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| By Len Bose |
I had been struggling to come up with a story this week and then I realized it had been a long time since I woke up with the harbor. I grabbed my camera and headed out the door at 5:45 a.m. toward my slip at the Newport Marina – for you old-timers that’s the Swales Marina. While driving, I thought that the best angle to observe is not toward the east. Fortunately, I had my bike in the truck and parked at the Newport Marina, then rode my bike past the grumpy guard at Bayshores to the volleyball beach.
I chuckled to myself while looking over both my shoulders when reading the sign “private dock” then realizing who is going to be concerned at six in the morning. Sitting on the bench, at the end of the dock, I looked over the harbor for the first activity of a large bait boil of small fish disturbing the sheet glass water and awakening the harbor to a warm winter day with a light Santa Ana breeze starting to stir. Just before the sun rises, three double-handed rowing shells approached from under the PCH bridge who must have started their day from the Newport Aquatic Center. While glancing toward the Pavilion, the first car ferry was crossing the harbor from Balboa Island toward the peninsula. Just then, I noticed 15 kayakers rounding the west end of Harbor Island and heading back toward the Aquatic Center. This group must have been one of the first on the harbor this morning. Twenty minutes had passed, and the sun was breaking the plain of the Saddleback mountain range when I took this photo.
While walking back to my truck, I thought I would head over toward the car ferry crossing on Balboa Island for some photos and a look around. As I was placing my bike in the back of my truck, I noticed the Newport Marina dockmaster Barbi (sorry I have forgotten her last name) already at work, and then heard in a clear voice, “Hey, thank you for the kind words in your last article, I appreciate that.” It was Bunker Hill who I assume wakes up before the fish. The time was about 6:45 a.m. when I approached the Island Marine fuel dock looking for an angle to get a good shot of the car ferry crossing the harbor. There must have been six ferry crew members and mechanics starting their day already and I introduced myself to the fuel attendant Danny Knowles at Island Marine Fuel and asked if I can take a few photos from the porch of the station. Just then another loud voice, inflicted with laughter said, “You owe me lunch; I told you, you owe me lunch now.” The proprietor of Island Marine, David Beek was joking with Knowles. Beek told me they had a bet from the night before on who would be the first to arrive at the fuel dock this morning.
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| Dave Beek |
Beek and I have been good friends for more than 25 years now and we quickly caught up on all the gossip around the harbor. The fuel dock reminds me of days gone by when a bunch of “Old Walters” would be shooting the poop and drinking free coffee at the barbershop for all the local news. I need to visit Beek more often other than yelling across the harbor when I sail by. Beek updated me that the Orange Coast Crew has been back on the water for a couple of months now. “The guys row in the morning and the ladies in the afternoon,” Beek shared. Of course, we caught up on our families and all the harbor issues.
I was surprised to hear that City Harbor Master Kurt Borsting has retired and will be handing over the helm on April 2nd. Returning to my desk, I called Assistant City Manager Carol Jacobs to confirm this. “Yes, Kurt will be retiring and I will be doing my best to keep the ship righted. We have started the process for looking for a new Harbor Master and if you know of anyone that might be interested, have them look up available jobs on the city website,” Jacobs said. The needed qualifications for the Harbor Master position is rather lengthy with seven years’ experience, increasingly responsible harbor management or administration experience, including commercial harbor leases experience and at least three years of responsible management and supervisory-level experience.” Good work if you can get it!
I finished my harbor wake-up call driving by Basin Marine who by 7 a.m. had everyone hard at work while the Galley Café outdoor sitting was starting to show signs of life. Harbor activity is returning to “the way it was” and I look forward to writing a story about this toward the end of the year. Where are the best places to go for breakfast around the harbor? I will share them with you.
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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| PCH Bridge repair crew |
