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Summer is here! My favorite time of the year. Hopefully we get nothing but long, sunny days with temperate evenings for the next several months. There is no shortage of things to do during the summer in the Long Beach Marinas and on our over six miles of beachfront. Before we get to all that I want to commend our Marine Bureau, Marine Safety and Marine Patrol staff for a fantastic Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend. The race is a showcase for all that is Long Beach and the Long Beach Marinas are at the forefront of the experience. Staff works their tails off before, during and after the event to ensure a safe, vibrant and enjoyable atmosphere can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. Speaking of vibrant, if you get the opportunity, take a look at our new lawn to garden space next to Dock 10 and Dock P in Shoreline Marina. Jeff King, Landscape Supervisor for Beach Maintenance has partnered with Long Beach Utilities, the Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Gardens program and California Climate Action Corps fellows to transition non-recreational lawn space to a stormwater capture garden. Several California State mandates are on the horizon that will require transition of non-recreational lawn space. Kudos to Jeff and his team for getting ahead and leading the way. Stay tuned as we have another lawn to garden transition project coming to the ABM Office area soon. Also leading the way this summer will be some new names and faces in leadership positions. I am extremely excited to report that Kelly Armstrong has been appointed Beach Maintenance Superintendent. Kelly has been with the Marine Bureau for over 10 years and knows the beachfront like the back of his hand. Joining Kelly as a new member of our Marine Bureau management team is Bryan Plante, Marine Operations Superintendent. Bryan started with us on March 11 and comes to us from commercial marina operations in Marina Del Rey. Both have jumped into their new roles with passion and are already making significant positive impacts on our daily operations. A few more staff movement items to report – We have filled four Equipment Operator positions in Beach Maintenance and Marine Operations has promoted Paul Docherty to Marina Agent II and Melanie Vanzandt to Marina Agent III. To help staff manage our expansive marinas and beaches footprint we continue to procure and install security cameras. New installations have recently been installed at Queensway Bay, Belmont Pool and Bayshore Lifeguard Station. Additional projects are underway to add cameras throughout Alamitos Bay Marina and at Colorado Lagoon. Cameras are already being used and monitored at many locations across Rainbow Harbor, Shoreline Marina and our beaches to help keep our public spaces clean and safe for your recreational use. And there are a lot of recreational opportunities ahead. Go to Bayshore Beach to grab a burger and a beer at Grill ‘Em All. Sign up for sailing classes at Leeway Sailing Center. Moonlight Movies on the Beach at Granada start June 25. There is a night market at the Queen Mary the first Thursday of the month starting May 9. Ski races, rowing regattas, Wet Wednesdays, Wine Fests, Belmont Shore Stroll & Savor…. So much to do and only so few precious days of summer! Good luck and see you somewhere on the beach or on the water. Stay well and safe boating, Todd Leland Marine Bureau Manager

Marina Offices are open and accepting new vessel permit applications. To provide more comfortable and efficient customer service we have moved to a hybrid front desk/window service at ABM and Shoreline offices. Note – Many requests can still be readily handled by phone or email.  KEYS & FOBS – Lost, stolen and missing keys and electronic fobs are a priority security issue. If you have lost or misplaced a marina key or fob contact one of our marina offices immediately. Staff will record the loss of a numbered key or deactivate a missing fob. Doing this will allow us to better secure marina docks and facilities. If a marina key or fob has been stolen, please address the theft by filing a Report with LBPD. Then provide the completed Police Report to the Marina Office. SUMMMER START UP – Prepare ahead of time to avoid underway issues…. Inspect your fuel system for damages and leaks. Check cables, belts and lines for brittleness and cracks. Change and or top off fluids. Check filters too. Get eyes on your hull and props. New zincs are a good idea. Review and revitalize your safety gear. Unauthorized commercial activity is ILLEGAL IN LONG BEACH – Please do not engage in unauthorized commercial activity at, on or near Long Beach Marinas property. Violators can and will be cited and punished to the full extent of applicable law. Reminder – Unauthorized Commercial activity will put your slip permit in jeopardy of cancellation.   DID YOU KNOW a container ship travels about a distance equivalent to 75% of the way to the moon and back in a single year (358,282 miles). During its average expected service lifetime, a container ship will travel a distance equivalent to 10 trips to the moon and back.

Boat and gear theft is an unfortunate reality and often a crime of opportunity when valuables are left in plain sight. There are a few precautions you can take to ensure your boat and gear are not targeted. Make sure you lock hatches and doors each time you leave the boat for an extended period. Stow fishing gear and other valuable items out of sight or off the vessel entirely. Consider marking your gear with a unique identifying mark to make it harder for thieves to sell stolen items.  Chain or lock outboard motors and dinghies to a structural piece of the boat (cleats, stanchions, transoms, etc.). Trailers stored in dry lots are encouraged to use coupler locks and/or wheel locks, preventing unauthorized individuals from hooking up to your trailer. If you do experience theft, please be sure to notify the Marina Management team. If we can identify patterns of occurrences, we can use our resources to help prevent and stop these events. In addition, if you see any suspicious behavior, please report it immediately to Marine Patrol (562) 435-6711.

The Alamitos Bay beachfront will finally have a sandside concession operating in Summer 2024 when Grill ‘ Em All opens its doors to the public at 5411 Ocean Boulevard. After several years of renovation and repair Matt Chernus and his family are bringing a rock-solid burger and brew experience to the Long Beach waterfront. Grill ‘Em All came to be in 2009 as a food truck. The concept of delicious burgers made with a Heavy Metal mentality quickly took off, leading to an award-winning restaurant location in Alhambra. Turning their attention to Long Beach and Alamitos Bay at Bayshore Beach is the next evolution of Grill ‘Em All that started with a FOOD Network Great Food Truck 2010 win and has featured appearances on the Cooking Channel, MTV and the Travel Channel. Per the company webpage, Grill Em All specializes in rocking the tastebuds with a raging collection of gnarly burgs, loaded fries and the best craft beers known to man. Stop by and you may see a rock and roll legend like Dee Snider, professional wrestlers and other cool weirdos of all walks of life.

At the end of April our Marine Bureau Beach Maintenance team members started seeing little blue blobs come ashore on the beachfront. These blobs are not slime or debris. These iridescent blue formations are marine organisms called Velella Velella. They are closely related to jellyfish and move along the ocean’s surface at the whim of the current, tides and wind. Eons of evolution have made the little blue wonders efficient sailors. At the top of their body is a translucent fin resembling a sail. This sail harnesses the energy of the wind and carries the Velella across the sea. They float along in hydroid colonies eating the plankton they catch in their tentacles. Unfortunately, being at the mercy of tides, currents and wind can lead these marine critters to our beaches. If you do come across a Velella it is best to leave it be. While the nematocyst-laden tentacles of the Velella are mostly benign to humans they can cause irritation and itching to exposed sensitive skin.