The Harbor Report: Where there's a Wills, there's a way

Harvey Wills of Western Marine Marketing

By Len Bose

November 28, 2014 | 1:43 p.m.

This week, I had a chance to catch up with my good friend Harvey Wills. Wills and his wife, Patty, along with his son, Whitney, run Western Marine Marketing, which represents everything marine-related from vinyl flooring products to Pettit boat-bottom paint.

I met Wills my first day polishing boats in 1979, when I ran into him at the local marine hardware store. I asked someone in the cleaning product aisle which wax he would use on his boat. After a couple of quick questions, he handed me the best cleaner for my task and went on his way.

Wills' grandfather Wes Smith of Newport Beach co-founded the Southern California Yachting Assn. His father, Harry Wills, owned a boat-building business in Santa Monica and became one of the first distributors of Pettit boat-bottom paints. The family had a 28-foot Herreshoff, which they would use for weekend racing or trips to Catalina.

Harvey Wills' first job was maintaining boats in Santa Monica before there were slips and boats were kept on moorings. Wills then went to work for the Newport Supply Co. in Santa Monica and eventually moved to Newport Beach to run a store for the same company on Mariners Mile. He then was picked up by the Andrew Brown Co. and started selling different boat-bottom paints.

In 1978, Wills started Western Marine Marketing.

"When my feet hit the ground every morning, I am calling on marine distributors, marine dealers, fuel dock owners and boat yards," he said enthusiastically about his daily routine. "Every six weeks, I drive to Northern California and visit every shipyard from here to Napa."

Over the years, I have seen Wills at every boat show I have ever attended, and we have always shared our observations on the marine industry.

"Boat shows are still a great venue for face-to-face contact and a chance to touch and feel the boats and receive information on what product best fits your needs," Wills told me.

When it comes to bottom-paint questions, Wills is my go-to man. He has seen everything at every shipyard up and down this state and across the country.

When I asked him how the marine industry was doing, he replied, "The level of business is growing. We might be a bit slow in California. The market seems to generate from the East Coast to the West Coast. People are buying boats again."

I thought it would also be a good idea to ask Wills about some local harbor issues. "The most important issue is making sure our harbor is user-friendly," he said.

We then went on to talk about the fact that we only have one launch ramp in Newport Beach.

"It's a nice facility," he said. "It's a great facility, but on a holiday, it's a mess over there. You can wait over a half an hour to launch a boat."

We agreed that is not an indication of a friendly harbor. In fact, the owners of the launch ramp have been known to just close the ramp during special events and tell people to go to Huntington Harbour or Dana Point to launch their boats.

We also talked about stacking boats in large racks like at the Newport Harbor Shipyard and the importance of the mooring being affordable for people to be able to own a boat.

Harvey and the rest of the Wills family are among the best folks in town, and I always look forward to running into them.

Sea ya.

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

The Harbor Report: And the boating awards go to

BCYC awards ceremony with Commodore Paul Konapelsky and Lori Everson                   Photo courtesy of Joysailing.com

By Len Bose

November 21, 2014 | 12:43 p.m.

Winter has to be approaching, because I just picked up my collection of Christmas Reyn Spooners from the dry cleaners and received the names of award recipients from around the harbor.

Nothing is better than starting the holiday season with your yacht club recognizing your efforts and presenting you with a sought-after award. Each year, I go through all the awards and read the past recipients and pick out the awards that I want to try to win next season.

One award I would really like to get my hands on someday is the Newport Beach High Point Series trophy. Over the last two years, the Richley family has wanted the award more than most, and they took it home again, sailing their Choate 48 Amante in all four of the completed races this season.

Over at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, the Mayol family took home the Commodore Bussey Award for the most active yachting family. Watching the whole family come up to receive the Bussey award is always a priceless moment.

John Szalay, sailing his Peterson 34 PussyCat, took home the Miller Perpetual for the most PHRF awards. Alan Horowitz received the Officers and Directors 1962, the award of merit for outstanding service to the club. I have had my eye on this award for the last couple of years and need to step up my game if I ever hope to get my name engraved on it.

The big award at BCYC is the Elmer Carvey Memorial Scholarship (until 1982 the Balboa Bay Club Yachtsman of the Year), now awarded to the yachtsman who most contributed to the organized yachting community. Past winners of this award have been Cooper Johnson, Jim Emmi, Ted Kerr, Hobie Deny, Lorin Weiss and so many more.

