The Harbor Report: Meanwhile, doings beyond America's Cup

West Marine's flagship Orange County store in Newport Beach. (Len Bose / February 14, 2001)

By Len Bose

September 20, 2013 | 2:13 p.m.

I have to think that those of you who care about America's Cup have been sitting on the edge of your seats most of this week, and for those of you who don't give a sheet — that's the line that controls the sail — are you wondering what else might be going on around the harbor?

Starting at the Balboa Angling Club, my good friend, secretary Amy Elliott, said the club hosted the 32nd Annual Master Angler Billfish Tournament in the waters within 90 miles of Newport Beach on Sept. 13 and 14.

She said, "A total of 17 marlin were caught and released by the anglers, who had 49 strikes with 31 hook-ups. The water conditions this year have been favorable, as for months large amounts of bait fish have been reported off the Southern California high spots, canyons and current breaks. Water temperatures have remained relatively warm, staying near the 70-degree mark. The table was set and the big game anglers were ready.

"The action started early on the morning of Friday the 13th, but the anglers had good luck despite the myth of it being an unlucky day. First-day totals were 10 hookups with six marlin caught and released. Day two was even better, with 21 hookups and 11 caught and released. Marlin weren't the only fish biting; dorado and yellowtail were caught as well. Even a few broadbill swordfish were tempted with bait."

For a full report on the event, go to http://www.balboaanglingclub.org.

Next stop was the Lido Village Shopping Center and the new West Marine flagship store opening up this Oct. 3. I contacted Laurie Fried from West Marine's public relations office and learned this will be the company's second-largest store. The company's largest store is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Laurie went on to explain that this store will have a huge selection of marine electronics and a spectacular fishing department. There will be a large sailboat hardware selection, with an on-site rigging shop and a fantastic selection of casual and technical apparel.

After talking to Laurie and reading through the store announcement, I leaned against the store wall and wondered if this is what a small town feels like when a Walmart moves in. As a taste, on Oct. 3, West Marine is promoting "Cruising for a Cause" to raise money for several local marine-based charities.

Contact the Orange Coast College Professional Mariner Program or UC Irvine Sailing Assn. for tickets. Attendees will enjoy food, drinks and live entertainment.

Continuing my cruise, I pulled into Newport Harbor Shipyard and checked in with a longtime friend to get a better feel of what's going on. "The boat show, West Marine, Newport marina project across from the shipyard, Marina Park starting soon — there is a lot going on, Len," he said.

What?

While working my way to the other side of the harbor, I noticed the mooring fields looked better than usual, with few code violations. One boat was sticking out quite a ways from its slip on the peninsula side, but other than that, the harbor seemed abnormally quiet for this time of year.

Over at Basin Marine Shipyard, I stopped by to check in with Dave and Derek New. They had a couple of new boats being commissioned for the upcoming boat show.

One of my favorites, "Good News," was getting ready for the Baja Ha-Ha, which will be starting Oct. 28 out of San Diego. I also noticed for the first time a very elegant day sailor by the name of "Relentless," which had the lines of a meter boat, tied up to the dock.

Nice Boat

During my harbor cruise, something was brought to my attention. How can the city make Marina Park pay for itself by adding things that bring in revenue? I had to put my phone down on this one because I almost ran over a mooring line while trying to grasp that concept. More to come on this topic.

I wrapped my harbor cruise up by attending this quarter's Tidelands Management Committee meeting. The big question on the table was how the city is ever going to pay for the Balboa Island seawall. It appears the city can go to school and watch how Alamitos Bay is dealing with it in the Naples area. It's not just about money but also how to deal with the different government agencies.

Next Wednesday, Sept. 25, please come visit me at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club's Yachtsmen's Luncheon. I have been asked to bring in my listing on Zapata II, a 1964 Calkins 50, to the main dock for a classic yacht discussion and presentation on "Classic Boats of the Northwest." A number of classic boat specialists will be on deck marking the presentation.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.

The Harbor Report: A cub reporter at America's Cup

By Len Bose

September 12, 2013 | 7:18 p.m.

Years ago, I was a bartender, and on Monday nights, a fat lady would come in and sing "Ebb Tide" to close the night's karaoke and the bar.

After watching the Kiwis dominate Oracle Team USA in three of four races last Saturday and Sunday at the America's Cup, I flashed back to those painful moments at the bar and to Monday Night Football when Don Meredith would sing, "Turn out the lights, the party is over."

