On the Harbor: July 4th…it’s all about the flow

By LEN BOSE

I always start to feel summer starting to slip away with the passing of the summer solstice followed by the Ferris wheel being assembled in the Orange County Fairgrounds and next is the 4th of July. The only thing to do is to party like it’s 1999. Darn that’s already passed me by. How about “Suck um’ up, let it flow” – that is my plan for the 4th.

My wife Jennifer and I start our day at 9 a.m. by riding our holiday-decorated “pedal” bicycles up the beach trail to Beach Boulevard then down the middle of Pacific Coast Highway, which is closed to car traffic to Lake Street in Huntington Beach, where we post up next to the post office to watch the parade down Main Street. This is always fun for me because I break out my enlarged copy of my elementary school T-shirt the Eader Beavers – the school changed the mascot to the Eader Eagles years later. I’ve never understood why they did that. While on our ride and during the parade, locals call out to me, which makes the day that much more fun. I also have an extra interest in this year’s parade by arranging to place a Duffy Electric Boat in the parade with the City of Huntington Beach Harbor Commissioners aboard. I pictured this a couple of years back while attending the parade, and I am looking forward to seeing this come together. The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. 

Next, we pedal back home and have some brunch around the pool and change my T-shirt in for a 4th of July Reyn Spooner shirt before peddling down to Newport Beach, where we board our Harbor 20 to take part in our harbor’s Old Glory Boat Parade. The theme of the parade is “Founding Fathers” with the Grand Marshal Newport Beach Police Chief Joe Cartwright aboard the American Legion yacht Valor. The parade will begin at 1 p.m. off the east end of Lido Isle and follow a course throughout the harbor between the hours of 1-3:30 p.m. All yachtsmen are invited to decorate their yachts and boats and join in the parade. Sign-ups are free and available online through the American Legion Yacht Club website at https://alyc.com/event-5037350, where a chart of the parade route, timing and more information is also available.

Jennifer and I normally twist in and out of the parade while looking for other friends enjoying the day on the harbor. In the past, we sail over to the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a couple of colorful adult beverages and view the parade as it passes by the club. After the parade passes by, we will start our sail back to our slip in the five-point area of the harbor. This year, our plans are to join our friends on the back of their boat and let the remainder of the day’s sunlight flow by.

Sound relaxing? It becomes more about the allotment of adult beverages and sun, while not draining ourselves in an effort to enjoy the fireworks in the evening. If successful this year, our plan is to Duffy over to the east end of Lido and drop an anchor and watch the surrounding fireworks displays at the Dunes, Big Canyon, Laguna, and often there has been a display off the Balboa Peninsula, with the reflection off the water of the fireworks – always spectacular.

It’s a little too sporty for us to join the herd while stampeding in and out of the Upper Bay to watch the Dunes fireworks display. It’s fun, but it brings back the memories of the ‘80s at a punk rock party and jumping into the middle of the “mosh pit.” The good news for the crowd that wants to jump into the pit is that this year the tide is coming in through the remaining hours of the fireworks show. In years past, the tide was going out so it was not unusual to find boats aground the shallows of the upper harbor as the sun is rising on the morning of the 5th. Our pedal home to Huntington Beach has always been another funny story you will have to ask Jennifer about. Keep in mind this 4th…it’s all about the flow.

Sea ya.

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

On the Harbor: Transpac pre-race review

By LEN BOSE

I am getting a feeling similar to what a professional football player might feel after their retirement when going into Super Bowl week. Recalling Michael Strahan’s statement, “I miss the excitement and camaraderie of the game and my teammates. I don’t miss the effort or the pain.” Just one look at me and I have never appeared to resemble a professional football player or athlete. Although as we get closer to the starting gun for the 2023 Transpac sailboat race to Hawaii, I am missing the excitement and camaraderie of an 18-month commitment to this race. I know better than to come out of retirement, as I am not missing the effort or upcoming pain.

Let’s pretend I have made it to the pre-game show sitting in the color commentary chair…and we’ll go over the players. Let’s start with Division 7 sponsored by the Boatswains Locker division, which is your true Corinthian class. Most of these boats are production boats, with the owners and crews going for the challenge of sailing across the Pacific and checking off the box on their bucket list.

