San Diego Crew Classic Site Moved : Sewage Spillover Forces Regatta Out of West Mission Bay

Two days before the San Diego Crew Classic, race officials usually have things under control. After all, they’ve been preparing for this Saturday since the races ended the year before.

Officials like to spend the Thursday before the races watching the crews practice, and praying for a sunny Saturday.

This year has been a lot more hectic than usual.

A spillover of sewage into the Sail Bay area of West Mission Bay on Wednesday forced Saturday’s regatta to be moved to an unpolluted area of Mission Bay. Portions of Sail Bay have been closed.

“We did not really have a contingency plan,” said Crew Classic president Bill Robinson at a Thursday morning news conference. “We started working on it when the sewer broke. With a little crisis management, we’ll be fine.”

Instead of being held on the 2,000-meter course, which has been the site of the 11 previous classics, the races will be held on a 1,500-meter course located in the East Bay along Tecolote Shore near the Hilton Hotel. Since the San Diego Crew Classic is an invitational regatta, Robinson said the 2,000-meter Olympic distance is not mandatory.

The annual San Diego city championships and the 1981 Women’s Nationals were held at the course along Tecolote Shore. Robinson said the other course considered as an alternative site was South San Diego Bay.

Because the shortened course will accommodate only six lanes instead of the customary seven, an additional seven races have been added. The races will begin at 6:30 a.m. as scheduled, but will probably not conclude until around 4 p.m.

Race officials figure the featured Copley Cup race, the last race of the day, will start at 4 p.m. instead of at 2:20, as scheduled.

Officials estimate a crowd of about 25,000. Spectators are advised to park on Fiesta Island between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Shuttle buses will leave Fiesta Island every 15 minutes.

Officials believe the best place to view the races is the area along East Mission Bay Drive, east of the Hilton. The races will start at the extreme north end of Fiesta Island, and will finish at the south end of Pacific passage, which is near the road to Fiesta Island.