Let's just hope that Team USA can win one more race so we don't go down in history losing the Cup with a negative number. I am assuming you knew that Team USA was accessed a penalty, negative two points, for a rules infraction before the event even started.

Team USA only win

OK, so that's the bad news. Let's talk about the good news. The streets of San Francisco were full of people wearing America's Cup shirts and hats. It started to feel as though there were Kiwi supporters on every corner.

One New Zealand couple walked up to us with a bunch of bananas, and I had to ask him if they were for good luck. He said, "I am handing them out to the Americans. Would you like one?" Bananas have a long tradition of bringing bad luck to sailors and fishermen.

Later that night, I ran into a couple of friends who brought up the fact that this could be the last opportunity to watch the Cup in California for quite some time. That's when it really hit me how lucky I am to have been able to attend this event.

The San Francisco Bay and the race organizers delivered on a promise that the bay would provide the best accessibility to view the racing in AC history. On the first day of racing, I was on a mark-set boat between Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. We had front-row seats for the starting line and the top end of the race course.

"Oh yeah baby, this is what it's all about,"

On Saturday, races one and two, the wind had picked up well above the forecast, and when the Kiwis first lit the boat up and started hydrofoiling, only about 50 yards away from the boat I was on, the words, "Oh yeah baby, this is what it's all about," came out of my mouth. In my mind, this was heaven's gate for sailboat racing.

I wanted to get a fresher perspective, and I started looking around the boat for the kid who looked like a sailing enthusiast. This is when I met 12-year-old Oscar Moeller from Germany. When I asked Oscar what had brought him to the AC, he replied, "I like catamarans. My father and I sail on an Eagle 16 on the lakes at home."

He went on to tell me that he also participates in the junior program at his yacht club and sails Optis. His parents had lived in New Zealand for a couple of years, and he was pulling for the Kiwis to win. After the races, I walked back up to him to see if he liked the racing and he replied, "Yes, because we won." I then inquired why the Kiwis won, and he said, "Because we are better."

   

Oscar Moeller

I asked again about the boats. "The boats are best for me."

The passion for the sport of sailing was just pouring out of Oscar. That made me feel better even if we were down by four points with only two races sailed.

On Sunday, I watched the races from America's Cup Park at Club 72, which is in front of the finish line, and spent most of the time observing the races on the monitor. This time, I walked through the crowd looking for youth sailors from America.

This took some time, and it appeared I would only be able to find a sailor from New Zealand. Finally, I spotted 15-year-old Alex Kost from Redwood, who had an American flag draped over his back.

Alex Kost

Alex is a rower at heart but sails with his dad on Merit 25s. He has only been sailing for the last three years and was enthusiastic about the catamarans. When I asked him if he was an Oracle fan, he replied, "Oh yeah, big Oracle fan!" I then asked who his favorite sailer was, and he said, "I am a Jimmy Spithill fan; he is a good skipper."

Next, I asked if he liked the catamarans. "Definitely," he said. "Different than normal AC sailing. It gets a lot more people to come out here to San Francisco Bay and watch it. There is a lot more action. So I think it's good. I like it."

Alex felt that the downwind legs, when the boats are reaching 40-plus knots, was the most thrilling part of the race. He plans on racing the Merit 25 with his dad and will spend most of his time rowing on the water over the next few years.

For me, the racing was fantastic. Were there opportunities for the trailing boat to pass? Yes, although these opportunities occurred more because of boat handling than missing a wind shift.

Another new opportunity came my way, and that was being able to attend and observe the press conferences. Early on, I missed opportunities to talk with sailing legends such as Brad Butterworth by reacting too slow and feeling too intimidated to ask questions.

By the end of the weekend, I had shaken most of this fear and talked with AC historian and journalist Bob Fisher. At the morning press conference, as soon as I raised my hand, the mic was given to me. I started to get a lot more comfortable at this reporting thing.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.

Need to give a BIG Shout Out to my editor
Michael Miller  for taking the extra time
and correcting all my mistakes on this one.

The Harbor Report: Catching up with some past cup racers

By Len Bose

September 5, 2013 | 1:57 p.m.