There are a couple of boats that jump out at me that might just turn out on the podium. Ed Sanford’s J -111 Creative is one of two entries in this division that can get on a plane. I know nothing about this team, but I just like the boat. Charles Devanneaux is the Beneteau dealer in Marina Del Rey, so this is not his first rodeo. I would be surprised if his team makes any basic mistakes, although naming your boat Lenny kind of rubs me. One thing is for sure, they will have the best wine selection on the course. The real sleeper in this division is Ian Edwards’ Dehler 46 Wings. This boat and team have traveled from Australia to be in this race. This is a very seasoned team with more than four years together participating in Australia’s most competitive offshore races. If it’s a windy race, this will be the team to beat.

 Division 8 is sponsored by the smithREgroup. This is a larger boat – Corinthian class. What I am referring to as Corinthian, is these teams have not hired the world’s sailing pros, and have somewhat of a smaller sail inventory than the full-out race boats. The crew is not eating freeze-dried food, and they’re not limited to two T-shirts and a pair of shorts in their sea bags. More importantly, they have a real head aboard, not just a bucket. In this division, a couple of boats are commanding to my attention. If the race has a consistent 15-knot breeze, we could see the Hylas 63 Malilia owned by Nick Green just lean over on her side and waterline the rest of the division to Hawaii. Next, I have to take notice of Green’s Express 37 Juno. This is a proven team with a couple of names on the crew list. In this division, it’s very easy to pick the winner and that’s Sweet Okole, as this team is proven, and with Cliff Stag aboard, there is no way this boat’s crew will not step onto the top of the podium. If the weather pattern works out in favor of the first starters, this boat can easily win the race overall.

Division 4 is sponsored by the Ocean Navigator. Now we are moving from Corinthian-style racing to the people that will do anything for the pickle dish. This division has four J-125s, a Rogers 46, and a KER 46. These are all types of proven planning offshore flat-out racing boats. I’ve raced against the KER 46 Denali3 owned by Bill McKinley before, and this team appears to be the favorite in my opinion, followed by the J-125 Arsenal from the Bay Area. This will be an interesting division to watch.

Division 5 is sponsored by the Cabrillo Boat Shop. This division is the closest to my heart because of the Santa Cruz 50 Horizon I raced on in the last four Transpacs. This division has been reshaped because three of the owners have refitted their boats and have turboed them out. The top three boats will be Steve Sellinger’s Santa Cruz 52 Triumph from the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Chris Messano’s/Bill Durant’s Santa Cruz 50 Deception, and Dave Moore’s Santa Cruz 52 Westerly. I am hoping that Sellinger’s Triumph is triumphant; his team is strong and experienced.

The problem is Messano’s/Durant’s Santa Cruz 50 Deception, which has gone through a major refit. It has a very strong crew, along with the best navigator on the course in Jeff “Elvis” Thrope. If that was not a large enough competitor to overcome there is Westerly the Santa Cruz 52 owned by Moore, again with a very strong crew and an outstanding navigator in Chris Busch. This boat has also gone through a major refit and has lined up against Triumph early this season, and showed superior boat speed. Looking over the crew list’s nine people – all have sailed on Horizon over the last nine years, so I have good friends on all three boats. By the seat of my pants and I truly hope I am wrong, it’s going to come down between Deception and Westerly with Westerly taking the checked flag while correcting out for the division win.

Division 6 is sponsored by Pasha. I found it fortunate this class was formed because these boats would not have been able to compete in any other division. I am hoping that Steve Ernest’s boat Aimant de Mille does well. Although it will not be easy for his team Ho’okolohe sailed by Cecil Rossi, who will not make any mistakes and is well prepared. The division favorite is Spin Doctor owned by Paul Farrell.

Division 1 is sponsored by Cal Maritime. With seven boats in this division, six boats are all stacked with the world’s best professional sailors. In this division, I would like to see Doug Baker’s boat Peligroso win the class. The heavy favorite to win this division and overall is Michael Firmin’s boat, Zeus. This boat’s salary cap would rival the Dallas Cowboys. It will be interesting to see if any of these boats can beat RIO100 for the first to finish.

Division 2 is sponsored by SD Boatworks. Four boats are in this division. I am going to be pulling for Balboa Yacht Club’s entry Fast Exit II, owned by John Raymount with Brad Wheeler as navigator. Wheeler is a good friend, so I would really like to see him do well.

Division 3 is sponsored by Whittier Trust. Ten boats are in this division with Roy Disney’s Pyewacket…yes, the magical cat with ears is the hands-down favorite in this division, of what we used to call 70 raters. I will be pulling for two of our hometown participants with Craig Reynold’s Bolt or David Clark’s Grand Illusion, both trying to make the magical cat with ears spit up a hairball.

