An offshore wave farm will supply Californians with clean green electricity generated by the ocean under a first-of-its-kind power purchase agreement that utility PG&E will announce Tuesday morning.

The giant San Francisco-based utility has signed a long-term contract to buy 2-megawatts of electricity from Finavera Renewables’ wave-energy power plant to be built off the Northern California coast. The Vancouver company intends to eventually expand the Humboldt County project into a 100-megawatt “wave park.” It is likely to be the first of a score of floating power stations dotting California’s 1,100-mile coastline in the coming years, judging by the stack of applications for such wave farms on file at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“This power purchase agreement is extremely significant and reflects the massive potential for wave power as a renewable source of energy in the future,” says PG&E spokesman Keely Wachs. Like the Golden State’s other big investor-owned utilities — Southern California Edison (EIX) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE) — PG&E (PCG) must obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and 33 percent by 2020.

“The California market is huge for wave energy,” Finavera CEO Jason Bak told Fortune’s Green Wombat. “This is the first power purchase agreement with a large utility, and we see this as being one of the key components to commercializing wave energy technology.”

The ocean as potential source of greenhouse gas-free power is tremendous: the energy locked up in the surf rolling toward the California coast is equivalent to some 37 gigawatts — enough to light nearly 30 million homes — according to PG&E. And unlike the sun and wind, waves can generate electricity 24/7. But the technology to tap all that water-borne power and deliver it at competitive prices remains in the startup phase.

PG&E and Finavera would not disclose the terms of the power purchase agreement. But Bak acknowledged that the key challenge he and other wave-energy companies face is “advancing the technology to the stage where we have a near-commercial technology.”

Finavera plans to deploy strings of connected wave-energy converters that it calls AquaBuoys. As waves roll past an array of AquaBuoys connected to an onshore station by an undersea cable, two-stroke hose pumps convert their energy into pressurized seawater that drives electricity-generating turbines. According to filings Finavera has made with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a fully built-out 100 megawatt Humboldt wave farm would consist of 200 to 300 AquaBuoys floating on a two-square-mile site about two to three miles off the town of Trinidad. The initial phase of the project is expected to go online in 2012 and will use eight AquaBuoys.

While PG&E is merely dipping its corporate toe in the wave-energy waters with a relatively small 2-megawatt power purchase agreement, the deal with Finavera is likely to intensify efforts to stake claims on the best stretches of coast.

PG&E itself earlier this year unveiled its WaveConnect project to build two 40-megawatt wave farms, one off Humboldt and the other off the Mendocino County coast. Chevron (CVX) dived in last July with a plan for a Humboldt wave farm to be built by Scotland’s Ocean Power Delivery — now called Pelamis Wave Power — before abruptly pulling its application a month later.

Over the past two months there’s been a new flurry of applications. New Jersey’s Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT) in November filed for a FERC permit for a 20-megawatt “wave energy park” to be located off the Humboldt coast. And a newcomer to the wave energy business called GreenWave Energy Solutions has filed permit applications for wave farms off Mendocino and the Central Coast town of Moro Bay in San Luis Obispo County. (The Thousand Oaks, Calif., company lists a San Francisco attorney as its president and it was registered by a Southern California developer.)

Before Finavera can begin construction of the Humboldt wave farm it must first spend two to three years completing environmental impact studies and negotiating with local, state and federal regulators. While obtaining financing for wave-energy projects using untried technology is difficult, Finavera will have one advantage over its competitors: a long-term power purchase agreement with one of the United States ‘largest utilities.

“This PPA is a vote of confidence from PG&E that we can do get the project done,” says Bak.

Current picture of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse (2007)

Although Point Cabrillo was surveyed by the U. S. Lighthouse Service in 1873, construction of the Light Station didn’t begin until after the 1906 earthquake. The demand for lumber to rebuild San Francisco meant that maritime commerce on the north coast was at an all time high and a Lighthouse was critical to the safety of the ships and their valuable cargo. Construction of the Light Station began in 1908, and the lens was illuminated for the first time on June 10, 1909, under head keeper Wilhelm Baumgartner.

Baumgartner invited the neighbors and residents of Pine Grove to attend the midnight ceremony.