During the next two weeks all eyes will be focused on the San Francisco Bay Area and the Americas Cup. I was fortunate to receive a press pass and plan on attending races Sept. 7 and 8.

I decided to research and contact a number of Newport Beach residents who have competed in the Americas Cup. We have a large number of people who have competed in the trails but only six who have raced in the cup.

Most all of you have heard the name Bill Ficker, the skipper of Intrepid during the 1970s defense of the cup against Gretel II. Ficker is a long time Newport Beach resident and a long time member of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club and still might have a lapel button with " Ficker is Quicker" on it. Another crew member aboard Intrepid, also a Newport Beach resident and Harbor 20 sailor, is George Twist.

I asked Twist how he liked the new format of the 72-foot catamarans in the Americas Cup this year.

"I am positive about what they are doing this year, this is new stuff and its pretty exciting," he said with enthusiasm in his voice. "There is nothing like these AC 72s but I do hope that they change the boats for the next event. The boats are fast but they are not much for tactics or strategy."

When I asked Twist about the good times he had back in the summer of 1970 he was quick to say, "The competition was only on the water. In town we were all good friends and we had fun with our opponents."

He went on to tell me about the favorite meeting places in Newport, R.I. The Candy Store and the Black Pearl were two places that most of the crew would show up at after racing each day, he said.

It was "just a lot of fun doing this," Twist told me.

Twist plans on attending the Intrepid reunion during the cup and thought it best to watch the races on television.

My next call was to Dennis Durgan, who is now one of our area's prominent residential real estate agents. In 1980 Durgan was invited to join the Freedom campaign as Dennis Conners' tactician. They raced Australia, known for her flexible mast, and beat the competition 4-1 in the best-of-seven series.

When I asked Durgan about the new format he said, "I am keeping an open mind. I am not sure if taking these boats to the limits stays with the tradition of the cup and match racing."

Durgan is an easy person to talk to and we could have spent a couple of hours talking about sailing. When I asked him about some of the good times during that summer in 1980, he recalled being at a formal dinner in a tuxedo with the Australia crew members. Once the Aussies heard it was his 21st birthday they made sure he made it to the Candy Store where they had 21 shots lined up on the bar for him.

"During this time it was all about the camaraderie, no one was a professional. We got a Rolex if we qualified for the cup. We had 11 American citizens on the boat and the pressure felt bigger than competing in the Super Bowl," he said with pride in his voice.

Durgan said he was headed up to the Bay Area to watch the races this weekend.

I then gave Andy Rose a call. He also sailed on Australia, as tactician, in the 1977 Americas Cup and challenged Ted Tunner aboard Courageous.

When I asked Rose about the new format he replied, "I am a tactician and the shorten races are a very limited place for this type of sailing."

When I inquired about some of the good times he referenced the fact about camaraderie and how the teams used to stay at the large mansions in Newport, R.I. He told me a story about complaints coming from town that the crew was getting a little out of hand.

When Australia syndicate owner Alan Bond was told about this he gathered the crew and told them not to wear team shirts when they went into town at night. Andy is taking most of his crew from his boat, It's OK, to watch the races this week.

"God bless America"

The two other people from Newport Beach who raced in the cup are Jim Titus, who crewed aboard Intrepid, and L.J. Edgecomb, who sailed on Courageous. It's interesting to me that out of the six people from Newport Beach we had one helmsman and three tacticians.

This past week we also had two skippers in the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup. Michael Menninger and Charlie Buckingham sailed in AC 45s and both were racing for the USA on two different teams.

It makes me smile to look back at our past and dream about the future on what our harbor has done and what it can do.

Sea ya!

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist 

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The Harbor Report: The race through paradise

The crew of Linstar at this year's Long Point Race Week. (Joysailing / August 26, 2013

By Len Bose

August 26, 2013 | 3:30 p.m.

As summer comes to a close each year, one event on the calendar stands out: Long Point Race Week.

Thirty eight boats signed up for this race to Long Point, Catalina, this year and were greeted with perfect weather, good friends and breathtaking scenery.

Friday night's party was at Newport Harbor Yacht Club's way station at Moonstone Cove. While sitting in one of the lounge chairs, near the entrance pathway into the station, I was enjoying the sunset and explaining my poor performance as tactician — the person who decided what course to take to the island — to the owner of the boat I sail on.

