Snug by the Sea : Oceanside’s Small Harbor Is Enjoying Its Day in the Sun

As the sun prepares to disappear over the horizon, Oceanside’s serene harbor takes on the look of a turn-of-the-century whaling port.

The sea is deep blue, and the harbor has turned into a sheet of glass as small fishing boats pull into their slips.

The Cape Cod Village that lines the harbor basks in the golden sunlight that comes at dusk. The deeper the sunsets, the more colors engulf the many restaurants and shops.

This tiny, man-made harbor has become the destination for tourists seeking pristine beaches and escape from city traffic.

Many of the harbor regulars say they chose it because it’s smaller, quieter, less known than its nearest harbors--San Diego to the south, Dana Point to the north. But, as increasing numbers of visitors seek the same quiet refuge, the harbor is losing some of the quiet they come for.

“Between the sand project, our new fishing pier and our new docks,” said harbor master Don Hadley, “we’ve seen a drastic increase in the number of people who regularly use the harbor. Many visitors are coming from Orange County. We’ve been discovered.”

The harbor is a blend of shopping, sporting and culinary treats. Restaurants dot the mile-long shoreline, and a yacht club sits at the north end of the harbor, where boating events fill the calendar. A decorative lighthouse gives Cape Cod Village the look and feel of days gone by.

A commercial fishing fleet of 30 boats slips in and out each day, bringing fresh fish to market. But people can also buy directly from the boats, which dock beneath the Chart House Restaurant.

The tiny harbor was built in 1963, and its serenity now belies its turbulent beginning. The channel entrance was dredged to 30 feet that first year, but, in just 12 months the flow of sand made it one of the worst navigational hazards on the West Coast.

Hundreds of boats have been swamped and capsized over the years. A picture taken in 1964 shows then-harbor master Jon Curtis walking across the harbor entrance in waist-deep water.

“It was a real mess,” said Curtis, now retired from the Harbor Police but still involved in area yachting activities. “They stopped counting when I rescued my 200th victim.”

Curtis was nearly killed three times in the line of duty. He was honored in 1964 with the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Honor for heroism--he dived into heavy seas to rescue a mother and her two young children from a sinking boat. In 1979, he won the Coast Guard Medal of Bravery for another rescue in an accident that eventually claimed 11 lives.

“Waves would break 12 feet in that channel entrance due to the shallow water,” Curtis said. Today, a large sand bypass pump stands on stilts at the channel entrance, like an overgrown sentinel of protection.

The bypass pump is an experiment by the Army Corps of Engineers to lift sand from the channel entrance and pump it back onto beaches south of the harbor. It appears to be working. The depth of the harbor entrance is about 20 feet at low tide. Boating is again on the rise.

There are no sailboat rentals in Oceanside Harbor, but the Yacht Club offers a sailing program for youngsters. The Yacht Club is at the north end of the harbor, between the Jolly Roger Restaurant and the Villa Marina Hotel.

Children ages 12-20 can participate in the beginner and intermediate classes, offered for $125. Sailing is done in the popular Dutch Shoe Sabots. You must join the club to participate; fees for children are $50 for initiation and $8.75 a month. Those who complete the course can rent sabots for $5 a day. They are stable enough to sail in or outside the harbor.

At the other end of the harbor is Helgren’s Sportfishing, which provides whale-watching and sportfishing trips seasonally on its two Coast Guard-certified fishing boats.

The first yellowtail caught in Oceanside this year was landed April 28 on the boat Electra, out of Helgren’s.

Other fish caught from the boats are bonita, barracuda, calico sea bass and halibut. Usually fresh anchovies are the bait of choice, but a complete selection of lures and frozen bait is also available. Helgren’s also rents fishing rods and sells fishing licenses. Parking is free.

Capt. Mark Oronoz and Dick Helgren own the sportfishing fleet, which they brought down from Orange County 11 years ago “to get away from the crowds.”

“This is a nicer location,” Oronoz said, “with plenty of parking and the weather’s beautiful. The fact that it’s a small harbor actually helps business, because everyone wants to get away from the crowds.”

On the east side of the harbor is the Oceanside Fishing Pier, which is separate from the much larger Oceanside Pier down the shore. No license is required to fish from the pier, and lights allow anglers to fish at night. Typically, the catch here includes croaker, sand shark, sea skate or the occasional halibut.