This year's winner is my good friend Peter Haynes. I have never met a person who goes the extra mile for our sport like Haynes does every year. Haynes plays a big part in the Harbor 20 Fleet 1 organization, and without him, BCYC would have a difficult time putting together its club championships. Well done, Pete!

The winners at Balboa Yacht Club this year include Christine Robertson, winning the Pluck Award for volunteering and working hard around the club. Gator Cook took home the Leo V. Collin Perpetual for competing in the Beer Cans, Twilights and Sunkist. This award has always been a favorite of mine and always brings to mind one of my favorite people, Leo Collin. Enjoy the Irish coffees, Gator, because, if I recall, part of the award is all the fixings to make Leo's favorite drink.

The most sought-after award at BYC is the Sportsman of the Year, which dates to 1939 and is given to the racing skipper who consistently displays outstanding sportsmanship. Past winners include Barton Beek, Bill Ficker, Bill Taylor, Dave Ullman and Alex Irving. This year's winner is Tom Purcell, one of the owners of the racing yacht It's OK. Congratulations, Tom, and well deserved.

The extravaganza of all awards ceremonies this year will be the Harbor 20 Fleet 1's "A Night with the Stars" on Dec. 5 at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. I believe the event has sold out and promises to be one for the record books.

Shana Conzelman, the event's chairwoman, and her team have been working hard. With entertainment by the Fred Zeppelin orchestra, this event will be the stairway to heaven. Knowing Conzelman, it would not surprise me if there were search lights in front of the club that night. I am looking forward to this one and another fast-approaching sailing season.

Remember, on Black Friday I will post Newport Beach's 20 most interesting yachts on lenboseyachts.blogspot.com.

Sea ya.

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

The Harbor Report: West Marine will point the way

Matt Jessner Newport Beach West Marine General Manager

By Len Bose

November 14, 2014 | 3:09 p.m.

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it would be interesting to walk into West Marine and talk to the different department managers.

Matt Jessner, the general manager, has been with the company for four years. He started at the Long Beach store and arrived in Newport Beach a week ago.

Jessner enthusiastically explained that the Newport Beach store is the largest West Marine on the West Coast and "the leading edge of the new face of West Marine." He said the new face is all about product knowledge and keeping a large inventory in electronics, fishing gear, apparel and rigging.

When I asked him why customers should come into the store rather than shop online, he replied, "You will receive professional service with expert advice on which product will best meet your use."

I then was introduced to Bryce Fuller, the electronics manager. Fuller has been with the company for seven years and at the Newport Beach store since its opening one year ago.

When I asked Fuller what was the best-selling electronic item, he quickly pointed out the Simrad Evo 2 Chartplotter/Multifunction display with touch screen. I asked him what might be the best holiday gift, and he replied, "There is so much to consider. One idea would be the Flir One. We are one of the only stores that has this product on hand. The Flir One is a case for the iPhone 5 and is an infrared camera attachment."

West Marine Rigging Gorden "Gordo" Christie

To me, this looks like a perfect gift for boaters who would like to read the temperature of their engine's cooling system or their first mate. Fuller also provided me with a couple of other holiday gift ideas when I brought up safety at sea: handheld VHF radios and a personal lifejacket AIS beacon that can be seen on your new chart plotter.

An even better thing to wear on your lifejacket is a personal locater beacon, or PLB. This device uses satellites to pinpoint that unfortunate crew member who unexpectedly went for a swim. I am going to buy one for myself for the upcoming sailing season.

Next, I walked over to Keri Hynes, who runs apparel and has been with the company for eight years. Her favorite product in the store for the holidays? "I like the Luci inflatable solar lantern," she said. "They come in different colors and only weigh 4 ounces."

The Newport Beach store has a ton of clothing, and this time of the year, the best deals can be found in summer wear. For example, Reyn Spooner and Tommy Bahama are marked down.

Hynes was quick to point out that this store carries women's tall Bearpaw boots.

"We do our best to listen to our customers' needs and then match them up with the best products," she said, adding that a customer might need a furry blanket for the upcoming boat parade or be preparing for next year's Trans Pac race to Hawaii.

I asked her opinion on the best value in sunglasses. "We sell a lot of Maui Jim and Costa sunglasses," she said. "Both companies are quick to respond to their customer returns should they break a lens or frame. If I was to pick one, it would have to be the Costa."

Continuing through the store, I met up with Dawn Davis, who manages the fishing gear. Davis has worked in the fishing industry for 11 years, and I noticed she knew more about fishing than I do about sailing.