I could not help but overhear the comments of the crew members of different boats as they walked down the pathway. I heard "Oh wow" the most from people as they scanned the cove. My favorite conversation of the night went like this: "Honey, how come you have never taken me to this tropical paradise before?" with the reply, "Because you told me you would not spend the night on the boat with eight drunken sailors."

This event attracts most of the high-performance racing sailboats from Santa Barbara to San Diego. The fastest boat was Tom Holthus' 65 foot Reichel Pugh "Bad Pac" and the smallest Mark Wyland's J/105 "Lucky Star."

Seymour Beek was sailing with the Madigan family aboard the Schock 35 "Berserk." The Richley family was sailing well, as usual, aboard "Amante." This year's top overall local boats were "It's OK," finishing third overall and third in class, followed by "Katana," which finished fifth overall and fifth in class.

Where is that Lady?

Saturday's sail is without a doubt my favorite of the year. It typically starts from Long Point around Ship Rock, at the Isthmus, and ends up back at Ship Rock. Sailing up to Ship Rock always has its challenges, although the real fun does not start until we have rounded the rock and all the colorful spinnakers start to pop open like a late summer flower bloom.

Photo courtesy of sailsmile.com

The backdrop of the island and all the colorful spinnakers remind me of a quote, "Life is not measured by the moments of breath you take but by the breathtaking moments."

Saturday's fun party was kicked up a notch with live music and photos of the previous day's racing. Bronny Daniels, http://www.joysailing.com, has been shooting this event for a number of years, and this year she hit it out of the park. Her photos where projected onto a large screen, strategically placed right next to the bar.

Dude, I cannot get up!

Once the photos started, it was like feeding seagulls. The flock of sailors did not leave the screen until every photo was viewed at least three times and they were out of drink tickets. I had some great laughs with a lot of old friends before turning my attention back to the band and the dance floor.

What?

The feeling of being overserved was quickly approaching, and I still had not improved my performance on the race course, so I shifted to drinking water and walking down to the beach for another look at Whites Cove. I took in all the different boat lights, the stars and the music. My favorite part was hearing all the laughter across the water, which brings me back to my happy place each year.

It is always entertaining at Sunday's breakfast to see how many sailors can walk a straight line and engage in conversation. Fortunately, we had a good breeze for our return trip home and finished third in our class and ninth overall. Not our best Long Point Race Week results, but we still came home with sun burns and big smiles.

One of many vintage wines 

                                                                                                                          

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist

The Harbor Report: Harbor 20 championships still growing strong

Peter Haynes Chalk Talk at End of Summer Party

By Len Bose

August 22, 2013 | 9:34 a.m.

As the summer comes to its unwelcome end, the water temperature begins to rise as it always seems to this time of year.

This occurs not because of the sun, but rather the approach of the Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Championships on Sept. 28 and 29 in Newport Harbor. For me to obtain a better reading on this phenomena, I pulled aside class president Peter Haynes for a quick interview during Sunday's Caribbean Beach Party at the Lido Isle Yacht Club.

This is an end-of-summer party for Fleet 1, which is completing its 15th year of existence. Standing at the club, looking down onto the marina and seeing the 36 boats in attendance, one is amazed how this fleet continues to grow.

This is where Peter and his wife Debra Haynes enter the picture to the great fortune of the fleet back in June of 2006. Debra and Peter were considering the purchase of a sailboat and had gone out to view the boat on its mooring. At that same time, a number of Harbor 20s started to appear for an afternoon race.

Peter looked at Debra and said, "That's what we should be doing." One month later, they purchased Spirit, boat number 201. The following year, Peter was asked to join Fleet 1's board of directors for which he subsequently became fleet captain and is now the class president.

In the early years of the fleet, people were into enjoying the boats and weren't paying close attention to the sailing rules. As the fleet grew, it became obvious to Peter that playing "bumper boats," when boats run into each other, was not that much fun and it was expensive to repair the boats.

Peter then came up with an idea to improve the behavior and the skills of the fleet by holding the following seminars: "Understanding the racing rules of sailing," "boat handling and sail trim," and "racing tactics."

"Over the last five years, we have completed 23 seminars with 540 people attending," he said.

At this point, there are 140 Harbor 20s in Newport Harbor with about 45 active racing members. I asked Peter how the fleet has continued to grow.

