In a recent survey of California and Baja California marinas, we asked where their overnight visitors were coming from and why they traveled. “Have hull, will go!” sums up the boating action along our coast.

Northern California boaters visited the Delta and Central Coast most often; Southern California was in third place. Delta and Central Coast boaters travelled most heavily to the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California was ranked second. Southern California boaters visited Baja California and Baja California Sur most often; the San Francisco Bay area came in third. A few boats from mainland Mexico travelled to Los Cabos and La Paz in Baja California Sur.

Vacations, holiday events, fishing tournaments and seasons, and boating races and other events encourage boaters to head out and about. The 4^th of July, Fleet Week and the Baha Haha race (San Diego to Los Cabos and La Paz) brought large numbers of visitors from outside the local region. Other big draws were Memorial Day, Labor Day, local yacht club races, the Newport to Ensenada race, etc. Boaters stayed overnight for some events. Waypoint marinas for long-distance races reported that competitors stayed up to 4 nights and destination marinas reported stays up to 30 nights.

This is great news for California’s coastal economy. On the other hand, it increases risks of carrying invasive species to new areas. What can we do to reduce this downside risk of boater travel?

Events are a great opportunity to raise boater awareness of invasive species risks and ways to reduce them. For example, event organizers could include educational messages with registration confirmation, mass media, banners and other materials. They could encourage boaters to clean their boats’ hulls, bilges and bait tanks before leaving home and before returning to home regions to avoid carrying invasive species. Boat repair yards, hull cleaners and managers of harbors, marinas and yacht clubs could also educate boaters on these same points.

Our new logo, “CLEAN then CRUISE!” © 2012 Regents of the University of California below was created to remind boaters about this important step.

For more information on our survey of costs and availability of supplies and services for hull fouling control on the coasts of California and Baja California, see our new technical report, “Crossing Boundaries: Managing Invasive Species and Water Quality Risks for Coastal Boat Hulls in California and Baja California.” It’s available at:  http://ucanr.org/sites/coast/