Photo by Bob Edwards, Nov. 28, 2018
Due to high surf, the Ocean Beach Pier was closed to the public Wednesday morning. Large waves were smashing the bottom of the pier.
High surf and strong rip currents prompted the National Weather Service to issue a high surf advisory that remains in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday.
Surf levels of 6-10 feet, with sets around 12 feet, are expected to peak Thursday into Friday morning with minor coastal flooding through Saturday, forecasters said.
It’s unknown how long the closure will last. Probably until lifeguards determine it is safe to open it.
Long-time locals may chuckle at this, as some of us can remember many times the pier was left open during high-surf periods. And people would have fun getting sprayed by the waves that hit the deck and sides of the pier.
Photo by Bob Edwards, Nov. 28, 2018
Meanwhile, the OB Christmas Tree is having its own problems.
Not everybody was staying out of the water. Albert C Elliott found an optimistic surfer earlier this morning.
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This happened back in Dec. 2009 – see https://obrag.org/2009/12/around-town-waves-close-pier-christmas-tree-down-and-bar-crash/
oh dear…didn’t last year’s tree have a ‘lean’ as well? :-)
Let me tell you about the pier. About two years ago, while running on the pier, I began to really notice the deterioration everywhere, so I began to ask questions. The pier is in bad shape. I tried to get an engineer’s report via the Public Records Requests and they would not give them to me. They did give me the contracts and invoices for engineering studies that totaled over $600k. My next step is the city attorney. I do know the city has earmarked $3 million for repairs but I believe it needs much more. If you notice, the closings have become more frequent, even when the surf is not that big. It is not being closed for the safety of the public because of unusually high surf, it is being closed because the city knows the pier itself is now unsafe with even moderately high surf. I will write up what I have found out so far but everyone in OB needs to be asking the city to provide an honest update on the pier.
Everything has an expiration date. Even the Pier. Imagine how rusty the steel is getting inside those concrete pilings after almost 60 years of salt water intrusion. Can we say when not if?
I watched Crystal Pier in PB when the end broke off and turned it into Crystal Stub during one monster swell. But at least that floated and broke apart as it washed up on the beach. This one is just going to break, drop, and sink where it stands when it happens. Won’t that be a job removing all the debris?
sealintheSelkirks
Artificial reef.