The racing starts with Divisions 7 and 8 on June 27; Divisions 4, 5, and 6 on June 29, and Divisions 1, 2, 3, and 9 on July 1.

Follow the racing at https://yb.tl/transpac2019#. If I have guessed right, I will be sure to remind you.

Sea ya.

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

On the Harbor: Yacht club races kick off a strong summer season

By LEN BOSE

It feels like spring, yet the heat is on in the harbor – full of activity with summer twilights, youth sailing and club keelboat regattas, along with changes within the harbor.

Summer Twilights started in May with the American Legion Yacht Club sounding the first starting sequence. The event feels like a true sailing club’s event. The racing is relaxed, as much as racing can be, and one the best post-race gatherings of participants with well-portioned adult beverages and a self-serve BBQ surrounded by comforting people. Ten Harbor 20s have signed up, five J-22s and 17 PHRF boats.

BCYC Taco Tuesdays have been my favorite twilight evening for the last 16 years, all because of Commodore Rhonda Tolar’s team for post-race activities. The energy level always rings the bell with the camaraderie of the participants remaining the most important feature for our sport. With 15 boats entering in PHRF and 16 Harbor 20s entering the post-racing H20 table, it has remained full with more than 20 sailors enjoying each other’s company. Attendance within the PHRF fleet is strong, yet with Amante still waiting on a new mast being built, Tim Richley’s team is missed. Over the years, Amante crew members attending the extravaganza have always numbered more than 20. On the racecourse, Phil Thompson has dominated the H20 A fleet, winning six of the eight races sailed this summer. In the H20 B fleet, there has been a close battle between Ross Watanabe, Matt Hurlimann and Debra Haynes, each winning one of the three nights sailed. In the very well-attended H20 C fleet of 10 boats, Rusty Turner, Puzant Zorayan and Team Bretschger have all won a night. In PHRF A fleet, Jim Baily’s Destroyer is destroying the fleet, while in PHRF B fleet, Roger Gooding’s Rhythm is staying in tune and leading the series. PHRF C fleet is small yet mighty, having the most fun on the water than any of the other competitors. Rose Henigman’s Bella Rose, Bob Kafka’s Halcyon II and Jim O’Conner’s Celia are keeping it real.

Wednesday Nights belong to BYC with a strong turnout in the Laser and Adult Sabots fleets, while Lido 14, Thistleand H20s keep the east end of the harbor active. BYC also runs Thursday night Beer Cans with 14 boats entered. B fleet appears to be a close battle this summer between Matt Campbell’s J 120 Dani Girl, Janet Mostafa’s J 120 Barakaand Mark Glackin’s J 122 Spitfire.

Speaking of Thursday nights, this is when the gloves come off in the Harbor 20 A fleet with 15 boats entered with names like Raab, Campbell, Pickney, Buckingham, Thorne, Curtiss and Madigan joining in with eight other teams, making for some extraordinary sailing. It places a rather oversized smile on one’s face if you win a race. The month of May was won by team Madigan by staying in the top three in five out of eight races sailed last month.

You will start to notice all the Sabots appearing on the harbor starting June 19 and running through July 28. The yacht clubs’ junior programs summer camps are about to start. As a member of BCYC, I was extremely pleased to hear the club has made Carolyn Smith its Junior Sailing Director. I can think of no one better for the job; it goes without saying she is passionate about our sport while bubbling over with enthusiasm and is an extremely good sailor. I was told the BCYC junior program filled up within moments of registration opening this year. With Smith at the helm, I am confident that the demand to join this program will only increase. If you are one of the unlucky people who waited too long to sign up, I encourage you to drop by the club well before June 19 or well after July 29 to inquire about the different programs BCYC offers during the fall and winter. The bad news is that the H20 fleet will miss her big smile during the summer twilights.

I’ve talked about the remote control sailing I have so quickly become fond of, and should anyone want to come to join us, we are all willing to let you take the controls for a race or two at Mason Lake near the UCI campus. Wednesday nights between 5-7:30, we get in as many as 10 races each night and certainly get our steps in following our boats up and down the lake. We sail two types of boats rotating each week between the Volvo 70 and DF 95s. Hope to see you there!

• • •

On the harbor this month, the big news is that the trial run for the new mooring system has unanimously passed the City Council vote last week. Everyone is still waiting for the dredging equipment to show up and start the dredging process of the lower bay. I did not check in with anyone from the city before this writing, but I am hoping this project will be starting soon.

Sea ya.

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