The harbor is a circus of activity on the weekends. The surf along the beach is some of the best for miles and is the scene of many international surfing events.

There is a four-lane boat ramp on the outer curve of the harbor. Near the north jetty are two large parking areas that have become popular with recreational vehicles and trailers up to 50 feet. “Parking is on a first-come, first-served basis, and usually fills up quickly on weekends,” said John Hughlett of Oceanside parking enforcement.

Fees for parking in the special recreational vehicle lot are $3 (from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and an additional $10 for an overnight stay (from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.). There is a five-day maximum.

Facilities include a pump-out area, restrooms, fuel dock, bait barge, delicatessen and fire rings. Shower facilities have been temporarily disconnected because of the drought.

Small, grassy parks with benches adorn the harbor. On the grassy lawn one recent day, a man taught two children how to get their kite aloft, while another group of people pulled lawn chairs from their trunk for a picnic.

Bicycle rentals are in Oceanside proper, but many people take advantage of the vast parking along Oceanside Harbor and car-top their own bikes. Some use the harbor as a starting point, riding down Pacific Coast Highway through the hillside communities of Carlsbad, Encinitas and Del Mar.

The restaurants along the harbor are first class. The Monterey Bay Canners has indoor and outdoor dining, with a superb menu and exotic overhead fans. Oyster shooters and tiger prawns are popular happy-hour items and are often consumed outdoors while patrons take in the sunset and boating activities.

But, for a more entertaining meal, the harbor has Mykonos Greek and Seafood Restaurant in Cape Cod Village. You won’t have to look for it, just follow your ears.

Owner Vasilis Papadopoulos does a great Zorba dance, and all his waiters and waitresses sing and dance spontaneously during dinner hours. The flambe is one of the specialties, and, when it gets thrown into the air, the flames reach to the ceiling, and the staff yells “Oppa.” Belly dancers entertain every Wednesday through Sunday. Reservations are a must.

Despite the activity, Norm and Faye Whelan chose Oceanside Harbor for their boat restoration job because of its slower pace.

“Life runs pretty quiet and informal in this harbor,” Faye Whelan says. When she and her husband take breaks from their work, they stroll around the harbor to see the sights. They have witnessed several generations of ducklings growing up among the boats.

One of the most imposing sights at the harbor is the Coast Guard’s long-range, 82-foot cutter, Point Hobart, the largest ship there. The Coast Guard base at the harbor performs search-and-rescue operations, drug interdiction and law enforcement functions.

Oceanside Harbor has 950 permanent boat slips, plus 50 transient slips. The regular slips cost $6.50 per foot of the boat per month, which works out to $169 a month for a 26-foot boat. There’s a three- to four-year wait for larger boats and a one-year wait for boats in the 26-foot class.

The harbor now allows 6% of the slips to be used for live-aboards, which will be reduced to 5% soon. There is no wait for a live-aboard slip at this time, but your vessel must meet the requirements of a “true boat,” as defined by the Oceanside Harbor Police, regarding propulsion and living space. No houseboats allowed.

As Oceanside Harbor becomes more popular, its facilities are continually upgraded, and plans are being made to expand the harbor.

A 450-room hotel and conference center is planned for the bluff areas overlooking the harbor. The project is expected to break ground later this year. It will include tennis courts, swimming pools and condominiums.

More construction is planned for a section near the north jetty. This will offer more restaurants and small meeting facilities with beach access, according to Stebbins Dean, executive vice president of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce.

“Harbor expansion is a must,” said Dean. “But we want to ensure our beaches remain open and accessible to residents and visitors.”

There is talk of inviting the America’s Cup syndicates to use Oceanside Harbor for headquarters during the 1992 America’s Cub races, although, logistically, that may not be practical. It would take many hours to tow a boat to San Diego.

“Yes, Oceanside is interested in a piece of the Cup,” said harbor master Hadley. “We are looking into the prospects of putting a syndicate here. If we can accommodate the syndicates without too much expense and alteration to the harbor, we would indeed be interested. But we need to discuss and analyze the ramifications further.”

The harbor has seen quite a lot of updating the past few years. All the docks have been replaced, sidewalks and riprap have been repaired, and even the signs sport fancy wood frames.

There is also talk of an Oceanside-to-Catalina commercial boat. The distance is only 50 miles, and similar operations already run out of San Diego and Newport Beach.

Free-lance writer Pat Miller contributed to this story.