
Cove is the best known-in part because of renovations last year featuring wider
lanes and new floating docks. It's a boat ramp that is used by trailer sailors
too-you will see a fleet of West Wight Potters launching from time to time.
Other Stockton boat ramps are located at Morelli Park and Louis Park. Launching
fees are $7, which includes tow vehicle and trailer parking.
During March 22-25 next
year, the Bassmaster Elite will hold a tournament on McLeod Lake in Stockton,
just off the Port of Stockton Channel and east of the I-5 Bridge. Called "The Duel in the Delta," anglers
will go to work in pursuit of black bass. This month (October 7), a black
bass tournament sponsored by Stockton Bass hosts a tournament at Buckley
Cove.
One of the highest accolades
for landing a fish is found on the bait shop refrigerator at King Island
Marina in Stockton. "We always get a photograph
of customers who have caught a fish," says dockmaster Bewain Rosenthal.
The fishing is great everywhere so when folks come back to our dock, we take
their picture."
Day Trips
"A run up the Sacramento River from Isleton to Old Sacramento will be an
enchanting journey especially through the Chinese settlement of Locke," suggests
Dan Mathison. The Chinese played a central role in the development of the Delta:
They built the levees and worked on tracks for the soon-to-be transcontinental
railroad. Both Locke and Isleton have a "Chinatown," with shops and
restaurants.
Anchoring out is popular
in the Delta and many boats will be seen during the summer in protected areas
such as the Meadows-a state park near Locke filled with wildlife. Snodgrass,
Railroad and Lost Sloughs are near this area too.
"I'd suggest a pair
of places for a day trip," says Philip Delano. "Younger
trailer boaters will enjoy a place called 'Lost Isle' on the San Joaquin
River at channel marker 21. It's listed on charts as "Acker Island" but
be aware the sheriff patrols are visible on weekends near the bar and restaurant
docks (it's accessible only by water). Or go to Discovery Bay [called 'Disco
Bay' by the locals] which is a waterfront residential area with a marina
and where you'll probably see some trick water-skiing being done or even
some barefoot skiing since the water is so protected and calm."
BoatU.S. Trailering Club
Member Eric Wishan grew up along the Delta and has launched many times on
Discovery Bay. Though he lives in Oregon now, Wishan makes return trips-with
a boat-from time to time. "It is a double-wide
launch ramp with tons of parking. A great day would be launching from
Discovery Bay, trekking down the slow water, turning right and heading out
towards Indian Slough. A few turns away is Victoria Channel, an ideal four-mile-long
straightaway that is just perfect if you're a water-skier. The Delta
is wonderful because if the wind is blowing in one direction, you can simply
turn down a different channel and have flat water. Even if it is a 'crowded'
weekend, once a boat passes, the wake dissipates, and you have flat water
again. I miss my Delta days, 10-12 hours on the water, and skiing and
boarding all day."
The Ryde Hotel on the
Sacramento River in Walnut Grove is filled with great Delta stories. Built
in 1927, the hotel was a way station for riverboats traveling between Sacramento
and Stockton as well as San Francisco. It became a speakeasy, complete with
a trap door to a secret lower level and tunnel to the river. Today, the Ryde
has 32 rooms, a restaurant and a private dock for boaters seeking a room
for the night or a meal, and pear orchards within walking distance.
The distance from Stockton
to San Pablo Bay is about 45 miles-maybe a bit too far for a day trip-but
it can make for an interesting few days out and back.
Advice for the Newcomer
"In the central/West Delta Main channels, you want to avoid the incoming
wind and the outgoing tides as they take many small boaters by surprise," warns
Dan Mathison. Vessel Assist's Philip Delano agrees. "Once you are off Pittsburg,
the water becomes wider and the wind is usually going to be coming at you from
the west. If the tide is going out (in the opposite direction), I can tell you
firsthand, it surprises a lot of trailer boat owners, some of whom I've had to
give a hand to."
The 4th of July is probably
not the time to explore the Delta for the first time. Barron Hilton (he has
a chain of hotels and a granddaughter named Paris) brings a barge to an area
off Mandeville Island and provides spectacular fireworks every year. During
the day his helicopter can be seen shuttling guests to his home on the island,
but the real view takes place on the water where thousands of boats congregate
for the show.
"It's mayhem a week before boats start showing up," says Delano, who
is always in the middle of it, "and there are always a lot of raft-ups.
By the time the fireworks begin, there are 2,500-3,000 boats packed into the
area. I'm always there to assist with props that have gotten tangled in anchor
lines, a few collisions and folks who have run out of gas or drained their
batteries. The thing is that most try to go home as soon as it's over and that
makes for some tense moments."
Some of the sloughs are
not only winding but narrow as well, so the first-timer is encouraged to
keep speed down during inaugural trips past the islands. But remember, too,
the diversity of the Delta; Stockton and Sacramento to the north are international
seaports. As a result, it isn't uncommon to be cruising along the water and
see a freighter seemingly cutting across a field when it's actually using
a deep-water shipping channel that runs through Suisun Bay into San Pablo
Bay, past San Francisco and into the Pacific Ocean. "It can
be a strange thing to see," notes Philip Delano. "You see this giant
factory with cranes and containers moving across land. If you come upon one-and
you will-give the freighter lots of room. People have actually anchored in
the channel and realized firsthand that's not a good idea."
Suisun Bay is where the battleship U.S.S. Iowa is moored with other mothballed
warships, protected by a 500-foot security zone around them. Suisun Bay is
also a prime sturgeon fishing area.
A visit with your boat
to the Delta offers versatility: It's 738,000 acres of open space when you
want solitude and yet it's between two urban areas: Sacramento to the north
and San Francisco to the southwest. There is a lot of talk about "Delta
Time" here,
where moments aren't empty[don't know what this means]. In many other places,
those words are mostly a come-on coined by a tourism bureau. Not in the Delta
... time really does move slower.
California
Delta Chamber & Visitors
Bureau www.californiadelta.org
Dan Mathison Column www.fishdelta.com
Rio Vista Bass Festival www.bassfestival.com
BoatU.S. Cooperating Marinas Tower Park Marina Resort www.towerparkresort.com
King Island Resort www.westrec.com/kingisland.html
5 Star Marina 209-466-2244
Houseboat Rentals 916-776-4270
Super Barge Resort & Marina 800-799-4100
Delta Vessel Assist 925-382-4422
Paying to launch at the
boat ramp? Don't forget Trailering Club Members can use Ramp Fee Rebates
(page 24).
Getting There:
From Dallas 1,688 miles
From Ft. Lauderdale 3,050 miles
From San Diego 458 miles
From Detroit 2,365 miles
From Seattle 801 miles
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