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| Harbormaster Paul Blank aboard his prized Brian Thomson wooden sabot Joysailing photo |
By LEN BOSE
I met Harbormaster Paul Blank years ago at an intercollegiate sailing regatta where he was sailing for the University of Los Angeles. Blank was recognized as a worthy opponent that we must contend with if we wanted to move on to the Pacific Coast Championships. Later, we teamed up and sailed on an active one-design keelboat class for a couple of years. Time continued where Blank served on the City of Newport Harbor Commission for eight years. Because of our history, Blank has always been easy to approach as we both have a strong passion for our harbor.
Blank grew up in Costa Mesa, was introduced to the harbor by a friend, and joined the City of Newport Beach sailing classes offered at the OCC sailing base in the summer of 1975, at the age of 10.
“I enjoyed the water and the independence sailing offered, it just really stuck. My parents then purchased a beater sabot, and dragged me down to the 19th Street beach every weekend, then deciding it would be best to store the boat at a yacht club,” he said.
Blank first joined and sailed out of South Shore Yacht Club. His first coach was Mark Gaudio. “Mark really honed the skill of how to sail efficiently while introducing me to racing,” he recalled. Blank then explained how he became our Harbormaster. “Someone within the city came to me informing me that the job would become available soon, and thought that I would be a good fit for the job. My first thought was that’s crazy, why would you ever say that. I was advised to read the job description and then think about it. Which I did overnight, returning that person’s call the next day while thinking…wow, this is a pretty good fit. There are certain aspects of this job that very few people know about more than I do. Yes, I will have a learning curve on the other aspects, but overall it’s a pretty good mix. Ok, I will apply, what the heck. I completed the application, and from the several dozen applicants, I made it into the final six. My knowledge and passion for the harbor shined through, so the selection committee felt that they would give me a try,” Blank said.
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| Harbormaster Blank aboard "Nate" |
What will Blank focus on during his first 100 days at the job? He replied with a light laugh, “To put it accurately, I am a little unfocused. My list grows from moment to moment based on several hundred items received and considered. All comments or recommendations are considered. Our current focus is on bridge jumping. On June 5th we started citing and fining people jumping off our bridges into the harbor. We are deterring jumpers by our presence along with code informant officers who might be observing jumpers from a beach cruiser bicycle, wearing short pants, a T-shirt, and sandals. Then ticketing the jumpers on their way out of the water,” Blank said. “I am sure many of you remember the person jumping off the Lido Bridge into a Duffy a couple of years ago seriously injuring themselves and the people in the boat. In the first part of June, there were 11 citations written; the first fine is $100, the second, is $200; and the third is $500. So far, there have been no second citations given to the same person.”
His team is also concentrating on water safety. “Members of my department participated with the Costa Mesa Fire Department on water safety. The CMFD has a month-long water safety program and asked for support from my team. We then sent down two crew members on a patrol boat to review our harbor safety requirements. At this time, we are also supporting the harbor dredging. There is nothing more important to the health of our harbor than keeping it at the designed depth. We have been moving moorings and taking dignitaries out to observe the dredging,” Blank said.
How will serve as a harbor commissioner help Blank as harbormaster? “I have a good understanding of what goes on behind the scenes. I believe there was no better education in preparation for this job than sitting on a city commission. I’m very appreciative of how to get things done, as a harbor commissioner and now as harbormaster. I can be more effective in educating the commissioners and the public on how things work. I am also at liberty to get some things done because there is a fund or budget. For example, as a commissioner, there was an idea for some signs on the Lido Isle bridge directing paddleboarders to use the channels on the shallow side allowing for more room down the middle of the channel for powerboats. This idea never got done and now as a harbormaster, I was able to implement this idea,” Blank shared.
And his harbor mentors? “Doug West first comes to mind. He has become very significant. Even though he now lives on the East Coast, I talk to him regularly. He still has a strong interest in our harbor. Nancy Gardner has always been encouraging while giving me a firm hand with my exuberance along with guidance to complete projects subtly and consistently. I follow the mantra ‘that it is amazing what you can get accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit,’” Blank said.
For my last question, I asked Blank to describe his perfect day on the water. He responded with a great deal of laughter. “Len, I love this question – thank you. Here is my perfect day on the water, while I never have achieved it, I am pretty darn close. I would go paddleboarding on the harbor in the morning. I would go racing in the afternoon on a keelboat or small boat, then wind down the day with a really nice dinner aboard Promotion, my powerboat anchored somewhere in the harbor.”
Blank has been a good friend for many years, and I find it difficult to explain just how fortunate we are to have him as harbormaster at this time. The three main things I took away from this interview, and that I plan on keeping are: 1. We both learned how to sail off the 19th Street beach at the same time. 2. The mantra quoted from Harry Truman that “it is amazing what you can get accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit.” 3. When Blank said, “My mission here is to make Newport Harbor the cleanest, safest and the most well-enjoyed harbor on the planet.” To that, I say Amen, brother!
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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| Balboa Yacht Club Vice Commodore Paul Blank aboard his Herreshoff 12.5 "NATE" Note the BYC colors in the spinnaker "Well Done Paul!" |
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