Winners in Drawing for Cabrillo Marina Slips : Lottery Means Clear Sailing for 1,125 Boaters

For more than 1,000 Southern California boaters, Wednesday was sort of like Christmas and the Irish Sweepstakes rolled into one.

At stake was something that money alone could not buy: coveted slips in the new Cabrillo Marina.

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley did the honors, reaching into wooden boxes and pulling out the first two names in a lottery designed to give boaters an equal chance.

The first two winners, who will get priority in choosing slips, were Robert J. Stuart of San Pedro and Joe Bernstein of Gardena. They were among the 1,125 who will be able to dock their boats in the marina when it opens late this year.

That left more than 700 who did not get picked.

Bradley said the lottery signified more than happiness for individual boaters, who will pay $6.95 a foot monthly to keep their vessels at the marina being built by the Los Angeles Harbor Department.

“This is the culmination of a long dream,” Bradley said, “the culmination of the dream that this area should serve not just the commercial tenants of this port but that the recreational-oriented part of this port should also receive top priority.”

The 370-acre, $100-million marina is expected to relieve the chronic shortage of boat moorings and change the face of the harbor area. The marina is one of several projects in the Harbor Department’s West Channel/Cabrillo Beach recreational complex that will include several restaurants, specialty shops, a major hotel and a marine fuel and hardware store.

Department officials said winners should receive their slip allocations within two weeks. Those who did not make the top 1,125 will go on a waiting list according to the order in which they were drawn.