"The fleet has started C-class for beginning sailors to compete and learn how to race. We have a time-consuming points system, monitored by our web editor Nik Froehlich, that allows members to qualify to race in A fleet."

To stay in A fleet, members must win a trophy in one of the high point series within a year. In my opinion the well-attended B fleet is one of the biggest factors in keeping the class strong. Peter explained the other contributing factors.

"The quality of racing has improved, many A sailors will mentor and ride along with beginning sailors, the continued close attention to the class rules so that boat owners can't outspend each other on improvements to their boats, and that it has become the only one-design class in town that is still racing over 100 races a year."

I then asked Peter what has been his biggest achievement during his tenure as fleet captain and class president. This was not an easy question for him to answer, because he is not the type to pat himself on the back.

"My biggest sense of accomplishment is getting the sense of orderliness on the race course," he said.

I have cornered Peter in the bar after racing at least three times this year for rule definition and interpretation. This has improved my sailing skills and fun factor tremendously this season, even when he has informed me that my interpretation of the rules was incorrect.

Special thanks must always be given to the fleet's founding fathers for coming up with the concept of the perfect boat to race in our harbor. This is a story that I will need to write about in the near future.

I would also like to give a shout out to John Whitney for all the hard work he has done for the fleet over the past few years. Its always refreshing to work and participate with a group of people whose main goal is to improve our sport of sailing.

To join the fleet go to harbor20.org and click on the "join" link. There are a number of different ways to charter a boat, or just start asking people if you can crew for them. I have seen many people get picked up for crew during the day of an event. Another way to meet many of our fleet members is to attend the "Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing" seminar this Sept. 8 at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.

Flashback from 2011/ Bringing sailing to the forefront

I was granted an interview this week with Craig Thompson, chief executive of the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA), which is overseeing the 34th America's Cup, to be sailed in San Francisco Bay in August 2013.

Thompson, a Newport Beach resident, was born in Pasadena in 1949. He has worked his way up the sports marketing ladder. He was director of volleyball for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and launched the first World Beach Volleyball championships in Rio de Janeiro in 1986.

He has also worked in Switzerland for the International Equestrian Federation, and then spent four years with the track and field division of the International Assn. of Athletics Federations, where he contributed to the marketing strategy, TV and sponsorship sales, as well as management of all major IAAF events worldwide. Thompson is best known for his marketing campaigns for the UEFA Champions League.

ACEA's chief executive is responsible for branding, venues, facilities, sponsorships and commercial partners, and the television programming.

Here's my interview with Thompson:

Question: Welcome to town. I noticed you moved in a little more than a year ago. How did you come about selecting Newport Beach as your primary residence?

Answer: I grew up in Santa Ana and then moved to Newport Beach after I graduated [from] UCLA, so I already had the pleasure of living in the area. Then after 25 years living and working in Europe, my wife and I decided to move back to Newport Beach, where our extended families now live.

Q: Do you have time to use our harbor?

A: I have a great love and respect for the water, so one of my focuses for the 34th America's Cup has been the creation of a comprehensive sustainability program that can benefit all of the world's oceans, not just bodies of water near our host cities. I'm excited to engage people around the world in ocean conservation and share how we can all make a positive impact so our oceans and marine life flourish once again.

Q: I understand [billionaire Larry] Ellison has set a mandate to bring younger people to the sport of sailing. Will we see members of the America's Cup Teams visit our junior programs or possibly receive local media attention? For example, the NFL reporting on junior football programs from around the country?

A: Youth are the future of our sport, so you will see a number of different ways we'll be interacting with children. For example, we plan to introduce a Youth America's Cup to create a clear career pathway to sailing in the America's Cup. We are working on finalizing the details now for a 2012 introduction, but the concept is to utilize the AC45 boats working with countries around the globe.

Q: How do you plan to obtain the attention of the non-sailor during the next few years?

A: Great question. One of main goals is broadening our audience. There are a number of things that we're changing to make the America's Cup and sailing itself more accessible. We'll have new boats, new courses, new rules, new formats that can be more readily packaged for TV, plus more racing through our America's Cup World Series. And we're transforming the viewing experience through our onboard cameras, an interactive website and a whole new social media experience. I believe viewers will get to see that these sailors aren't just the top sailors, but the true athletes that they are.

