Delta Water Recreation: Access Is Everything

Tricia Canton (Photo courtesy of Delta Sculling Center)

Water defines the Delta, and access to water defines people’s connection to the Delta.

For both Dr. Pat Tirone and Tricia Marie Canton, there was no access in the beginning. Their early time as Stockton residents was completely disconnected from the water that flows through the city.

“I lived here for three years and didn’t know the Delta was here,” said Tirone, a physical therapist and graduate of the 2024 Delta Leadership Program.

When she first stumbled onto a city park with water access, she saw not the water and boat ramp that were hidden from view, but a private boat club, and it was unclear whether she even had the right to access the water.

Then she came across a rowing club that was raising money at a shopping center one day. That’s when she learned the public does have access to the water, and that there were ways to enjoy it without buying a power or sail boat or joining an exclusive yacht club.

That launched her into something that would become not just a personal passion, but a professional one: sculling.

Canton’s path was different. Born and raised in Stockton, she discovered her love of water only when she moved to Southern California to attend UC Irvine, becoming an avid beachgoer.

Then in 2014, at the age of 28, she had a ruptured brain aneurysm and three strokes that nearly killed her, leaving the entire left side of her body paralyzed. Her family was told she would probably never walk, talk or even breathe on her own again, and they moved her back to Stockton to take care of her.

This is where both Canton’s and Tirone’s stories would meet.

Pat Tirone

As part of Tirone’s rehab work, she spent much of her time taking her clients into nature, often at Berkeley’s Bay Outreach and Recreation Program, which had an entire barn full of adaptive recreational equipment. But as soon as her clients were discharged from rehab, their access to those opportunities ended.

“My husband listened to me complain that there was nothing like that in our community and finally told me to put up or shut up,” Tirone said. So together they started the Delta Sculling Center in Stockton in 2013, buying boats, renting storage space for them, and acquiring gear needed to adapt to rowers’ various needs.

“Rowers joined us as volunteers, and all a sudden we had a whole program,” she said.

Canton learned about Delta Sculling Center in 2022.

Being immunocompromised, she had been confined to her home since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and her rehab stopped during that time. As the pandemic was receding, her doctor told her about a program that teaches people with disabilities to row, and that’s when she contacted “Coach Pat.”

The Sculling Center had a way to compensate for poor grip in her left hand: a Velcro connection to the oar, and a handle that would release if the boat turned over so the connected oar wouldn’t drag her down. The Center also had gear that would help her climb into the boat. And of course, volunteers who would row with her.

She used her arms more in her first session than she had the entire time since the aneurysm, and rowing has increased her endurance and strength. Just last week, she set a new personal record: 7 km on a day when her goal was 5.

But it’s about more than that. “On land I have to worry about gravity, other people, and the terrain – if it’s slippery, if there’s an incline, if there’s gravel, if there’s sand,” she said. “On the water, I’m just free.”

Beyond that, nature is endlessly delightful, a chance to encounter ducklings growing from one outing to the next, sea lions swimming near the boat, herons threatening to “drop bombs,” or the rush of dozens of blackbirds lifting from a powerline all at once.

And then there are the local landmarks, like the miniature Statue of Liberty at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Calaveras rivers. Canton rowed there recently with Tirone’s husband Bob, and they spontaneously sang God Bless America.

Experiences like these are what Pat Tirone cherishes about her time on Delta waters as well. “The other day, I was out rowing by myself and the sound of all the birds at 6 in the morning was just overwhelmingly beautiful,” she said. “I just turned the recorder on my phone on, laid it down on the deck of my boat and captured their beautiful music. In the middle of Stockton! What a gift.”

All people need to be able to connect with this gift – the water that is the lifeblood of the Delta – is access.