Built and managed by the US. Lighthouse Service under the Department of Commerce the original Point Cabrillo Light Station included the buildings still standing today (with the exception of the current pump house and water tank). These include the three keeper’s residences, the coal buildings (now garages), the carpentry shop and smithy, and the oil house. Several other structures - two water towers, a barn, and the original pump house have since been removed. The barn, which was located to the south of the residences at the end of a side road, was used as a U. S. Air Force radio monitor’s training facility after WW II. It was burned by the Volunteer Fire Dept. as an exercise in the late 1980s.

The U. S. Lighthouse Service was officially absorbed into the Coast Guard in 1939. Bill Owens/ who also served at the Point Arena Lighthouse, was the last civilian lighthouse keeper at Point Cabrillo. He retired in 1963. Coast Guard officers and their families continued to live in the keepers houses until the Conservancy took possession in 1992.

The light tower houses a third order, British-built Fresnel lens by Chance Bros., with a range of 13-15 miles. The lens was originally powered by a kerosene oil lamp. There are only 2 other British-built lenses in operation in the U.S. today: A 1st Order lens at Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon, and a 2nd Order range light (”fixed”) at Battery Point, Staten Island, New York.

Originally the lens rotated by means of a clockworks mechanism with a descending weight. A chain with a 65-80 LB weight on the end of it passed through the floor of each level of the light tower. The light keeper would crank up the chain onto a drum every 2 hours. At some point, a portion of the concrete foundation on the ground floor was removed to add an additional 4-5 feet to the chain, gaining (perhaps) an additional ten minutes between windings. The clockworks were replaced with an electric motor and the oil lamp with a light bulb when electricity was introduced at the Station in 1935

The lens rotated at a fixed speed and produced a flash at ten second intervals. The rotation pattern of a lighthouse is printed on the nautical chart, it’s the lighthouse “signature” and must not vary.

The main part of the structure is called the “fog signal building”. It housed two pairs of engines and compressors that created a siren using compressed air.

A head keeper and two assistants rotated shifts to keep the light burning and the compressors powered. They also cleaned and painted and kept the lens and station machinery in working order. The lighthouse service gave them each a house for their family and a yearly salary of $450-$600/ and they raised crops and livestock.

In 1973, the Fresnel lens was disengaged, and an aero-marine type rotating beacon was mounted on the roof of the fog signal building. The original lens remained in the lantern room but the clockworks and fog signal machinery were removed.

In 1996 the Conservancy was awarded a federal grant through the ISTEA program (Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Activities) for the restoration of the lantern room and the creation of public service facilities at Point Cabrillo (parking and restrooms). Work on the project began in August of 1998 when the Fresnel lens was dismantled and removed from the lantern room. The lantern room restoration was completed in April 1999 and the Fresnel lens was refurbished and reinstated as the active aid in time for Point Cabrillo’s 90th Anniversary. The restoration of the Fresnel lens was funded by the NCIA with assistance from the Coast Guard. The restoration of the fog signal building was funded by the NCIA and the Coastal Conservancy. The restoration of the rest of the lighthouse tower and fog signal building was completed in August of 2001 with funds provided by the Coastal Conservancy and the NCIA.

Point Arena Lighthouse (2007)

The first Point Arena Lighthouse was constructed in 1870.  Its brick and mortar tower featured ornate iron balcony supports and a large Keeper residence with enough space to house several families.  In April of 1906, a devastating earthquake struck the tower.  Damage from the trembler occurred all along the San Andreas Fault, which runs very close to Point Arena.  In the town itself, many buildings were reduced to rubble, and at the Light Station, the Keeper’s residence and Lighthouse were damaged so severely that they were rendered condemned, and ultimately torn down.

The United States Lighthouse Service contracted with a San Francisco based company to build a new lighthouse here to withstand any future earthquakes.  The company built factory smokestacks, which accounts for the final design for the new Point Arena Lighthouse.  The new design featured steel reinforcement rods encased in concrete, and was the first lighthouse to be built in this manner.

The new Lighthouse began operation in 1908, nearly 18 months after the quake.  It stands 115 feet tall, and features a 1st Order Fresnel Lens, over six feet in diameter and weighing more than six tons.  The lens is made up of 666 hand-ground glass prisms all focused toward three sets of double bulls eyes.  It is these bulls eyes that gave the Point Arena Lighthouse its unique “light signature” of two flashes every six seconds.  This incredible optic, that holds an appraised value of over $3.5 million, is set in solid brass framework, built in France.

