On the Harbor: Counting down my favorite 10 stories of 2022

 

 By LEN BOSE

The months seem to fly by faster than a 100-foot racing sailboat; while looking back over the year I have forgotten more than I care to admit. Not a bad intro, right? The truth is this that this time of year I am fat, lazy and I really don’t want to work that hard. My mind is on one of my remote control boats that I plan on sailing as soon as I am done writing this. So, let’s count down my favorite 10 stories of 2022.

10. Now that I have hung up my sea boots, it’s all about remote control RC, sailboat racing. Mid-summer, I reviewed some of the long histories of RC racing in our harbor while describing my passion for my new hobby. My write-up on RC Sailboat Racing is found here.

9. I’m not done with racing my Harbor 20 with my favorite event of the summer being BCYC Taco Tuesdays. This year we reflected back on all the hard work Commodore Rhonda Tolar and her team puts into Taco Tuesdays at BCYC. To read about it, click here.

8. If you have a boat with Yamaha Outboards then you need to meet Nick Kelly. Over the last 10 years, it’s been no secret who the go-to person is around town to service your Yamaha outboards. That is Nick Kelly, the owner of West Coast Marine Service, located at 1555 Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa. To read about it, click here. 

7. Harbormaster Paul Blank. This story was an interesting review of the previous year that Harbormaster Paul Blank had. From oil spills and tsunami warnings to people trying to steal boats, read it here.

6. Keeping the Yachtsmen’s Luncheon an honored tradition. This event has taken place since they placed water in the harbor. At the beginning of the year, it was looking like the Yachtsmen’s could not find a host for their monthly meetings. I wrote about some of the history of the luncheon. The good news is that the custodians of the luncheon have worked hard and kept the event alive. If you have never attended, make sure you give it a try. Read about it here.

      5. Harbor Dredging and the Wedge. This was a review of the upcoming harbor dredging, along with how some of the sand from the harbor might help restore the sand at the wedge. Dredging is top shelf news in our harbor, as I am sure it will be in 2023. Read about it here.

4. Mooring rental rates were the topic of a Harbor Commission meeting. My gut tells me mooring rates and mooring permits will be the hot topic of 2023, too. Before I comment, I will need to spend more time with the Harbor Commissioners this coming year to obtain a full understanding of what is being placed on the table. This story was about the shore mooring fees and the first step by the Harbor Commission to come up with an updated value for the permits. Read it here.

3. While I am writing about moorings, dredging and now the CAD project, I kept thinking of the early Eddie Murphy delirious skit when his uncle Guss lights the BBQ fire – “Now that’s a Fire.” – because I get the feeling I am throwing gasoline on the fire when I bring up these topics. This story talks about the CAD system and the proposed new mooring fields. This is and was the hot topic on the harbor this year. Read about it here.

Phillip Ramser

2. We lost two very good souls this year – Ben Benjamin and Phillip Ramser – both of them good friends and never forgotten. You can find Ben’s tribute here.

Ben Benjamin

1. Something tells me you already know what this year’s top story was “Destruction derby to harbor aboard the stolen vessel.” The docks have all been finally repaired, yet who can forget Joel Praneet Siam’s “harbor cruise” earlier this year? What a crazy way to wrap up 2022. Read about it here.

That’s a wrap on 2022 time to go sailing!

Sea ya next year.

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

On the Harbor: holiday gift ideas for boaters

Kathy Hill, owner of Crews Quarters Newport

By LEN BOSE

With Christmas quickly approaching, you might be considering gift ideas for your crew or captain. If you are new to boating, the best gift you can receive is a slip in Newport Harbor, but we all understand that’s not going to happen very easily. For those of you fortunate enough to have a boat and even a slip in town, let’s talk about some Christmas gifts that are available in a short period of time.

For all of my Duffy boat owners, if you don’t already have Duffy Care, then this is the golden ticket of Duffy presents. Duffy Care is an annual maintenance service that has the Duffy crew come to your boat monthly to clean the boat – top to bottom – along with maintaining your batteries. And at the end of the year, they’ll haul the boat, apply bottom paint and detail it. This is a huge value. Other ideas are underwater lights or maybe new teak and holly matting for your cabin sole.

I stopped by Basin Marine (829 Harbor Island Drive #A, Newport Beach) this week and talked to owner, Derek New. New had many good ideas. One of my favorites was a mooring sand line hauler. This item makes it easy to pick up the sand lines by passing the sand line through a stainless-steel open loop which has a tether attached on the other end of the loop allowing you to easily bring the sand line from bow to stern. This is especially helpful if you have the type of boat that makes it difficult to walk down the side or if you just don’t want to get your hands murky.

Another great gift is the Cheater bar from Top Shelf Marine that allows you to free up those thru-hulls you need to add some leverage to. If you’re looking for something to really get the attention of other boaters in Catalina at 5 p.m., or on your Duffy, look up or ask New about Kahlenberg pleasure craft and yacht horns. If you want to blow the socks off someone, this is it.

Basin Marine has a large selection of underwater lights to consider that can be installed during your next haul out. Speaking of haul outs, they also offer gift certificates that would be deeply appreciated by your skippers. I’d recommend you schedule your spring haul out now, because the yard was jammed packet while I was there.

If you are considering a new sound system for your boat, I couldn’t be more pleased with the service from Hendersons Car Audio at 2137 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa. I have been sending customers to them for years and I always receive good reviews of their work.

By now you might be saying well that’s all well and good Len, but I don’t own a boat of my own nor do I have a slip. Well, if you are looking for a boat parade gift or yachting apparel, then you have to go by and visit Crews Quarters Newport, located at 333 E. 17th St., Ste. 4 in Costa Mesa. I stopped by and visited with owner Kathy Hill this week. The store is full of great ideas for the boat owner that has everything. Plates, cups, pillows, the ideas are endless…with all kinds of different personalized items. Hill mentioned that many of these have very quick turnaround times. There was yachting attire for kids, women and men that caught my attention. Hill also showed me items for the galley or heads with different towels and soaps along with many grab-and-go items, as well as personalized stationery. If you are not sure what your favorite crew or skipper might want, there are always gift certificates available. Crews Quarters Newport is a must-see for many of your holiday gifts, and the best part is that it’s easy to get in and out of the parking lot. Hill will take care of you with old-fashioned personalized customer service, which these days can be almost as difficult to find as a slip.

My last recommendation for personalized fender covers, hats, shirts, crew bags or a custom boat flag is to head to Sunset Printing and Graphics at 8580 Hamilton Ave. in Huntington Beach. Denise and Will Hawes have done a fantastic work for me over the years from personalizing boat names to embroidering, trophy ideas and banners. I give Denise an overview of what I am looking for and let her go from there. I have never been disappointed with their work.

I am reminding all of you, the Christmas Boat Parade runs December 14-18, so it is always a good idea to run the parade route during the day before the parade begins to look for any hazards.

Sea yak! 

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