Learn more about:

• The Delta Sculling Center. The center is a non-profit whose mission is to provide inclusive rowing opportunities to people of all abilities. Tagline: “Where EveryBODY Sculls,” and “EveryBODY” includes adults of all ages, military veterans with disabilities, and middle and high school aged youth, especially those who come from under-resourced parts of the region.
• The Delta Aquatic Center. The Delta Sculling Center has been instrumental in the development of the Delta Aquatic Center of Stockton project, a new facility in Stockton that would increase access to the water for the community. A $2.5 million grant from the Delta Conservancy is funding planning for the project.

Letter: DPC Supports H.R. 7719, Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Removal Act of 2024

DELTA PROTECTION COMMISSION
Diane Burgis, Chair (Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors)
2101 Stone Blvd., Suite 200, West Sacramento, CA 95691
(916) 375-4800 | delta.ca.gov

June 14, 2024

The Honorable John Garamendi
United States House of Representatives
2004 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Subject: Support for H.R. 7719, Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Removal Act of 2024

Dear Congressman Garamendi:

I write to express the Delta Protection Commission’s strong support for this legislation. The Commission has long advocated for removal of abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) from Delta waterways, and remediation of the environmental damage ADVs cause to the rivers and sloughs that are vital to irrigating farmland, supporting recreational and commercial fisheries, and providing enjoyment in all kinds of water recreation. ADVs pose real and significant threats to public safety and property from navigation hazards, and damage to docks, marinas, and levees.

The Delta Protection Commission is a California state agency charged with protecting and enhancing the unique values of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a resource of state and national importance that, largely owing to your tireless efforts, was recognized by Congress as California’s first and so far only National Heritage Area in 2019. The Commission provides a “forum for Delta residents to engage in decisions regarding actions to recognize and enhance the unique cultural, recreational, and agricultural resources of the Delta” [Public Resources Code (PRC) § 29703.5(a)]. As such it includes representatives from city and county governments in each of the five main Delta counties, Delta reclamation districts, four state agencies and one non-voting, ex-officio member each from the Senate and Assembly.

As a primary function, the Commission maintains and oversees implementation of a comprehensive long-term Land Use and Resource Management Plan (LURMP) that includes goals and policies aimed at protecting, maintaining, enhancing, and restoring the overall quality of the Delta environment. Public Resources Code applicable to ADVs requires that the LURMP policies must “preserve and protect open-space and outdoor recreational opportunities,” “preserve and protect opportunities for controlled public access and use of public lands and waterways consistent with protection of natural resources and private property interests,” and “preserve, protect and maintain navigation” [PRC§29760 (b)(9-11)].

The Commission has worked with local law enforcement marine patrol units, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways (Boating and Waterways), State Lands Commission, Recreational Boaters of California, CalRecycle, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and other stakeholders to promote and facilitate abandoned vessel removal. The Commission’s collaborative project with the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response to identify and map ADVs within the Delta in 2019 led to state legislation that provides limited funding for removal of commercial ADVs by the State Lands Commission. Additional funding by Boating and Waterways supports removal of recreational vehicles. The USCG can only remove hazards to navigation. Thus it typically falls to local law enforcement marine units with limited resources to remove non-commercial ADVs in their counties. However, the scope of all these efforts is significantly constrained, largely due to funding, and limitations on where and how federal agencies such as the USCG and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) could assist.

The Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Removal Act, H.R. 7719, would bring much needed cohesion to this patchwork management by providing additional funding and organization. Significantly, the bill would authorize the Corps to remove any abandoned vehicles regardless whether they impede navigation, and to create and maintain a national inventory of ADVs. Such an inventory could help identify more regional-based solutions and coordination in areas such as the Delta where there is overlapping jurisdiction among responsible agencies.

Thank you for your commitment to finding solutions to this complex public safety issue of concern to Delta farmers, residents, and business owners, and the many visitors who come to the Delta.