Prior to the introduction of electricity, the lens was rotated by a clockwork mechanism.  The Keepers, or “wickies” as they were called, had to hand crank a 160 pound weight up the center shaft of the lighthouse every 75 minutes to keep the lens turning.  Light was produced by a “Funks” hydraulic oil lamp, that needed to be refueled every four hours, and whose wicks would have to be trimmed regularly.  Later, two 1,000 watt electric lamps were installed to replace the oil lamp, and a 1/8 horsepower electric motor was installed to replace the clockworks.

In 1978, the fog signal at the station was silenced, and a bell buoy was placed nearby.  June of 1977 brought the installation of an automated aircraft-type beacon on the balcony tower, and the historic 1st Order Fresnel Lens was discontinued.  The 400 pound aircraft beacon has recently been replaced by a 40 pound modern rotating light that incorporates the Fresnel principles for the efficient projection of light.  There is a battery powered emergency system installed  as a back-up in the event of a power failure.  In addition, a radio beacon, with a 50 mile signal that originates from the station, also assists mariners.  The original oil lamp was visible for approximately 18 miles, the 1st Order Fresnel Lens for 20 miles and the current modern rotating light can be seen for 16 miles.

In 1984, a nonprofit organization called the Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers acquired the light station as part of a 25 year land lease from the Coast Guard and the Department of Transportation.  In November of 2000, the nonprofit group became the official owners of the property due to their diligent historic preservation and educational efforts.  Daily visitation, gift store sales, memberships and the rental of the historic Keeper’s homes on the property as vacation houses, all provide desperately needed income for ongoing preservation, facility upgrades and educational endeavors.

Albion lies directly on California’s Highway 1 north of Navarro, and south of Little River. It lies just north of the intersection of Highway 128 and Highway 1 (Shoreline Highway).

Albion Bridge under construction 1944.

Albion River Bridge today (2007)

Albion has two bridges, spanning the Albion River and the Little Salmon Creek. The Albion River Bridge, built in 1944 when steel and concrete were in short supply, remains the last wooden bridge still in use on Highway 1.

In 1845, Mexico awarded English sea captain William Richardson a large land grant, stretching along the California coast between present day towns of Elk and Mendocino. By 1853 Richardson had built, in the middle of this tract, a home and sawmill alongside a narrow river estuary. He named the spot Albion, after the ancient name for his homeland.

Richardson’s sawmill was the first to begin operation along the Redwood Coast. It was powered by a tide-driven water wheel, which would operate whether the tide was coming in or going out. Unfortunetly, the mill was destroyed by ocean waves during its first winter. Richardson rebuilt the mill the following year, steam driven this time, but lost all his land that same year when the U.S Land Commission refused to recognize his Mexican title.

A sawmill would continue to operate at this location over the next 75 years. By 1861 a hotel, livery stable, and mercantile store were also in operation.

This is the Albion New Cash Store. (circa 1905)

The Albion South Side Hotel (circa 1905)

The Albion Mill between 1909-11.

Albion in the 1940,s.

              The new Flavor Festival combined established Mendocino County events, including Crab & Wine Days, The Wine and Mushroom Festival, and the 3rd Annual International Alsace Varietals Festival in Anderson Valley.

The Flavor Festival kicks off with a Cioppino Dinner in Fort Bragg’s Noyo Harbor on Friday, January 25. Then on Saturday February 26, the public is invited to the 9th Annual Crab Cake Cook off and wine tasting, featuring Mendocino County chefs serving crab cakes made with local Dungeness Crab, accompanied by Mendocino County wines. Guest are invited to judge crab cakes and their favorite wine for the People’s Choice Awards, while the celebrity judges choose the professional winners of the Taste Mendocino Festival.

In addition to wine and crab, the Regional Flavor Bounty offers tasting of locally grown and produced products including wild mushrooms, chocolate, and even  seaweed. Seminars on mushroom collecting, food and wine pairing, cooking demonstrations at restaurants throughout the Festival.