Q: I still purchase Bud Light because of the "Bud Cam" on Stars and Stripes sailing in Fremantle, [Australia]. Can you tell us about some of the new innovations or camera angles we will see onboard in this America's Cup?

A: For the first time, we'll have cameramen onboard, so fans will get to see the racing close-up for the first time. You will get to see the quick decisions as they are made, the extreme athleticism needed to handle these boats. You will feel like you are right there with them.

Q: In 1977, it was Ted Turner and his locomotive cap, 1983 […] Australia's wing keel, 1987 […] The Fremantle Doctor, and in 2010 it was Attorneys and a Wing Sail. What will 2013 be remembered for?

A: I think the 34th America's Cup will be remembered for a number of things, but one thing in particular will be some pretty extreme racing, and I don't mean just a drag race. To create a race that puts a premium on tactics, crew work and maneuvering, the America's Cup Race Management team has taken two steps. First, they've instituted a design rule that helps ensure all of the boats are about the same speed. This means that no boat can win just by speed alone. Second, they are introducing boundaries on the course to prevent large separations between boats. This move will force boats to engage with each other, creating really close racing situations. Multi-hulls are very fast boats and will therefore reach the course boundaries sooner, so races will become a true test of skill and strategy, not just speed.

Q: What can the club sailor do to help you popularize our sport?

A: One of the greatest things about sailing is that you participate in the sport whether you are 8 or 80. With the focus we're placing on the fan experience, I think the next America's Cup will open the eyes of many more people to sailing. What we can all do is to welcome our non-sailing friends to the sport — get them out onto the Bay and allow them to experience the wonder of cutting through the wind and waves. Give children the access to sailing — invite them to crew or take a turn at the helm. And, most importantly, we all need to work together to protect our oceans so we can all continue to enjoy them for generations to come.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.

Craig Thompson was asked to step down 6 months after this interview.

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The Harbor Report: A few words en route to Catalina

Dan Rossen and Len Bose sail in the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club Championships. (Joysailing / August 8, 2013)

By Len Bose

August 8, 2013 | 8:44 a.m.

I need to keep this harbor report a little short this week, as the family is loading up Linstar for a midweek Catalina vacation.

Last weekend was as busy as it gets on the harbor. Saturday was the South Shore Yacht Club's raft-up in the five points anchorage just off the tip of Lido Isle. I have never made it out for this event, and this one was a little quieter than previous years. Gary Hill had a band set up on the aft deck of the William B and about six to eight boats side tied to one another. One of our harbor regulars reports that it was a good time and he had his boat back into his slip by eight. I have to mark my calendar for next year and do my best to make it out to the anchorage and support this event.

Over at the Balboa Angling Club, the Helen Smith Offshore Tournament, 30-pound line, was taking place last Friday and Saturday. Alan Baron crewed aboard Eric Noyes' good-looking Mikelson 50 Reel Noyes and caught the largest dorado at 19.94 pounds. It was heard around the docks they caught a "boat load" of fish, and that's a big boat. The vessel Shadow had Brett Reichert aboard and brought in the largest tuna at 47.27 pounds. Ryan Marshall found the largest yellowtail at 25.40 pounds. The club seems to be one of our harbor's hot spots, with membership continuing to grow. Next tournament is the Newport Harbor Bass Bay Open on Aug. 24.

This weekend is one of the year's biggest events for me at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. It's time again for the club championships, with Saturday being the family championships and Sunday the club championships. Sailed in Harbor 20s, the family event already has 12 teams signed up, and club championships has 10. I would think we will have about five more entries in each event by the time you are reading this.

The family event is very relaxed, more for the photo ops and a chance to invite family members out on the race course with you. There must be a club member at the helm and two immediate family members as crew in each boat. With my small family and my wife having to work Saturday, I called my first cousins. I will have two adults and three teenagers aboard, and I'm hoping that it's a windy day so I can look for the photo boat to do circles around. I know, I am such a poser, but someone's got to do it.

Sunday, things get a lot more serious, and I am bringing my good friend Dan Rossen as my crew. This year, the club championships has been renamed the Doug Mills Memorial Trophy, and the entry list is more competitive than the Harbor 20 class championships. Last year's winners, Mark Gaudio and Patrick Kincaid, have not signed up yet, but something tells me they will. Chris Raab also joined BCYC this year, and if Mike Pinckney, Erik Shampain and Eric Mayol are in town, the entry list starts to get heavy. Right now, David Levy is the favorite, and he has the skill level to beat the above names if they show up. It's not like myself, Peter Haynes, Guy Doran and the other entrants are not going to have our game faces on.