Sincerely,

Bruce Blodgett
Executive Director

CC: The Honorable Laphonza Butler, U.S. Senator
The Honorable Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator
The Honorable Mark DeSaulnier, U.S. Representative
The Honorable Josh Harder, U.S. Representative
The Honorable Doris Matsui, U.S. Representative
The Honorable Mike Thompson, U.S. Representative

Festa: A Medieval Portuguese Tradition Thrives (and Evolves) in the California Delta

When Azorean Portuguese arrived in the California Delta during the Gold Rush, they brought with them a Medieval tradition that has proved resilient in a sea of constant change: the Holy Ghost Festa.

“My dad always talked about ‘the footsteps, the footsteps, the footsteps,'” said Jim Souza, one of the organizers of the Freeport/Clarksburg Festa. The oldest in the Delta, it was founded in 1893, and has been held at the same hall since 1905.

“He was referring to the fact there was a lot of history there.”

The particulars of this tradition have changed, but its core tenet remains the same: feeding people, for free, as an act of generosity and sharing.

Festas began the 1400s in mainland Portugal, inspired by the lore of Queen Isabel, who took food from her own table to feed the poor during a famine. But their roots trace back even further to a radical utopian ideology promulgated by an Italian monk born in 1132. (Story continues below photos.)

When the Portuguese settled in the Azores in the mid-1400s, they took the tradition of Festa with them, and it thrived there, even as it mostly died off on the mainland. Azoreans comprise the bulk of Portuguese who immigrated to California in the 1800s, and the tradition followed them here.

For Souza, Festa has always been part of his life. “I was born into it,” he said. “My parents were involved in it. That’s where they made their first connection!”

As a kid, Festa meant getting a new pair of jeans and cowboy boots and maybe a hat that he’d wear to the dance. “And obviously you’d see all your cousins and Portuguese friends and whoever else came along,” he said.

Festa also involves the crowning of a young queen, in honor of Queen Isabel. Professor Diniz Borges, the founding director of the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute at Fresno State, said the queen is a feature that arose in California.

“There were no queens in the Festas in the Azores. We don’t know where or why it started, but they’ve become part of the tradition in California,” he said. And now some Azorean Festas have begun adopting the tradition.

An even newer evolution is the growing presence of non-Portuguese at Festas. “More and more they attract a lot of outsiders,” Borges said. “I’m happy to say we now have queens who are not of Portuguese backgrounds, and people playing in marching bands who are of different ethnicities as well.”

But there is one constant that dates back to Medieval origins: “They are religious in nature, but the church doesn’t control them,” Borges said. “There is a Mass, there is a coronation, but the whole idea of the serving of food free of charge to everybody, the idea behind the celebration, whether it’s music or parades or whatnot, is it’s all done by a committee of men and women.”

Souza became the youngest president of the Freeport/Clarksburg Festa’s organizing council at 17, and he remains a key organizer to this day. It is a mountain of work – “five days of preparation, one day of festivities, one day of cleanup.”

But it’s worth it.

He tells the story of a psychic advisor who came with a potential buyer to view the property next to the Hall where the Festa is held. The advisor told the buyer he could see someone on one side of the property who wasn’t happy.

“What do you see over there?” the buyer asked him, nodding at the Hall, Souza recalled.

“There’s just nothing but happiness,” the advisor said. “There’s children everywhere and they’re all smiling.”

Delta Cities and Towns with Festas

• Antioch
• Benicia
• Freeport/Clarksburg
• Oakley
• Rio Vista/Isleton
• Stockton

2024 Festas

The Portuguese Society of America publishes a list of Festa dates and activities (PDF).

Documentary About Festas

The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute produced the following short documentary about Festas:

U-Pick Season Is Here, and It’s Delta-licious!

Scenes from the Cherry Pit and Ah-May’s Strawberry U-Pick in Brentwood and Victoria Island Farms/Sabbatical distillery in Holt.

U-pick season has begun, and Northern California families are flocking to Delta farms to pick their own cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and more.

