Making Waves : San Diego Yacht Owners Are Incensed Over Security Plans for GOP Convention

SAN DIEGO — To gaze upon the glistening Marriott Marina behind the San Diego Convention Center is to see the bounty of the American way of life in resplendent display: Yachts that easily cost in the high six figures; yacht owners savoring the fruits of productive careers; a yacht harbor offering privacy, security, the latest in dockside amenities such as cable television, computer hookups, room service and a gorgeous view of San Diego Bay, Coronado and the skyline of the nation’s sixth-largest city.

The marina was one reason the Republican Party decided to overlook the city’s other shortcomings--including an undersized convention center--and bring its 1996 presidential nominating convention to San Diego.

What a gorgeous backdrop for a convention to name the next leader of the free world, GOP leaders said. What swell parties can be held aboard the yachts after the delegates finish their daily duties.

But now there is a rub.

The owners of the yachts moored at the marina are chafing at the restrictions proposed on their aquatic lifestyles by the Secret Service for convention week, Aug. 11-15.

“We resent the fact that we taxpayers are considered subversives,” said screenwriter Cramer Jackson.

In a letter of protest to the Coast Guard, American Airlines captain John T. Benson wrote: “‘I don’t believe a former naval officer and present airline captain along with his gifted honor student daughter are a threat to the Republican National Convention or its delegates.”

If the Coast Guard agrees to the Secret Service requests, all boats in the marina will be subject to search for explosives and weaponry. No one will be allowed in certain sections of the marina during the final afternoon and evening of the convention, when the presidential and vice presidential nominees mount the platform and pledge to carry the Grand Old Party’s message to the American people.

And most galling of all, on the docks closest to the convention center, no one will be allowed to remain aboard their yachts at night during the five-day convention.

“I think this is all total nonsense,” said classic car buyer Christopher Renwick. “The average boat owner has been at the marina for five years. Do they think we’ve all been lying in wait for five years for the chance to assassinate someone?”

Many of the boat owners are from places that are beastly hot in the summer, such as Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Las Vegas, and they were looking forward to spending convention week on the water, close to the political action and within ambling distance of the parties being put on by the San Diego host committee.

They understand the Secret Service’s zeal to protect the nominees, the former presidents expected to attend and the other VIPs, but still. . . .

“Anyone wishing to break into my vessel for the purpose of searching it is very much violating my own personal property,” said Air Force Maj. Geoffrey Pfeiffer.

“Whatever happened to domicile privacy?” asked contractor Jim Henderson.

“If we’re going to be removed from our boats, we should be compensated,” suggested Dr. Mark Levy.

*

Confronted with unusual vehemence against its proposals, the Secret Service, not normally thought of as an agency that easily backs down, concedes that the boat owners have “legitimate concerns.”

“We’re not here to mess up their lives and make it inconvenient for them,” said Secret Service Agent Carl J. Truscott, who has protected three presidents and now is head of the detail assigned to the Republican Convention. “We want them to join in and enjoy the party. It’s the unauthorized people we’re concerned about.”

The idea of a waterfront “security zone” imposed by the Secret Service is new for a national political convention but has been used when presidents go boating on the ocean or floating down the Potomac. A zone was slapped on New York’s East River during the 50th anniversary of the United Nations when dozens of heads of state were in attendance.

Truscott met with the Marriott Marina boat owners to assure them that agents will not run roughshod over their boats and that if there is any damage the government is willing to pay claims. As for operational details, like why the Secret Service wants the boaters off their boats at night and whether there will be divers in the water watching for saboteurs, the service would like to keep those details, well, secret.

“The Secret Service guy was very pleasant and did his damnedest to convince us that we wouldn’t be inconvenienced,” said architect John Midyette. “But people are still upset. It’s like living two blocks from the White House and being told you can’t live at home.”

Along with the yacht owners, the charter boat companies that use the Marriott Marina are worried that inspections will slow down their boats and that paying customers will be scared off by the hassle of Secret Service agents, Coast Guard personnel or Harbor Police officers demanding to see their identification.

“I understand the long-term effect of the convention in putting San Diego in the big leagues, and I want to be part of that,” said Ralph Sassi, owner and operator of the Club Nautico boat rental company. “But that time period is very important to my business.”

Heavy-handed security, Sassi said, could have “an intimidating effect on my customers.”

*

Schuman, Hoy & Associates, a La Jolla-based public affairs and governmental lobbying firm, had considered renting a yacht for the week from Sassi to entertain members of Congress and other notables. The firm delayed because of uncertainty over the security rules and ended up renting from one of Sassi’s competitors whose boats are not docked at the Marriott.

“This is happening to me and I’m a Republican,” Sassi said.

Harold Queisser, marketing director for the Marriott Hotel, said he sympathizes with the plight of the boat owners but notes that everyone connected with the hotel, including guests and 1,500 employees, will have to live with some degree of hassle during the convention, as the price of being next to the convention center where history is being made.

“The big picture is that everybody is going to be inconvenienced by this circle of security,” Queisser said.

The 446-slip Marriott Marina is one of the priciest and ritziest marinas on the Southern California coast. Depending on the size of their craft, boat owners can pay $600 a month or more for a slip.

Boat owners get all the privileges of guests at the shiny, curvilinear towers of the Marriott Hotel, including the spa and exercise rooms, tennis courts, laundry service and restaurants. Parking and the grassy Embarcadero Park, site of the summer pops concerts, are nearby.

The boat names bespeak the pursuit of pleasure: the Lemon Twist from Wilmington, Del., My Toy from Long Beach, Miss Conduct from Tempe, Ariz., Abso-Loot III, Le Chardonay from Vail, Colo., Ultimate Dream from Philadelphia, and Code Blue, owned by a doctor from Phoenix.

Comedian Jerry Lewis keeps his Sam’s Place docked at the Marriott Marina year-round and spends several weeks a year aboard. Luckily, Sam’s Place is at the dock farthest from the convention center and is not affected by the no-sleepover restriction being sought by the Secret Service.

The final decision on the Secret Service proposals rests with Coast Guard Cmdr. James Watson, who serves as the captain of the port for San Diego County. His decision is expected early in July after the second of two public hearings.

“We are probably going to strike a compromise,” Watson said. “I don’t think we’re going to make everybody happy.”