"Boatmageddon II" Coming to the Harbor in 2021? This story was first dropped in 8/2011

I first wrote this story in 2011, I dug it back up so that you can refresh your memories to the scale of the equipment.

Three quotes come to mind this week. “They’re here”, “ You want to put what where?” and “It only going to hurt for a little while”. I am referring to the Lower Bay Dredging Project in the Rhine Channel. The estimated impact for this project is from now until the end of the year and I thought the X games are exciting to watch.

Its true, I thought nothing is more exciting than watching the Fun Zone Harbor boats i.e. “Tiki Boat” “Queen”or “Belle” blast through the C3 fleet in front of The Lido Isle Yacht Club. Now blend in the dredging scows being tugged down from the Rhine Channel and you can see some parents starting to come out of their seats? Fortunately, Harbor resource manager Chris Miller has been doing a stellar job keeping the lines of communication open between all the different harbor users. Before the Scows start their route out of the Harbor the Brusco Tug Captains announce a “Security Alert” over VHF channel 16. I have silly idea, what if the tug captains had a Twitter account? Last Tuesday the wind was up and there was over 12 sabots that capsized. If the scow came through at that time it would have been scary! As a parent, I am a lot more comfortable with the tug captain pushing a toxic scow past my kid than the operator of the “Belle” or “Queen” running at 7 knots past the leeward mark off Lido Isle Yacht Clubs dock any day.

You can find all the information for  Rhine Channel project at http://www.newportbeachca.gov/index.aspx?page=1607. Let me now first point out the obvious. Stay away from Dredging equipment, be it in the Turning Basin or in the Rhine. In the Turning Basin, around the larger “Pile Driving” barge, the Brusco tug is kept in gear and is moving a lot of water around. In The Rhine Channel there is just no room for safe passage. Even if you are on a paddle board, duffy or Lido 14 make sure you go in the other direction. Don’t be the person that falls in the river after a winter storm! Maybe we should call it Boatmageddon?

The dredging will take place Monday trough Saturday during working hours. Boaters need to keep in mind that the Tugs can still move a scow out of the harbor at anytime of the day. Keep in mind “ Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear” and a tug could be returning an empty scow at anytime? It would be just my luck to get trapped in the upper end of the Rhine channel overnight. We also need to note that after each phase, the larger “Pile Driving” Barge, the one that in the turning basin now minus the two scows attached, has to go up The Rhine and replace the pilings. 

Like I said “you want to put what where?’ If you absolutely, positively have to enter Boatmageddon remember you can use the guest docks at 15^th and 19^th street and walk to your destination from there. Remind your guests to keep their voices down when you leave and return to the boat. Also keep in mind if you have to go to the local shipyards before the end of the year you better get up there before September 8^th.

Should you want to read my stories weekly, I like to call it “Len Bose un-edited” go to 

Sea ya