On the Harbor: Keeping you up-to-date on races, upcoming events

(L-R) Len Bose and Gene Elliot winning last week’s WD Schock Memorial regatta Harbor 20 A Fleet

By LEN BOSE

It’s been “Blowing Dogs off Chains” this week and now the downpour has started, so I will need to pull this story out of my duffle bag which regrettably resembles a suitcase with a retracting handle and wheels now.

The 2023 Islands Race was canceled this year because of the weather forecast along with southerly winds reaching 40 knots gusts, sea state, along with rain and cold temperatures. The race was scheduled for today (Friday, Feb. 24). Because I have been there and done that on this race, I will be smirking while picturing myself at 20:00 tonight in my robe, slippers and a bourbon snow cone in hand, while viewing the race tracker thinking just how warm and lucky I am to miss this race. I have competed in this race before, when the sea state was huge and very cold with unfortunately a loss of life that year when a competitor lost their rudder and ended up on the beach on San Clemente Island. This year’s conditions would have made that past race look like a walk in the park. The organizing authority has made the right decision for you, your crew and your boat. “Real yachtsmen don’t sail upwind” anyway. 

Because the weather forecast for this Saturday has rain predicted, attendance for the Mid-Winters this Saturday and Sunday is very low in the Harbor 20 fleet and Senior Sabot’s events. Last weekend’s American Legion Yacht Club event was canceled because only two boats entered. This is very sad news for our sport, so a champion needs to arise from the sail bags and re-light the passion for our club racing in town. Huge topic for another time.

Yet not everything has a low attendance this year. The Cabo race, sponsored by the NHYC, is at 36 entries which has doubled from the last race; it’s scheduled to start March 18. Missing this one is going to hurt, as I love this race. NHYC is also running the Palmer Cup March 26-28 along with the Baldwin Cup March 30-April 1 – these events will get the heart started again.

I repeat myself every year at this time The Balboa Angling Club is the best deal in town and has never been more active. On the horizon, is the Lily Call Tournament on April 15 and 16 in the harbor with four-pound line for croaker, corbina, halibut and bass. Next, they have the Yellowtail Seminar and potluck on June 1. Mark your calendars for the Helen Smith Offshore Tournament on July 22 and 23. And if haven’t started looking for a junior program for your little angler this summer, the Balboa Angling Club is the place.

Speaking of Junior summer programs, the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club’s summer sailing program in my opinion is one of the best in the harbor, led by Aubrey Mayer. Mayer has raised the bar so high, that this program will be filled by mid-March. Registration is now open, but don’t put this off or you will miss out. Go here to sign up.

I took another cruise around the harbor this week to get a better understanding of our harbor’s boating market. I stopped to talk to Dereck and Dave New at Basin Shipyard, then to Craig Chamberlain at NOVMAR yacht insurance, walked most all the docks around the harbor and just hung up the phone with our harbor’s best marine surveyor – Bunker Hill. All of us are recognizing a change in the marketplace, and I plan on keeping my findings to myself at this time while coming up with a new marketing plan. This 34-year yacht broker was cut from the Denison Yachting Team this week, where I was unable to produce the sales needed to stay on the team. The interesting results from my cruise is the awaking of a new market and a new and better way to service my clients, which I will be working on for the next couple of weeks.

I will be keeping my name as Len Bose Yacht Sales, because my wife Jenifer told me changing the name to “Grumpy Old Yacht Broker” was not a good idea.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

On the Harbor: Taking stock of the boat business around town

Basin Shipyard

By LEN BOSE

It’s time to take a cruise around town and report back to you regarding the local marine industry. Quite often after hello, people will ask me how the boat business is going.

I start out by stating that as a salesman, the market is always active and booming. If you would allow me to review, this is how I believe the market will change this year, as I have discussed my options with marine surveyors, insurance brokers, lenders and shipyard managers.

We all have seen the COVID boat buyers enter the market over the last two years, which had increased demand on the brokerage market, especially with a supply chain affecting the new boat market while grinding production to a halt. During my cruise today, it is good to see the new boat dealers able to fill an inventory lot and slips. At the same time, the phone started ringing with boat owners asking to list their boats. This cycle has held true with most boat owners – keeping their boats for two years then quite often leaving boating because they have changed how they use their time or realized the high cost of slips and maintenance. In other words, they have stopped using their boats. We should have a good feel for what the boating market is doing at the Newport Beach In-Water Boat Show this April 27-29 at Lido Marina Village. Again, I have to paint everything rosy, so let’s hope we see plenty of new and brokerage boats attending. Denison Yachting will have a large display, so please stop by and ask my managers, “Where is Len Bose?”

Fast Exit II

The shipyards around town are busy as always. While walking through Newport Shipyard, I noticed two boats getting ready for the racing season. One of my favorite boats – the Far 57 Ho’okolohe owned by Alyson and Cecil Rossi – is in the paint tent and appears to be going through the whole boat. By now, John Raymont has to be the shipyard’s best friend. This Ker 51 Fast Exit has a new bow design and is one fast-looking machine. Fast Exit has one of my good friend’s Brad “Wheels” Wheeler signed on as navigator, so I will be pulling for Wheeler this season. Basin Shipyard is packed with boats, and if I was to guess, they are a couple of months out already. Don’t let that keep you from calling the owners Derek or Dave New. In fact, Dave referred me to Dave Estiri of Sea furniture (714.979.1454) who is helping me with a client’s exterior cockpit upholstery. To all my readers, Estiri is the man for any and all of your marine upholstery needs, so call Sea Furniture.

Continuing on my cruise, I noticed that the large charter boat fleet has been reduced to about a dozen boats, but that’s no real surprise. COVID had to have hit this industry the hardest. I also made a couple of calls around town with the word being that the lower bay dredging project will be going out to bid very soon, which keeps confidence high that the dredging will start within the next 90 days or sooner. Waterfront homeowners should mark their calendars soon to get in line to use the CAD to dispose of any unsuitable materials, should they be considering dredging their slips anytime soon. In roughly two years, the CAD will be available for one short period of time to dispose of these materials inexpensively. After that time, the CAD will be capped and not reopened.

On the sailing racing scene, we are sheeted in and maxing out with this Saturday’s RC Volvo 70 Mid-Winter, being sailed at Mason Lake in Irvine. This Sunday, the NHYC will be wrapping up its winter series, followed by next weekend’s NHYC Corkett Harbor 20 two-day regatta. That leads into our harbor’s Mid-Winters on February 25 and 26. Hold on, it looks like things are shaping up for another great season.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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