By LEN BOSE
The harbor is opening up like a spring flower this month with yacht clubs’ opening days, twilight sailing, Balboa Angling Club’s Lily Call fishing tournament, a Harbor Summer Summit, and me taking part in the “Poorman’s Morning Rush” radio show, May 12, on KOCI 101.5.
Like always, I have the cart three lengths in front of the horse when telling you this. I have been invited to do a 10-minute harbor report on “Poorman’s Morning Rush” radio show. The spot should run sometime between 8:10-8:30 a.m., and, of course, I will be talking about the harbor and doing my best to stay on the rum line. The easiest way to listen to the show is to stream it with the information all on the KOCI web page at www.koci.com. If all goes well, I will be fishing for a weekly spot on the show.
Speaking of fishing, this last weekend was the Balboa Angling Club’s 59th Annual Lily Call Tournament. I reached out to join top local fisherman Jimmy Decker. We fished Saturday from 9 a.m.to 4:30 p.m., which is a long day for me in the harbor. I was running the boat and Tracy, Decker’s wife, was doing most of the fishing.
“We fished for bass between the Coast Guard Station and the harbor entrance,” said Decker. “It was pretty good for us at the harbor mouth trolling deep water crankbaits.” Saturday fishing was good with plenty of sun, along with a good swing of the tides, while Sunday was a little cooler with a little breeze going across the harbor.
I tell you this every year, the Balboa Angling Club is the best value in town. For more information, go to their website at https://balboaanglingclub.org. And, should you have kids that have a passion for fishing, make sure you sign up for the junior summer program.
Summer Twilights have started. For you old folks, do you remember the Peanuts character Snoopy doing his happy dance? Well, that’s me this time of year.
Jennifer, my wife, just rolls her eyes and tells me “You’re so weird!”
But, that’s how I feel this time of year with the American Legion first across the starting line last Monday night beginning their Sundowners Race Series that goes from May 2-August 29. This event is perfect for club PHRF racers looking to mix it up a little with a relaxed atmosphere along with one of our harbor’s best after race gatherings and awards.
Newport Harbor Yacht Club is next across the starting line with their Twilights Summer Series which began on May 5 and runs into the end of September. This event attracts most of our harbor’s best one-design sailors in Lehman 12s, Finns, and Harbor 20s.
Next up is BCYC Taco Tuesdays from May 10-August 23 which brings in a large PHRF and Harbor 20 fleets. This is my favorite night of the summer that features the best after racing party in our harbor. For more than a decade Ronda Tolar and her team go to great lengths to keep sailing fun with a weekly raffle, awards, and, of course, good times.
Next to start is BYC with Wednesday night Twilights which run May 11-August 31 and features a large adult Sabot fleet and very competitive Laser and Harbor 20 fleets.
The mother of all summer series is “The Beercans” which runs on Thursday night from May 12-September 8 for PHRF boats.
Summer sailing has always been a big part of my life, one can sail every night of the week with the Lido Isle Yacht Club’s Friday night series.
Last Sunday was the Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s Opening Day ceremonies which were preceded by Saturday’s Opening Day Race.
The race starts up in Long Beach, out the Long Beach Gate, then down to the Newport Pier. The racers were greeted to a thin cloud cover which provided a solid 10-knot breeze. The smaller or slower boats of the 32-boat fleet start first, which are then pursued by the faster boats. Your finish is scored by the number you finished in.
Looking through www.joysailing.com photos, this is more of a sail than a race. I know as soon as that starting horn sounds that most of the sailors ask for someone to hold their beer.
On Sunday Opening Day ceremonies, most if not all of the club’s members felt the importance of everyone getting back on the water, and Opening Day returns to normalcy.
This weekend is the BCYC and BYC opening days, which are always events to look forward to.
I am now headed to a re-start of the Harbor Summer Summit. This will be an hours-long meeting to review how each harbor steward can contribute ideas on how to keep our harbor clean, safe, and well-enjoyed. Which is a kind way of saying, let’s open a line of communication so that we all can continue to get along. I’ll be sure to report on who attended and more importantly on who did not?
Hope to sea ya on the airwaves!
~~~~~~~~
Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport
No comments:
Post a Comment