 It all ends with the 3rd Annual International Alsace Varietals Festival in beautiful Anderson Valley on the weekend of February 9-10. Wineries from around the world will participate in this annual festival celebrating Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and other noble Alsace varietals.
The 2008 Alsace Festival will be held at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville. The technical conference and grand tasting will be on Saturday, February 9, followed by an authentic Alsation Winemakers Dinner that evening. On Sunday, February 10, local wineries will host open houses with music, food, tasting and educational seminars.

Mendocino Coast Clinics
Presents our 2008 Crab & Wine Festival Events
Friday, January 25th — Cioppino Dinner
This 7th Annual event has open seating between 5pm - 8pm. Tickets purchased the day of the event have a cost of $30 per adult. This event includes dinner served family style, live entertainment and fun raffle prizes.
Crab Cake Cook-Off & Wine Tasting Competition and Razzle Dazzle   Raffle & Silent And Live Auctions-Saturday January 26th
This 9th Annual event is open between 12:30pm - 3:30pm. Tickets are $60 each. This event offers a variety of local and regional winery presentations while enjoying the crab cake delicacies prepared by each contestant. All participants in this event, along with a selected celebrity panel of judges, will determine the winners of the wine and crab competition.
3rd Annual International Alsace Varietals Festival
· Technical Conference Saturday, February 9, 8:15-11am. Learn all about how the professionals make your favorite aromatic white wines. $35
· Alsace Varietals Grand Tasting, Saturday, February 9, Noon to 3 pm. Meet the winemakers and taste Alsace-style white wines from around the world.
· Authentic Alsace Winemakers Dinner: Saturday, Feb. 9, at 6:30 pm
· Winery Open Houses: Sunday February 10, For this all day event.
 

This image of the pygmy forest includes people for scale.

Not only do we have the tallest trees in the world, but believe it or not, we also have a forest of the shortest trees in the world. The pygmy forest where mature, cone-bearing cypress and pine trees stand 6 inches to 8 feet tall. A pygmy foest is a forest which, for pedological and egeological reasons, contains only miniature trees. Pygmy forests are usually associated with the coastal terraces and inner coastal mountains of Northern California.

From Stevenswood Lodge you would take the Fern Canyon trail which divides in 2 1/2 miles; take the old logging road trail a mile to the pygmy forest trail. The contrast from the lush redwood forest to the stunted cypress and Bolander pine is almost alarming.

The Pygmy Forest in Van Damme State Park, for example, is an oligotrophic community caused by podzolized (nutrient-poor, highly acidic) soils. Underlying this relatively inhospitable soil is a clay hardpan. A combination of uplift and changes in ocean level formed a system of terraces, resulting in an “ecological staircase,” with each terrace approximately 100,000 years older than the one below it and supporting a distinct association of soils, microbes, plants, and animals. The pygmy forest in this case formed on the oldest stable surface where soils are approximately 500,000 years old. Each terrace is relatively level, which prevents draining and allows rainwater to leach many of the nutrients away. Over time, this results in extremely high acidity. Analyses of pygmy forest soils show low levels of macro and micro nutrients, and high levels of exchangeable aluminum, which limits the ability of plants to grow. Low pH conditions support formation of an iron hardpan, preventing the trees from setting deep roots and preventing internal drainage of soil water. As a result, the pine trees in the area are rarely more than three or four feet high, in a sort of natural bonsai effect. Many of the tree trunks, though only an inch thick, contain 80 or more growth rings. Only yards away, but with younger soils, the same species of tree grows many dozens of feet high.

This story is about where the Navarro River enters into the Pacific Ocean only 8 miles south of Stevenswood Spa Resort. Most guests visiting the area come by this direction where Highway 128 meets Highway 1 on the Mendocino Coast.

The Mendocino Coast is rich with history. From the lumber mills that sprang along the coast line after the earlier settlers discovered the great giant redwood groves, to shipbuilding for moving the lumber down to the Bay Area and beyond. This is one such story one of Mendocino’s earliest pioneers.

The Navarro-by-the-Sea-Hotel in about 1948

Captain Fletcher’s Inn is located in Navarro River Redwoods State Park at Navarro Beach, 8 miles south of Little River. The Inn was built in the 1860’s by Charles Fletcher and his partners for sailors off the lumber schooners that served the Navarro mill. Charles Fletcher was the first settler at Navarro. (ca.1851). He and his partner James Kennedy built the first lumber schooner on the Mendocino coast, the Sea Nymph, in 1862.

