San Diego, California is preparing to enjoy its time in the spotlight: yachters are becoming aware of the locale’s desirable amenities and steps that the city has taken to make owners, captains, and crews of mega-yachts feel warmly welcomed.
Fifth Avenue Landing, located near the San Diego Convention Center, is an exclusive, 12-slip dockage facility designed and built by Bellingham Marine. Created for visiting mega-yachts seeking temporary stay on San Diego Bay, the Landing can accommodate yachts as large as 300 feet.
The Landing gains part of its appeal from its ideal location. Dockmaster Fred Larsson states that “[w]e promise mega-yacht owners, captains and crew the finest berthing experience they’ve ever had. Once [yachters] see what San Diego has to offer, they’ll be amazed.”
Located in the heart of the city’s downtown district, local attractions are within walking distance of the Landing – including beaches and parks, a scenic walking and bike path, world-class dining, shopping, concerts, lively nightlife, and the San Diego Padres ballpark. The San Diego Superyacht Association (SDSA) boasts, “[we] promise you that your stay in San Diego will be one of the most enjoyable yachting experiences of your career.”
The SDSA urges yachters to “take advantage of San Diego’s lifestyle for a few days, weeks or months and stay a while before cruising [onward].”
The facility’s primary goal is to provide high-quality service to their patrons. They offer complimentary concierge service for owners and crew, complimentary wireless internet connection, free parking, secured, controlled access 24/7, and black water pump out facilities at each berth.
Various innovative design features were utilized in the construction of the Landing. Assuring the service of most any vessel, substations were modified for additional power and were adapted to offer a plethora of receptacle options. Because the site is subject to tugboat wakes, a heavy-duty dock design with glu-lam beam walers was instituted. Extra wide fingers (9’3”-12′) were used, and each was detached from the main walkway to allow independent movement. The dock system also features higher than standard freeboard (24” versus 18”) to accommodate easy access and transferring of provisions to and from the yachts. “Bellingham’s experience in the construction of world-class marinas made them a perfect partner for this project,” said Larsson.
Fifth Avenue Landing also features ADA compliant access ramps, gangways and landing structures, railings, security gates, and access control systems.
As the world’s leading marina design/build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat saltwater systems, Unideck freshwater systems, and Unistack dry storage systems for marinas worldwide.
Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; ph. 360-676-2800, fax. 360-734-2417, email. bmi@bellingham-marine.com
Unifloat, Unideck and Unistack are registered trademarks of Bellingham Marine.