She is another employee who pays close attention to her customers' requirements. Whether you are a beginner or advanced angler, she can set you up with all you need from gear to bait. When I asked her what she had behind the counter that would be difficult to find this season, she pointed out the two-speed Penn Fathoms reels, sizes 15 to 60.

My last stop was with my good friend Gorden "Gordo" Christie in the rig shop. Gordo has been working in the rig shop since the store opened.

"We can do anything with line, wire and chain," he explained while ordering me parts for my Harbor 20's mast. "If we do not have what you are looking for, we can get it for you."

I walked out of West Marine feeling that this team is ready to help. The store is becoming the hub of the harbor. I continually run into customers or industry people there.

Sea ya.

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

What is a derelict boat in Newport Beach?

Title 17 HARBOR CODE*

Chapter 17.20

VESSEL LAUNCHING AND OPERATION

17.25.020 Anchorage, Berthing and Mooring Regulations.

f. Maintenance in such non seaworthy condition that it is unsafe, unsightly or poorly maintained, including, but not limited to: broken windows, unsecured doors and hatches, excessive marine growth attached to the vessel, the vessel is inoperable for its intended use, partially destroyed or partially repaired for more than three continuous months, provides access to marine mammals, is actively seeping hazardous or toxic material into the surrounding waters, and would present a physical danger to public safety personnel during emergency access;

The Harbor Report: Serious stuff: rising seas and harbor protection

Proposed Tide Gate at entrance of harbor.

By Len Bose

June 6, 2014 | 3:04 p.m.

Last week, I attended the Tidelands Management Committee meeting, where the main two topics were protecting Newport Harbor from rising sea levels and replacing the Balboa Island seawalls.

Assistant city engineer Robert Stein gave both presentations, which lasted close to 2 1/2 hours.

Regarding protecting against rising seas, Stein recommended verifying predictions by observing levels over the next five years. Of course, an earlier discussion was about which predictions the city should use. What was presented were the predictions from the California Coastal Conservancy-adopted climate-change policy.

The following was taken from Stein's report: By about 2020, king tides could be 3 inches higher than today, on track for a 55-inch rise in sea level by 2100.

He also suggested setting new harbor-wide standards for seawall elevation to 10 feet and establishing new requirements for the finish floor elevations from 1 to 4 feet.

The report considered tide gates at the harbor jetty and whether they could reduce overall harbor protection costs. Another concern was sea-level-rise protection measures for the Balboa Peninsula.

So what will start to happen when five years go by and the sea level has risen by 3 inches? I would hope you would see the city purchase a consultant's report to see if a tide gate will work. At this point, a tide gate would still be more than 10 years out before completion.

The city's standard for seawall height will be increased to 10 feet. The Balboa Peninsula will have to consider sand berms up to 5 feet high and hope that its floor elevation is above 11 feet.

The second presentation looked at the Balboa Island Seawalls Replacement Project. To see the best explanation of what is being considered, go to the city's website, newportbeachca.gov/seawalls. Send comments to seawalls@newportbeachca.gov. Also, while walking around the island, look for the story boards located at different light poles on the boardwalk.

My observation was that the committee members are leaning toward new seawalls at 10 or 9.5 feet and moving forward with plans and engineering. The committee is reaching out for more community input.

A great deal of time was spent talking about how to pay for the seawalls and plan for the worst. I felt the consensus was to hold off on committing to build anything until there are more facts. The city will also wait and observe sea levels for the next five years to see if predictions are reached.

As 5 p.m. approached, I looked out the window and was overcome by the desire to go sailing on the Thursday night beer can races. I quietly made my way out the door with the intention of not missing the boat, no pun intended.

As I looked to the sky and reviewed all that was said in the meeting, the thought of the predicted upcoming El Niño made me wonder if this winter storm might move things along a little faster.

Sea ya.

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

The Harbor Report: Lots of high points in High Point series

2014 Harbor 20 Championships at the NHYC

By Len Bose

October 10, 2014 | 5:21 p.m.

Over this last week, we wrapped up the 2014 Newport Beach High Point Series. We have a new Harbor 20 Class champion and Harbor 20 High Point winners.

Every year, our local sailboats race under the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) in an event sponsored by the Assn. of Orange Coast Yacht Clubs (AOCYC).

This series of races is called the Newport Beach High Point Series and determines our harbor's PHRF champion. The Newport Beach High Point started in February with the American Legion running the Midwinter Regatta and wrapped up with the Newport Ocean Sailing Assn. (NOSA) 14 Mile bank race.

The other regattas that make up this series are the Balboa Yacht Club's 1st 66 series race, race eight of the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club's ocean racing series and the Newport Harbor Yacht Club's Ahmanson Cup.