History:

Captain Fletcher’s father was a Scottish sea captain. Charles was born in the China seas on the Schooner “Wildcat”. He came to San Francisco in 1849 during the gold rush. In 1851, he had arrived on the north coast, apparently as captain of a whaling ship.

Captain Fletcher, in partnership with James Kennedy and Captain Thomas Kennedy of San Francisco, built the inn during the 1860’s for sailors who had to wait three days while their schooners were loaded with lumber from the Navarro Mill. The Navarro Mill was built in 1861 by the firm of Tichenor and Company of San Francisco, on land purchased from Charles Fletcher for $1,200. The first mill was built on the Navarro Flats near Captain Fletcher’s home.

An artists rendition of Navarro Mill about 1878.

The Navarro wharf in about 1886 with the steamer “Newsboy” taking on lumber from the mill. In 1860, after he sold most of his land to Tichenor and Byxbee, Charles Fletcher married Bridget Cooney of Mendocino, a widow from Roscommon, Ireland. They built a large house, which replaced Fletcher’s original redwood cabin, and raised four children there. The Fletcher family was one of the last to live in the old village of Navarro. Charles Fletcher died in 1902. His daughter, Ellen (Nellie) Fletcher Schaeffer inherited both the Inn and the family home. When she moved to Fort Bragg in early 1920’s, her daughter, Elsie Nystrom purchased the house and Inn for $10.

Captain Fletcher’s Inn has survived three major fires, the earthquake of 1906 and the devasting flood of 1907 that swept away a bridge near the mouth of the Navarro.

After the mill was sold, it burned down under mysterious circumstances. The fire occured in 1902, the same year that Captain Fletcher died. This was followed by the fire of 1911, the quake of 1906 and the flood of 1907, all of which damaged Navarro. By 1914, the name “Navarro” was usurped by the town of Wendling, located eleven miles up the river. Wendling also had a lumber mill for sale, and wanted to capitalize on the Navarro name for quality lumber. The town still bears the name “Navarro”.

What remained of the original village of Navarro eventually became know as “Navarro-by-the-Sea.” Captain Fletcher’s Inn and the mill manager’s house are now the only buildings remaining from the once thriving town of Navarro. At its height, it had 500-600 inhabitants, with another 300 men located in camps in the woods up river.

The Inn Served as a popular fishing resort from the 1920’s through the 1970’s under various owners. It was purchased in 1996 by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Captain Charles Fletcher.

August 16, 1902 (obituary): From the Mendocino Beacon
“[Charles Fletcher was] highly respected as a business man and as a citizen. He was generous with his employees…large hearted, fearless and honest, he was a representative type of the hardy pioneers of this state…”

Captain Fletcher’s final resting place at the Little River Cemetary, California.

Picture taken in 1980’s

Here is how Captain Fletcher’s Inn looks today.

Samples of what the sand at glass beach looks like.

Glass Beach on the Mendocino coast is one of the most unique beaches in the world, not because nature created it that way, but because time and the pounding surf have beautified the mistake humankind had made.

Beginning in 1949, the area around Glass Beach became a public dump known locally as “the dump”. It is hard to believe during these days, that people all dumped all kinds of refuse straight into the ocean, including old cars, and their hosehold garbage, which of course included lots of glass. By the early 60’s, some attempts were made to control what was dumped, and dumping toxic items was banned. Then finally in 1967, the North Coast Water Quality Board realized what a mistake it was and plans were begun for a new dump site away from the ocean.

30 years later, and now Mother Nature has reclaimed this beach. Years of pounding wave action have deposited tons of polished glass onto the beach. You can still occasionally see reminders of its earlier life, such as rusted metal, but for the most part what you will see is millions of pieces of glass sparkling in the sun. For many years, a steady stream of visitors collected glass to take home. Finally, before this unique sight was lost forever, the State Parks took it over, and removing glass is now prohibited.

Also Glass Beach has a very interesting array of tide pools to explore. Crabs, mollusks, and many aquatic plants make their homes in these ever changing environments.

There are no fees such as entrance fee or parking fee to visit this unique beach.