Lower Sacramento River Drift Boats Bouncing Off Construction Pilings Like Pinballs

Ok, the headline is alarmist. I mean, I basically lied to get your attention. So far, it looks like only one drift boat hit a temporary construction piling under Redding’s Cypress Avenue bridge, but there have been close calls — enough that:

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko says he may restrict or even close the Sacramento River under Reddings Cypress Avenue Bridge after reports that boaters are running into construction pilings sprouting up in the busy waterway.

Anyone suspect (like me) that Bosenko doesn’t fly fish? Later in the article…

Linnea LeBoeuf, who co-owns local guide service River Romance with her husband, Todd, said one of her oarsmen was taking clients on a romantic float trip down the river, when the drift boat struck a bridge piling. The collision dented the rear of the boat and cracked an oar.

A romantic float trip? If it’s one thing we’ve learned reading thousands of romance novels watching hours of manly action movies, it’s that a hint of danger transforms the ordinary into the saucy. Trust us on this one.

Sadly, the guys at the Redding Fly Shop don’t seem nearly as romantic:

At the Fly Shop, which houses the Redding area’s largest fly fishing guide service, Guide Services Director Michael Caranci said he’s heard of at least a half-dozen similar close calls.

“It’s a tight enough passageway that there’s very little room for error,” Caranci said.

How tight is it (you ask in unison)?

Although an average drift boat is about 23 feet wide from oar tip to oar tip, boaters will have just 20 feet to pass between the two platforms.

Twenty feet? My guide friend Dave Roberts would laugh in a bitter and cynical fashion if you told him he was in danger because he had to shoot a 20 foot gap, but OK — given Lower Sac water velocities, let’s just say it’s dangerous.

Closing the river? Ouch. (Once more in unison, Redding Area Tourist Economy — OUCH).

Signs since have been placed at boat ramps and around town warning boaters of the dangers.

The sheriff’s office also has discussed contacting private landowners with access to the river to see if they’ll allow boaters to pull out prior to reaching the bridge, Starman said.

But that’s not enough for Caranci, who says the perils should have been considered and corrected before construction began. He said the potential dangers have been scaring fishermen off the river.

“The city messed up in terms of the recreation value of the river,” he said. “They didn’t take that into consideration when they started this project.”

City tourism officer Bob Warren said any closure to the river could hurt Redding’s economy.

He estimated at least $1 million a year pours into the community because of fishing on the river.

I’d guess City Tourism Officer Bob Warren is way, way under with that $1 million a year estimate (which is probably why the city didn’t consider the recreation angle in the first place).

Given the number of guide trips supported by the Lower Sac — not to mention a big, big dollar fly shop, the hotels, meals, etc — the number has to be higher.

Any Undergrounders been through the construction pilings lately? I’d love to hear your take.

You can read the whole Record Searchlight article here: Narrow access: River construction sandbags access to the Sacramento River