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| George Hylkema demonstrating his pump-out catch system |
By LEN BOSE
This time of year, those last summer sailing nights and sunset Duffy cruises seem to mean so much more to me as each year passes by. I’m not ready to give up on summer yet, and while heading west up the south end of the Lido Channel into the warm evening breeze, I reflected on some of my harbor observations over the last two weeks.
While attending this month’s Harbor Commission meeting, water quality Sr. Civil Engineer John Kappeler updated the commission on the five pump-out stations around the harbor. A pump-out station is the place where boaters can pump out the raw sewage from their boats’ holding tanks. For as long as I can remember, these five stations were always in need of repair, while the two stations at the public piers at Washington and Fernando streets never seemed to work very well. Four years ago, I wrote a story, “The overqualified Noel Plutchak is making our harbor cleaner.” A couple of years back, Plutchak was working on the station at Fernando Street when George Hylkema was returning from his boat on one of the moorings. The two met, and I would assume Plutchak told Hylkema the problem he has had with these pump-out stations over many years. The problem started with boaters placing the pump-out hose into their bilges then sucking up sharp objects, screws, hose clamps, etc. that would disrupt the vacuum system.
The cost of repairing these pumps was substantial along with the constant maintenance needed to keep them working. Hylkema being an engineer came up with the idea of removing these objects before they entered the pumping system. After Hylkema came up with his prototype catch system, he presented it to the city a couple of times, then catching the eye of Kappeler. After a testing period, the city now has this system in three of its pump-out stations. I have to assume that they will be installed in all five very soon. By the way, the stations at Washington and Fernando streets have been updated and work as well as the other stations around the harbor.
During Kappeler’s presentation, he ran a video interview with Hylkema explaining the system which is very informative if you are into this kind of…stuff. You can watch the video on YouTube here. Quite often one can look past the simple things that matter the most to our harbor. A huge “well done” has to go out to Hylkema, Plutchak and Kappeler. If there was ever a Harbor Hall of Fame, Hylkema and Plutchak should be among the first two to be installed. Reach out and thank them for their hard work.
Speaking of hard work, a good friend of mine asked me to write about the efforts of the Team Palmer Group investigation into CAD alternatives. The CAD is a Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) that is designed to be 450 x 450 feet and 47-foot-deep hole in the harbor. A complete explanation can be found here. The CAD will be located in the five points area of the harbor in the anchorage area just east of Lido Isle. Team Palmer has spent a lot of time looking for other alternatives for the disposal of unsuitable materials that will be brought up in the lower bay dredging project. The team has been granted an extension of 30 days to present their alternatives and implement them. Within the next two months, they will be presenting their three alternatives to the Harbor Commission where I am sure it will then move forward to the City Council with the commission’s recommendation.
My father always told me to be prompt in returning people’s phone calls and listening to what they have to offer before making my mind up. Stay tuned because the bottom line is what is best for our harbor.
It’s time again to bring up the Balboa Angling Club’s 40th Annual Master Angler Billfish Tournament set for September 10-12. Everyone is invited to participate in the oldest and most prestigious all-release marlin tournament on the West Coast. The club Facebook page is full of this summer’s catches, junior anglers’ tournament results. I have said this for years…the Balboa Angling Club is the best deal in town, so check it out at www.balboaanglingclub.org.
Sea ya.
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Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.
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