Quick Take:
Following pushback from the local maritime community, the United States Coast Guard has decided to keep the Mile Buoy in its current location and scrap the idea for a virtual replacement.
Santa Cruz’s 100 year old buoy will remain in the Monterey Bay’s waters after all.
The United States Coast Guard has decided to not remove the Santa Cruz Lighted Buoy, better known as “Mile Buoy,” after local pushback, particularly from the maritime community, it announced on Friday.
In January, the Coast Guard proposed removing a number of safe water buoys along the California coast — including Mile Buoy — and replacing them with virtual navigation aids. That would imply replacing the physical buoy with a virtual pin on a digital map or ship’s radar.
Marine scientists and maritime personnel had come out against the buoy’s potential removal, saying that it is not only a historic local landmark, but that it also provides a vital point of reference for the variety of watercraft that traverse the Monterey Bay.
That pushback during the public comment period for the proposed removal was enough to convince the Coast Guard to leave the buoy as is.
“This decision underscores our commitment to prioritizing safety while ensuring that the voices of the community are heard and considered,” said Coast Guard Office of Navigation Systems chief Captain Steven Ramassini in a statement on Friday. “The Coast Guard extends its sincere appreciation to the maritime community of Santa Cruz for its active participation in the formal process concerning navigation safety decisions.”
from community voices
Congressman Jimmy Panetta released a statement on Saturday expressing gratitude toward the Coast Guard for rescinding its proposal to remove the buoy.
“Through our united community engagement and work with the U.S. Coast Guard, we proved the importance of the buoy as a critical safety beacon and iconic piece of our history,” the statement reads. “I praise the people of Santa Cruz for doing what they do best by engaging and participating in our governmental process.”
Santa Cruz Harbormaster Blake Anderson said he wasn’t initially sure what would happen, but he’s happy to see the community come together on the issue.
“Whether you have a yacht or a kayak, it’s maybe the one thing all boaters can agree on,” he said.
O’Neill Sea Odyssey executive director Tracey Weiss said the organization is “thrilled” with the decision to keep the buoy in place and believes that it ensures the safety of ocean travelers in boats, kayaks, and paddle boarders — much more so than a virtual marker.
“The Mile Buoy serves as a visual point of reference, so it doesn’t help if it’s just a virtual pin,” she said, adding that the buoy makes a whistling sound when it bobs in and out of the water, providing an auditory guide as well. “You wouldn’t take a bunch of signs off of Highway 17 and just let only a GPS guide people.”
Weiss added that many of those in the water would not have the right equipment, such as a GPS, to orient themselves with the virtual marker: “There’s a certain level of privilege connected with that technology, and we also know that technology can fail.”
Weiss said she’s happy that Sea Odyssey’s marine navigation classes will be able to continue with the Mile Buoy as a focal point in hands-on lessons tackling the math involved in ocean navigation. She added that it’s as necessary a feature as ever.
“With stronger and more frequent storms, having a physical marker makes a big impact,” she said.
And, of course, the buoy’s local significance can’t be ignored.
“Besides the public safety issue, it’s a huge part of the local maritime history,” said Anderson. “We can’t just sit back and lose that.”
