2015 Holiday Parade Route

Harbor Report: Award nights honor the best on the harbor

The Mayo family taking home all the pickle dishes this year

Len Bose

If I were to tell you it is time to pull out my Christmas Reyn Spooners, what would be the first thing you'd think of?

I hope it wouldn't be a fat old bald guy with some dorky Hawaiian shirt and worn out Topsiders. But if you have been reading my column for a long time, you would surely know it means it is time for my review of the best of 2015 on the harbor.

This is the time of year I start putting my race calendar together for 2016 and my choices come down to which awards I want my name on a year from now. For me, half the fun is looking over the awards' past recipients.

One of the awards I really want to get my name on is the Newport Beach High Point Series trophy. For the third year in a row, the Richley family, sailing the Choate 48 Amante, will be storing this award at the Lido Isle Yacht Club. If some other team does not win this award soon, this big crystal bowl will get stuck to the glass in the club's trophy case.

Again we had a great year to remember at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Every award ceremony feels as fun as the previous year. I pay close attention to the junior sailor awards because it will not be long before we need some young crew aboard our boat. These are the sailors who will be showing up soon on the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet or Harbor 20 race course.

Sitting at our table at the ceremony was Danielle Ahir, who received the Orange County Woman Ocean Racing award for the most promising female junior sailor. It's always encouraging to witness a junior sailor with such great passion for our sport. Ahir made it to our table just before the awards started, after a long day of racing for her high school sailing team.

This year's Sabot National champion Jake Mayol was present taking home the Junior of The Year award along with his brother Max, who won the Junior Sportsmanship Trophy. Another prestigious award is the Jon Pinckey Perpetual for Outstanding Racing Record, which went to Justin Coburn.

Derek Pickle

Derek Pickell took home the Commodore Byrne Perpetual for Outstanding CFJ Skipper. Every good skipper has an even better crew. This year that was Catherine Webb winning the Commodore Montgomery Perpetual for outstanding CFJ Crew.

Representing us older folks, my good friend Dan "DR" Rossen won the Most Active Sailor award. Not sure how he beat me — it must have been the Farr 40 Worlds and the Saint Francis Yacht Clubs Big Boat Series. We both sailed the Transpac race to Hawaii and I did the Cabo San Lucas. Our phone conversation the following day after the awards ceremony reminded me of the seagulls in "Finding Nemo": "Mine, mine."

Len Bose bring home the Gaudio

My good friend Peter Haynes brought home the Maricia Holyoke Perpetual for Outstanding Service to Race Committee. I was fortunate to come home with the award I had my eyes on last year, the Gaudio One Design Champion for sailing in the Harbor 20 fleet.

The big award at Bahia Corinthian is the Elmer Carvey Memorial — until 1982 the Balboa Bay Club Yachtsman of the Year — awarded to the yachtsman who most contributed to the organized yachting community. Past winners have been Cooper Johnson, Jim Emmi, Ted Kerr, Hobie Deny, Lorin Weiss and Peter Haynes. The list reads on and on and includes Newport's best yachtsmen. This year's recipient was Bill McNamara for all his race committee work.

DR!

Harbor 20 Fleet 1 awards night falls on Dec. 4 at the Lido Isle Yacht Club. The most prestigious award given is the Arthur B Strock Service Award, given to the members who have performed outstanding service to the fleet. This award is kept a surprise until the ceremony.

Gary Throne won the "Rain or Shine" award for sailing in the most races in the 2015 season with 75.

The fleet's High Point awards are given out in A, B and C fleet to sailors with the best total score in their respective fleets. This year in C fleet Michael Volk will take home the pickle dish along with Mark Hurwitz in B fleet and Kurt Wise in A.

The Phylliss Rawlins Drayton Trophy will be presented to the women finishers in our fleet championships in A, B and C divisions. This year in C was Kirsten Munser; B, Mariah Geissman; and in A, Gale Pinckey.

The fleet's Grand Master trophy is awarded to the highest-placing skipper over the age of 65 during our fleet championships. This year Argyle Campbell won in A fleet, in B fleet it was Tom Corkett, and Richard Somers won the award in C fleet.

