Berkeley Pier, obstruction or cool artifact?

April 29, 4:48 PMSF Sailing ExaminerEdward Killeen

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The Berkeley Pier extends 1.7 miles out past the only navigable gap

I, personally, sail out of the Berkeley Marina.  Every time I leave the marina, I have an obstruction to port for the first several miles.  And, every single time, I get the question as guests look at it, 'what the heck is that?"

There's a good reason for the question.  For the first 3000 feet, it's like any other pier, filled with people enjoying the view, fishing and fresh sea air.  Then it ends.  And the ruins begin.  The next 1.7 miles look like the Bay's equivalent of The Parthenon (except it's not as beautiful, historically important, or above ground).  But, still, it attracts attention.

As a sailor, my main focus is that it is NOT navigable water.  Many races count it as an obstruction and a restricted area.  You have no idea how many pilings are lurking just below the surface.  It's just not a good place for your boat to be.  That being said, I really enjoy tacking as close to it as I can get, especially by the public portion, though I am always careful not to interfere with fishing lines.

After I tell my guests about how scary it is to the 4.5 feet of my boat that lives under water, I get into the history of the pier.  It was originally constructed to serve as a ferry terminal.  Due to the shallow water in the Olympic Circle (the area outside of the Berkeley Marina going towards Richmond), the ferries couldn't make it all the way to shore.  So, they brought the shore to the ferries.  The ferry terminal was at the end of the pier, in fact the two lane road going out to the terminal was the endpoint of Highway 40 for some time.  The ferry terminal served the Berkeley to Hyde Street ferry from 1926 to 1939 when it was shut down due to the construction of the Bay Bridge.

With a southerly wind, you can sail parallel to the pier very easily.  On a normal westerly wind day, the downwind portion going East is pretty much in line with the pier.  It's interesting to imagine what it was like with a busy road full of cars heading out into the Bay...just don't get too close.