U-pick is an experience that combines a drive through the countryside, family time, tradition, fresh air, walking, perfectly ripe fruit, and connections with the farmers who produce America’s food.

It’s farm-to-table eating without a grocery store or a restaurant as middleman. And it’s the freshest fruit possible without the responsibility of managing a farm year-round.

Families we spoke with recently at the Cherry Pit in Brentwood all had stories to tell.

The Carter family came from Groveland – near Yosemite! – to continue an 11-year tradition that began when they lived in Half Moon Bay. The Gonzales family from Oakland had been picking there for 16 years, and proudly pointed out their teenage daughter, whose mother was still pregnant with her on her first visit.

Kyle and Caitlin Martin live in Brentwood and figured it was time to start checking out the local farms with their son Campbell, and they had a luscious Black Forest Cake in their future. Danny Pham and his uncle Thu Vo come at the beginning of every season, and Pham was planning to take 100 pounds of cherries back to Vietnam.

The u-pick experience is equally important to farmers, who get to forge connections – and share their world – with consumers.

Victoria Island Farms in Holt began blueberry u-pick operations in 2020 at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, when people were looking for opportunities to get outside and do things together.

“Blueberries are perfect for social distancing,” said farm co-owner and fourth-generation farmer Jack Zech. “You just send one family down each row.” Even as the pandemic waned, the program remained popular.

Financially, the u-pick operation doesn’t move the needle for the farm, Zech said. “But it makes our employees happier. They like it when people come see what they do and appreciate it. There’s a sense of pride that people come out.”

One year after the farm began u-pick, it opened a distillery – Sabbatical – that visitors can tour and shop at as well. “A lot of the older dads aren’t trying to go out there in the heat,” Zech said. The distillery, with its shaded patio, gives them another option.

For some farms, u-pick is an important part of their profitability. When customers pick their own, the farmer doesn’t have to pay for picking, packing, or shipping, said James Chinchiolo, owner of Lodi Blooms.

And he was unprepared for how popular it would be. “We get upwards of 2,000 visitors a day. The first year it happened, it scared me!”

The opportunities for agri-tourism keep growing.

In 2002, there were just 39 farms offering “agritourism and recreational services” in the six Delta counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo), according to the USDA Census of Agriculture.

In 2022, the count stood at 150.

Ready to start picking?

If you’re looking to visit a u-pick in the Brentwood area, there is a website dedicated to local farmers with a map and details about what’s available at each farm as various crops ripen: https://harvestforyou.com. You can also type “u-pick near me” on your phone’s map app during your next drive through the Delta.

The Next Leg: West Sac to Clarksburg

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Feb. 29, 2024) – The Great California Delta Trail may grow its network of trails with a new segment from West Sacramento to Clarksburg.

The segment would run along 6.4 miles of the Clarksburg Branch Line of the Sacramento Northern Railroad. West Sacramento acquired the right of way in 2005.

The addition would create a safe, healthy way for pedestrians and cyclists to reach Clarksburg, a historic Delta community with popular wine-tasting venues. It could also help improve broadband access in the Delta by including conduit for fiberoptic cable.

Project partners are West Sacramento, Yolo County, the Yolo Transportation District, and the Delta Protection Commission, which is the coordinating agency for the Great California Delta Trail. West Sacramento leads the project, and the DPC will:

• Contribute toward required local matching funds.
• Lead community outreach.
• Ensure the project meets guidelines for designation as part of the Great Delta Trail.

The partners have applied for a grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to fund trail development. If funded, the next step would be seeking public input on design. The target completion date would be in 2029.

This project would extend one of five existing segments of the Great Delta Trail: the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail. The other four segments are:

• West Sacramento River Walk
• Sacramento River Parkway
• Big Break and Marsh Creek Trail
• Carquinez Loop Trail

The Great California Delta Trail is envisioned as a continuous regional recreation corridor extending around the Delta.  Learn more about the Great California Delta Trail here.