The mark roundings will be close, and I am sure we will have short discussions at each one. But at the end of the day, I am sure we will all applaud the winner. All BCYC members and friends are welcome to come aboard the spectator boats and join in the fun. Last year, we had a rather large fleet of spectator boats, and it was energizing to hear everyone cheer you on.

The phone just rang and my list of to-do's just grew by five. Whites Cove in Catalina is my happy place, so I have to run!

Good Times in Catalina

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.

The Harbor Report: In touch with the young generation

Kelly Blake working at Duffy Boat rentals

By Len Bose

August 1, 2013 | 2:31 p.m.

This week, I headed out onto the harbor with the idea of interviewing two people with interesting summer jobs.

My first stop was easy, I stopped by Duffy Electric Boat Rentals at 2001 W. Coast Hwy. to interview Kelly Blake, the son of one of my best friends. Kelly is 19 and has been attending Orange Coast College. Like any 19-year-old male working on our harbor, Kelly's passion is chasing waves, females and skating. His job entails checking in and out Duffy boat rentals, detailing, and instructing people how to operate and navigate the boats around our harbor.

When I asked him if he liked the job, he replied, "I love it. It's fast-paced, we have a great crew and we are always busy." I was surprised to learn that on a busy summer day, there can be as many as 70 charters going out with a fleet of 25 boats. "We take about 15 minutes to detail the boats between charters before sending them back out," Kelly said. I inquired if he had a favorite Duffy model boat. "Yeah, totally, the 21-foot Suncruiser has a back patio on it that is pretty cool. Whenever I go out on them, I just like to chill outside."

So what types of parties have the most fun on the boats? "It depends," Kelly said. "Some people appreciate it differently. There are a lot of grandparents taking their grandchildren out and taking family reunion cruises. College kids always seem to have a great time, it just comes down to who appreciates it the most. Grandparents always seem to come back with the biggest smiles on their faces."

With the summer winding down, Kelly's focus is turning toward his studies. "I have to pass school," he explained with determination inflicted into his voice. "I am bummed I'm going to have to leave this place."

For my next stop, I hopped into my dinghy and headed out to meet Cameron Pizzica on the bait barge. Cameron is 21, lives in Huntington Beach and will be attending Cal State Long Beach this fall. On his down time, he heads to the beach and runs track.

While working on the bait barge, he pulls 24-hour shifts and wakes up at 5 a.m. to get ready for his customers. "I am part salesman and security guard," he said.

Cameron Pizzica working the bait barge

Cameron's duties are to wash down the barge twice a day and monitor the barge's fuel levels. He has been employed by the San Pedro Bait Company for the past four years and has only worked the Newport Bait Barge. "I started working one day a week and have worked my way up to three days now," he explained with great pride in his voice. Four people work the barge, and most have their own dogs with them. Unfortunately, I did not get the name of Cameron's dog, but I could tell this was his home. The dogs keep the birds and sea lions away along with any uninvited late-night guests.

I talked to Cameron about his product. "We have squid, anchovies and sardines," he said. "The Pamela Rose drops off fresh bait about three times a week." When I asked him about the water quality since the dredging has been completed, he felt that there has been a huge difference. "In years past, I could not see the bait because the water was so cloudy," Cameron said. "Now I can easily see the condition of the bait. We have lots of dolphin swimming by, and of course, we have lots of sea lions because the barge is like a floating buffet for them. Another thing I have noticed is how much stronger the current has gotten."

Being at the doorway of the harbor, I had to ask what are some of the strangest things he has seen. "It's always interesting to watch the Harbor Patrol speed out of the harbor," Cameron said. "I had some kids stop by at 1 in the morning in their electric boat wondering what the barge was for. I also noticed a large whale swim right in front of the harbor entrance this year. Other than that, it's rather peaceful out here."

As I was wrapping up my interview, a local charter boat pulled up for bait and a very cute girl cruised by in her dinghy and said, "Hello, Cameron, do you remember me?" He quickly replied, "Yes," and the crew of the charter boat chimed back humorously, "Hello, Cameron, do you remember me?" Life's good on the harbor this week.

Sea ya.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.