A community of sailors permanently anchored in San Francisco Bay faces eviction from the waters they call home under a program aimed at protecting the delicate marine ecosystem.
About three dozen “presenters” (artists, free spirits and the like) live rent-free and unencumbered by permits in Richardson Bay, across from the affluent coastal community of Sausalito.
And while the waters were once packed with about 200 vessels, that number has increased sixfold amid a campaign by local authorities and the Army Corps of Engineers to remove all vessels from the bay.
Chad Wycliffe, 41, is one of the few sailors left. He has taken up residence on his 33-foot fishing boat, the Iron Maiden, with two mixed breed dogs.
“The city and the people have changed,” Wycliffe told the San Francisco Standard. “No one owns this water, no matter how much they want to impose rules on it.”
“Anchored” people living rent-free in Richardson Bay face eviction from the waters they call home under an initiative aimed at protecting the marine ecosystem.
About 200 boats filled Sausalito’s waters just a few years ago, but that number has dwindled to fewer than three dozen.
Chad Wycliffe, 41, worries he won’t be able to pay rent for land plus a spot at a marina once his boat is towed out of the bay.
San Francisco Bay contains approximately 3,000 acres of seagrass, the second largest habitat in all of California, and local officials aim to preserve it by establishing a “Seagrass Protection Zone.”
Biologists maintain that the bay’s marine health depends on seagrass beds providing spawning habitat for the herring that form the base of the food chain.
Around 400 acres of seagrass are found in Richardson Bay, approximately 75 of which have been lost due to chains and anchors dragging across the seabed.
But anchors insist that the real culprits are fertilizers from agriculture and illegal discharges from yachts.
However, local agencies are working to relocate sailors in phases as part of a $3 million program launched in 2021.
Under the terms, anchors are eligible for a housing voucher for an apartment – ​​typically valued at $2,500 – as well as a $150-per-foot buyback for the boat being taken out of the water.
Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters praised the initiative.
“We’re not just telling people to get off the water, we’re offering them housing,” said Moulton-Peters, who represents Sausalito.
“It’s one of the most compassionate approaches to those who live in the water and our need to move them.”
Biologists maintain that the permanently anchored ships have caused extensive damage to nearly 100 acres of seagrass, which provides crucial habitat for herring.
Wycliffe and his fiancée (pictured) agreed to give up their houseboat under a program launched in 2021, which provides housing vouchers to those anchored.
The program aims to remove all Richardson Bay anchorages by 2026.
The effort is the latest in a series of attempts by local officials to clear anchor waters.
The Richardson Bay Regional Agency established laws limiting vessels anchored in the bay to 72 hours unless a 30-day permit is approved, but these have been largely ignored.
While the campaign to remove the ships intensified during the pandemic, progress was notably slow.
The agency established a program in which anchors could apply to move their boats to five of Sausalito’s marinas, but only two sailors accepted the offer.
Now, all vessels are expected to be out of the water by October 2024, with a small number of vessels permitted until 2026.
Anchoring will be available only to boaters staying 72 hours or less, with a permit issued by the port captain.
And it’s not just about protecting seagrass. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Richardson Bay Regional Agency Executive Director Brad Gross expressed concern for the surrounding community.
“I don’t think having a flotilla of illegally anchored boats with people living on them and storing their belongings with boats and skiffs floating behind them provides a sense of security for a child participating in a sailboat regatta,” Gross said.
It is this characterization that some sailors take issue with. Philip Crabtree claims that he will not stay illegally, as he still has 50 days left on his permit and will not harm anyone by anchoring in Richardson Bay.
“I’m not an illegal anchor,” Crabtree wrote on Facebook. “Get your facts straight, Jack.”
As for Wycliffe, he only has half a year left until he has to move somewhere else.
He and his fiancée were among those who agreed to trade their houseboat for a life on land.
Following his sudden death last year, the 41-year-old security guard is unsure how he will get a place at a marina, as well as housing for himself and his pets.
“As much as I can imagine leaving, as I have in the past, I always come back,” Wycliffe said. “Perhaps my destiny is to die in this water too.”