On the Harbor: Catching up with David Beek

By LEN BOSE

Sailing down the harbor the other day, I looked over to the Island Marine Fuel dock on Balboa Island and noticed my good friend David Beek hard at work on a rather hot summer day. The dock was too busy to sail by to say hello, so I picked up the phone the other day to ask for an interview. Before I called Beck, I noticed it had been 14 years since our last interview. Beek agreed to the interview and said he was up every morning at 3:30 a.m., so give him a call. Early for me is 7:30 a.m., so my first question was what are you doing at 3:30 in the morning? “I have a cup of coffee and take a five- to seven-mile walk, three days a week. I work out, then arrive back home around 6:30 a.m. and start my day,” he said.

Beek grew up in Newport Beach, and the fuel dock and ferry were always there as part of the family business. He spent time working on the ferry and helping his dad Seymour Beek on their yacht Vamos over the years. In 1999, he was helping his dad with the start of the Ensenada Race aboard Vamos, when Seymour asked him to start running the fuel dock.

Beek had been working in retail and jumped at the opportunity to bring his full-service ideas down onto the dock. “We want you to leave thinking there is no other choice for fuel in town,” Beek said. “There is no need for you to worry about your dock lines or fenders. We are here to help you in any way we can.” 

What I really wanted to talk about is what you might not know or what you have forgotten. I asked Beek what was the best way to approach the fuel dock, and his answer was simple: “Take your time, take a look at who is in line, and how the strength of the current and wind are going to affect your vessel. Just take your time on your approach.” He was also quick to remind everyone not to let anyone use their legs or hands as fenders. “You won’t believe how many times we see people hang their legs off the side of the boat to try to stop the boat from hitting the dock and end their weekend because of an injury,” Beek shared. Another popular mistake is to come in too fast and have someone jump from the boat, barefoot and land on a cleat. Guess what? The cleat wins!

People should also remember not to smoke on the fuel dock and it’s best to turn your electronics off before you approach the dock. You should remember to have your blower on in your engine room, or have the engine room hatch open, and also inspect your engine room before you leave the dock. People just want exceptional service, good prices, well-merchandised store and the rest takes care of itself. “We are selling basic marine supplies, life jackets, running lights, dock lines, fire extinguishers, boning, the top ten skews,” Beek said.

I asked what type of hazardous materials he can dispose of for the public. Island Marine Fuel is a certified used oil collection center, so, “we can take recreational boaters’ used oil up to a gallon and note you will not get to keep your container,” Beek said.

Next, I asked about sea level rise. “We have not noticed the sea level rise in the harbor since our last talk 14 years ago,” Beek shared. “We had the perfect storm in the early 2000s when a huge storm coming in from the south with 40-50-mile-an-hour winds arrived at the same time as a king tide. That’s the only time I have seen waves coming over the sea wall on the Island; if it was not for the storm that would not have been a problem,” he said.

We talked about harbor traffic. Fourteen years ago, Beek mentioned that there had been an increase in boating traffic. This time his answer was different. “There has been a significant decrease in the last three and a half years because of the rise in fuel costs. People are coming in and putting in 100 gallons; gone are the times when people would say “fill it up.” Now add on the cost to store your boat, insurance and financing…for the most part we have seen a huge decrease in middle-class boating in our harbor,” Beck said.

Then we discussed what he has observed in terms of boating practices. “We don’t see as many perilous boaters as we once have, and this might be because of the boater’s card,” he said. “Boaters are becoming much more aware of driving under the influence. We used to see quite a bit more of them about five or six years back, but you don’t see them anymore. People are just being more aware and safer on the water,” he shared.

To change it up a bit – the Christmas Boat Parade is Beek’s baby, so I asked what was on tap.

“The 118th Christmas Boat Parade is December 18-22, and with Christmas just three days later it normally increases participation because everyone is in town for Christmas and has shifted into the Christmas spirit. We are still working on the parade theme and Grand Marshal with everything shaping up to be a memorable holiday. We just keep our fingers crossed for good weather. God seems to like the Christmas Boat Parade,” Beek said.

Beek and I plan to have lunch together at Arc Butcher & Baker on Tuesday, Aug. 27, then walk down to the 29th Street Public Pier ribbon cutting and the Harbor Department vessel christening at 2 p.m.

I will also be speaking at the Yachtsman Luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club with a review of the Newport Harbor Sailing Hall of Fame. Please stop by and say hello!

Sea ya.

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

On the Harbor: Welcome the Clean Earth Rover

By LEN BOSE

I can’t tell you how often someone will say, “I’m not going to swim in the harbor; that water is disgusting.” My response is “Oh No, No – the water has never been cleaner in my lifetime.” This leads to a long explanation of my observations and opinion of the water quality of the harbor. While on this topic, the city’s Harbor Department has some new equipment arriving to support my observations.

Keep in mind – I am a seat-of-the-pants sailor. When the smart people start talking about water quality and parts per million, my mind goes to the second race of last Thursday night’s race and how I gave up the lead on the second weather beat by not staying between the weather mark and my competition. What I do notice is that when I look down into the water I can see the bottom more often than in the past. When I push off from my slip, I notice much more eelgrass than I ever have.

 Now for all the people like me who like to keep it simple and understand who the smart people are in town who know how to interpret the information, and make quick decisions on how to solve unforeseen problems. My smart person is our Harbormaster Paul Blank, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn during a Yachtsman Luncheon that Blank had taken classes in college on water quality and has a strong understanding of the lingo. Blank also has some new tools to help him monitor our harbor’s water quality. There are two Data Pods that have been placed in the harbor – one in Marina Park and the other in the anchorage off the end of Lido Isle. Note that this pod is stationed right where the proposed CAD collection area will be. The builder of these pods is Clean Earth Rovers; you can look them up for more information. These pods provide real-time diagnostic data to Blank every 15 minutes, so when pollution is detected action can be taken quickly. There is an artificial intelligence program named Gillian that helps Blank analyze raw data when there is a spill and how to manage it. This is some really cool stuff!

Next, you will notice two new “Roombas for the Harbor” officially called Rovers. These Rovers can get into the difficult areas of the harbor that can’t be reached by people with pool nets. These Rovers can travel 5 miles an hour, have 20 hours of battery life at cruising speed, and collect 100 gallons of debris including physical and chemical contaminants, oil, trash, algae, and more. There are many areas of the harbor with stagnant water flow that these tools are designed for.

Our harbor will soon be christening two new VITA Seal patrol boats; they’re not just for chasing seals off boats and docks. Seal patrol boats are a model name for VITA electric boats.

“We will be the first public agency in the U.S. to have an all-electric workboat. It seems fitting that we should be the first given the heritage and history of electric boats here in Newport Harbor, said Blank. “Through a voucher grant, the California Air Resources Board is paying for about half of it. We expect there to be environmental benefits associated with the use of the vessel including zero emissions and reduced hazards associated with refueling.”

Along with the new patrol boats, there will be a new charging station at Marina Park. “While it would be ideal if the charging station were in place before the vessel gets here, we’ll still be okay if it doesn’t,” said Blank. “There is a power pedestal already on the dock where the boat will berth and we can use it to charge overnight. On standard 50A electrical service, the charge time is expected to be six hours for the 126 kWh batteries. With the AQUA Superpower charger, that should be reduced to 56 minutes,” he said.

At this time, the christening of the new patrol boats is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 2 p.m. in conjunction with the ribbon cutting for the new public dock at 29th Street.

Sea ya.

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