Thanks to Tom Miller for forwarding this note from Richard Gillette, captain of the Pegasus, the wooden boat in the Berkeley harbor which is part of the non-profit Pegasus Project, teaching city children about the Bay and how to sail.
Ahoy all y’all,
That tsunami traveled all the way across the Pacific and arrived in San Francisco around 8:08 am this morning. The first surge was not so bad, but the later ones were quite powerful.
There were in excess of 25 knot currents inside the Berkeley Marina. Several docks were broken and several pilings snapped in half and others just leaned over. The end tie dock at D dock broke in half. A piling on O dock snapped and fell on a boat causing slight damage. Several fingers on O dock were also damaged as well as docks at Berkeley Marine Center.
When I heard that we were getting damage, I got in my dinghy and went to help. I knew that the Marina was down to one rescue boat and could use the help. I was right. We used my dinghy to help move broken docks, move boats and secure floating items. At one point the current was so strong we could barely make way. I took several videos to share with you what it was like.
Luckily there was no significant damage to any vessels. Pegasus and my boat Java Head rode it out with no problems. Thank you to all of you who texted or called to make sure I knew what was happening and to make sure Pegasus, Java Head and I were safe. I really appreciated your concern.
With smiles and smiles to go…
Captain Rich
Captain Rich also uploaded some videos which show the “broiling surge” of the water (above), some of the damage caused by the tsunami to a dock in the harbor, and the speed with which the water rose as the surge came in.
