On the Harbor: Some nautical history

Courtesy of Newport Harbor Yacht Club

(L-R) Hook Beardslee and Barney Lehman in proper yachtsman attire in the 1920s

By LEN BOSE

While writing a story that is taking a lot of preparation and research, I found these tidbits when I was digging into some of our harbor history books. I found some interesting and quite funny information that I wanted to share with you.

In the early 1900s, boating was all but nonexistent. The harbor’s breaking entrance and shifting shoals made entering and leaving a hair-raising experience. Groundings and shipwrecks were common. Other Southern California yacht clubs referred to Newport Beach yachtsmen as “sandhogs” because of the shallow and mud-ridden bay. In 1928, if a sailor managed to get through the harbor entrance, he still had to keep from hitting the mudflats and sand bars. The first one-design boats were the Snowbirds and the Star class. One of the first names that jumps out at you was Hook Beardslee, who dominated the Snowbirds, Star and Rhodes 33 class in the early 1920s and 1930s. Knowing the tides, swallows and mud flats played a big part in being successful back in the day.

Opening the Harbor, 1936

I found it intriguing as to what was common with today’s dredging project. I read that Lynn Swales, a staunch Republican, accompanied a contingent of harbor boosters to Washington to meet with President Franklin Roosevelt to see about getting the bay dredged. Roosevelt was an ardent yachtsman, and we think that is probably why the bay was finally dredged. After the determined George Rogers illuminated the last bureaucratic roadblock delaying the project, work began in January 1935 with the final cost of $1,835,000.

The 200 men on the project were supervised by the army engineers of the War Department. The sand was dredged from the bay and transported to large steel pipes to the oceanfront beaches. Wooden bridges were built to prevent cars from crossing over the pipes on Balboa Boulevard. Bulldozers pushed a 15-foot high dam of sand next to the wooden boardwalk to keep the dredged sand on the beach and away from the homes. Before the dredging, ocean waves were only 100 feet from the boardwalk, but now the beaches extended out 300-400 feet. This accounts for the wide beach we see today on the oceanfront side of the Peninsula.

Four dredges worked simultaneously to remove approximately 8,500,000 tons of sand and 50,000 pounds of rock. The 750-acre water area of the lower bay was stretched to a depth of 10 feet, anchorage area in front of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club to 15 feet, the main channel to 20 feet and the entrance channel to 25 feet. Many tons of rocks were used to extend the West Jetty to 2,830 feet and the East Jetty to 1,673 feet.

In her book Newport Bay: A Pioneer History, Ellen K. Lee describes the harvest gala opening ceremonies: President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key on his White House desk and the Coast Guard cutter Hermes, outside of Newport Harbor, sounded its cannons to signal the beginning of the most impressive yacht parade Southern California has ever seen. In the lead was the yacht Memory, skippered by her owner George Rogers, an honorary captain of the port. The 3,600 residents of Newport Beach had little idea of the future ahead for the harbor they had created through the years of work and sacrifice. For the moment, they thanked George Rogers, having erected a monument in his honor at the shores in the West Jetty.

Yachting Etiquette

Yachting and Racing: One of the greatest pests of the yachting fraternity is the individual who will inject his presence into a group after the race, and cry loudly about everything that occurred. He should be made to understand that the club ensemble is not interested in anyone’s personal grouches. The place to protest or kick about a decision in a race is to the proper committee and in the proper place.

The Lehman 12s, 1972

I found this story and had to laugh. “Good sailors of all ages don’t want to sail against hackers.” While people line the shores of Newport Bay every Thursday evening to watch the Beer Can races – a summertime spectacle – the best show is over on the Newport Harbor Yacht Club racecourse, where upwards of 30 Lehman 12’ dinghies convene for the NHYC’s Twilight Series.

The entry list looks like a Who’s Who of American yachting: Argyle Campbell, Henry Sprague, Bill Ficker, Dave Ullman, Bill Lapworth, George Twist, Bob Davis, Buzz Tupman, Tom Schock, Peter Parker, Chris Colby, Leroy Sutherland, Pat Allen, Roger Welsh, John Ferrier, etc.

The Lehman 12 is totally non-rescuable, meaning that if you capsize, you are not only out of the race but you’re going to require some assistance to boot.

Oddly, this seems to be the big selling point of the Lehman 12 – an old turkey enjoying more popularity than any other racing class in the southland. Good sailors of all ages don’t want to sail against hackers, and the very nature of the Lehman 12 is such that it automatically keeps the hackers from buying them.

Strange as it may seem, the Lehman 12 may have all the things (to a different degree to be sure) that all the world’s most competitive one designs have: capsize readily, and it’s even more uncomfortable to sail when it’s windy than when it’s light and wet.

Nearly every sailor at NHYC has tried his skill at Lehman 12s at one time or another. Club rules however are rigidly enforced allowing no modifications, so the boats remain very competitive within the class.

Sea ya next year!

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Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.