Our last award is the First Mate given to the highest placing couples in the fleet championships. In A fleet, Gale and Jon Pinckey will bring home the award along with Mariah and Daniel Geissman sailing in B fleet this year.

I have to give a big shoutout to the Lido Isle club for supporting our fleet each and every year.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist for the Daily Pilot.

The 34th Annual Balboa Angling Club’s Master Angler Billfish Tournament

The 34th Annual Balboa Angling Club’s Master Angler Billfish Tournament, the most prestigious and oldest marlin tournament on the west coast, was held September 11th and 12th in 100+ degree hot weather!  

The Kick-Off Party and Captain’s Meeting was standing room only on September 9th at The Tee Room in Newport Beach.  Since 129 Marlin were caught and tagged/or released by BAC members or on BAC boats BEFORE the MABT even started, the atmosphere was electric and the anglers were ready to go!  

The fishing started on Friday at 6:30 am with the first fish hooking up two minutes later!  Sadly, that fish was lost, but by the 11:00 am roll call, 8 marlin had been caught and released!  Boats were fishing mainly in the northern section of the area in Grid 10 and 11 near Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands; some boats were even flying Kites like in the old Zane Grey days!  

The BAC once again teamed up with the IGFA (International Game Fish Association) and had 9 Great Marlin Race satellite tags purchased and assigned to boats in this year’s MABT.  Two tags were deployed:  one by Black Fin, fishing for the Dana Angling Club, and one by Magellan, fishing for the Tuna Club of Avalon.  You can track their paths by visiting the IGFA-IGMR website at https://www.igfa.org/Conserve/Balboa%20USA%202015%20Race.  

Overall, it was light line marlin fishing at its finest, a great success for the Balboa Angling Club, and the anglers are ready to come back in 2016!  

Here are the results of the 2015 Master Angler Billfish Tournament:

Clubs = 7              Boats = 41           Anglers = 170

82 Hook Ups                       54 Releases

Total Fish   1st Day           34 Released

                     2nd Day           20 Released

High Club

1st            Dana Angling – Team 1                1950 pts.

2nd          Tuna Club of Avalon – Team 1  1620 pts.

3rd           Light Tackle Marlin Club               1140 pts.

High Boat

1st            Black Fin                                             1080 pts.

2nd          Kelsey Lee                                        720 pts.

3rd           Good Karma                                     720 pts.

High Angler

1st            Shane Hurt                                       1080 pts.

2nd          David Herrera                                  660 pts.

3rd           Greg Stotesbury                             450 pts.

4th           Barry Brightenburg                        450 pts.

5th           Bob Petrina                                      420 pts.

6th           Larry Coots, Jr.                                360 pts.

7th           Don Butts                                          360 pts.

8th           Erik Landesfeind                             360 pts.

9th           Don Goodwin                                  360 pts.

10th         Bobby Leinau                                   360 pts.

Tuna Division

                    The Tuna won this year.

       Bob and Sally Kurz Perpetual Circle Hook Award

Chase Offield, Calen Offield, Sawyer Jones, Hunter Heatly

Kelsey Lee

2014 MABT IGMR

1st Place              Team Andreya

Fishing for Balboa Angling Club

2nd Place             Jock Albright

Fishing for Tuna Club of Avalon

3rd Place              Team Hooked

Fishing for Dana Angling Club

THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN BY THE BALBOA ANGLING CLUB

Should Newport Beach have Marine Recycling Centers?

                                   (This is what we have in Newport Beach now)

I am still moving forward with the Marine Recycling Center idea for Newport Beach. Two weeks ago Harbor Commissioner Ralph Rodheim and I went to Dana Point to meet with Brad Gross and Paul Lawrence of Dana Point Harbor. The concept of this sortie was to learn the details of Dana Point Harbors Marine Recycling Center and if possible copy these centers in Newport Beach.

Let me take two steps back and tell you how I got this idea. I was cleaning my boat out one day and found I had diesel fuel in my bilge and then proceeded to sponge it into a two gallon bucket. When deciding on how to dispose of the fuel I found I had four choices. The first choice was to dump it in the waste bin or into the gutter, I could take it to one of the fuel docks and pay $20 to dispose of it or I could drive all the way to Northern Huntington Beach and dispose of it at the Rainbow disposal yard. Keep in mind I am lazy and cheap and always look for the easiest out. About this time I wondered if the city had a solution? 

NEXT:

Before I meet with Commissioner Rodheim I thought I had better look into what Newport Beach’s has in place already and gave Dave Beek and Gary Hill, the owners of our local fuel docks, a call. Both fuel docks will take your absorbent pads and waste oil at no cost. I also leaned from these two plus Dave New at Basin shipyard that people quite often just leave their waste at their doorstep.

So with the understanding we might find a better system of disposing of this type of waste Commissioner Rodheim and I proceeded to Dana 

Point in a fact finding mission. I  had also perversely placed a call to Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach for assistance in my research and I did receive a couple of emails from Moorlach staff. On our arrival to Dana Point we received a warm welcome from Mr. Gross and it quite obvious that he and his staff would like to help us with this project.

After inspecting the west and east Basin Recycling Centers both Ralph and I felt we should proceed to investigate into this idea further

That’s were we are today and I plan on presenting our findings to the Harbor Commission at tonight’s meeting. Please attend tonight’s meeting, leave me a comment, send me an email to boseyachts@mac.com or you can always just call me (714) 916-0200. 

(West Basin)

(East Basin)

Harbor Report: Much goings on at the harbor

Len Bose

I thought it time to take a cruise around the harbor to see what's going on now and what might be going on within the next few months.

We have all read about the loss of the William B, a 76-foot tug boat, this last Saturday morning when she was overcome by fire and sank to the bottom of the bay in the mooring field just off of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

At 8 a.m. that morning, with the first feeling of fall in the air and the light southerly breeze blowing, I was informed of the news. I was shown a photo of her and thought of the great loss to the boat's owners, the Hills, then pictured an old soldier finally taking a knee after a great battle.

I am not about to pick up the phone and ask Gary Hill how his family feels after their loss. Her time had come and I cannot think of a better resting place for the old girl. We can only hope that the yacht club memorializes the mooring ball with her name placed on it in perpetuity.

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Pump-out station use

It's become quite obvious that many boaters are not using our pump-out stations properly.

These waste pump-out stations are only for human waste and are not designed for disposing of toxic materials that have entered your bilge.

These toxic materials are burning through hoses, pumps and holding tanks. Other than asking boaters to stop this practice, there is not much that can be done. On second thought, we can always ask the city what happened to the idea of a marine recycling center. This would be another option for a boater to dispose of toxic waste.

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Keep an eye out for El Niño

I have never been referred to as a niño but that is the word I keep hearing while walking around the harbor.

El Niño is coming and what are you doing to get ready for it? I know it's our harbor master Lt. Mark Alsobrook's biggest concern as winter approaches.

My good friend at the Newport Shipyard, who prefers to remain anonymous, reminded me that boaters need to check their bilge pumps. Not just that they are working — that's only half of it — but they also need to make sure that the float switch does not get stuck in the up position, works the pump dry and drains your batteries.

Over at Basin Marine, Dave New explained that boat owners really need to replace their mooring lines. He went on to tell me that they went out and purchased a couple of rather large pumps should anyone get in trouble and need to get water out of their boats quickly.

"We are here to help if we can," New said.

Our first king tide is due in on the 24th through 26th of this month. The highest tide of 6.7 feet will arrive at 7:49 a.m. Nov. 25. Should we blend in a low pressure weather system at that time you will need to make sure you know where your boots are.

*

Yacht Club speakers

The Newport Harbor Yacht Club has asked this niño to speak at its yachtsmen luncheon on Dec. 9. I believe my fellow columnist Mike Whitehead is scheduled for the 2nd and on the 16th Harbor Master Lt. Mark Alsobrook will speak.

Maybe this will be a good time for me to unveil this year's 20 most interesting boats of Newport Beach. I would assume that Whitehead will update us on the boat house news, tips and his annual holiday poem.

Nothing against Whitehead and I, but the real interesting speaker will be harbor master. I have not seen a harbor master reach out to the public so well since Lt. Mark Long. Something tells me he will be the first harbor master that connects the City Council, Harbor Resources and Harbor Department, getting them reading from the same book.

I see a lot of good things happening around the harbor since Alsobrook has been assigned as our harbor master.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist for the Daily Pilot.