Amante taking this years Ahmanson

By the time we completed three of five races, Roy Jones' J 133 Tango and Brian Dougherty's J 105 Legacy were tied for first and the Richley family's Amante was in a very close third.

Then came the Ahmanson Cup, which was sailed in September. At this point, the Richley family decided to put the hammer down and won their class and took home enough points to take the lead in the High Point Series. With one more race left in the Newport Beach High Point Series, any one of these three boats could have taken home the coveted champion's light blue burgee.

With little to no wind last weekend, the 14 Mile bank race was abandoned and a round of Coors Light was passed around Amante as the race committee notified the participants.

This makes the second year in a row that Amante has won the light blue burgee, with 29 boats entered in this year's series. Be sure to give Amante a "well done" at the start of the BYC Sunkist series on Nov. 2 when you see it on the starting line.

While the 14 Mile bank race was being abandoned, another race had opted to keep going. The Harbor 20 fleet had 41 boats waiting around for wind after completing one race in the Saturday class championships.

With the weather as hot as it was, along with the light wind, this was one of the most difficult regattas I sailed in this year. Shannon Heausler was my crew, and we found some breeze on the far left of the course and sailed into a fifth-place finish on Saturday.

While waiting for the wind to fill in on Saturday, the eventual winners in A fleet, Gale and Jon Pinckney, sailed by, and Jon commented, "So, Len, I guess you sailed all the way over to the left and kissed the pig?" My reply was: "Not only did I kiss the pig, Jon, I dressed it."

Sunday, we got in five races in more light air, and the Pinckneys sailed a very consistent regatta, digging their way through the fleet when they needed to have all top-four finishes. If you are wondering how the Pinckneys did it, Jon wrote a detailed account of the race, and I posted it on my blog site at lenboseyachts.blogspot.com.

Mark Conzelman had a tight battle with five other boats to win B fleet. The difference between first and seventh place was only nine points. In C fleet, Kathryn Reed won on a tiebreaker over Roxanne Chan.

Gale & Jon Pinckney

The Harbor 20 High Points Series results are in for 2014. In C fleet, Michael Volk was third; in second place was Andy Everson; and this year's winner is Jan Houghton. In B fleet, Len Connelly was third; Tom Corkett was second, while Conzelman sailed away with the trophy. In A fleet, Helen Duncan was second, and Peter Haynes took home the trophy.

Before we call it a year and prepare for our winter series, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club has one more big regatta coming up Oct. 25 and 26. The Corinthian Cup is a junior event sailed in Sabots, Lasers and CFJs.

This is a huge event with approximately 70 to 80 juniors sailors representing themselves and their yacht clubs in an effort to win the Corinthian Cup. NHYC will be defending its title this year.

Sea ya.

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

2014 NEWPORT HIGH POINT SERIES AMANTE REPEATS!

Amante repeats and takes the 2014 Newport Beach HighPoint Series

Legacy finishes in 2nd place

Tango in 3rd

Amante repeats and takes the 2014 Newport Beach High Point Series. I will do a complete write up of this years series in my column this week.

                   Midwinters         66      BCYC  NHYC

Amante         07              17        7      14   = 45
Legacy          10              18       4       9    = 41
Tango           11               13       8       5    = 37

eXigent                          16          0      13   = 29
Cirrus              0              19         5       5   = 29
Linstar          08              14         3            = 25
Adios            09              15         0            = 24
Berserk                           12          0      10   =22

In Appropriate               18          0            = 18
RD                                  12          6             =18

PussyCat      05              10          2             =  17
Maiden                          16           0             = 16
Sting                               14          0              =14
Kokopelli2                                          12      =12
Free Event                      11          0               =11
Margaritaville                                       11    =11
Beserk                                                   10    =10
Whistler                          10          0              =10
TNT                                 09          0           = 09
Lickity Split   01             08          0    1      = 10
BOLT                                                     8      =8

Hot Ticket     06                             1           = 07
Its OK                                                  07      =07
Marisol                                                 06     =06

Violetta         04                0           0            = 04

Lucky Star    03                 0           0            = 03
Rebel Yell                                              03  =  03
Bud                                                         02  = 02

Baraka          02                  0          0            = 02

Next race: ALYC Midwinters 2015    2-14 & 15

NOTE: The AOCYC

"online" calendar is incorrect. 

Editorial: If you are enjoying the Newport High Point Series please work with your yacht club and ask them to make an extra effort for this series and promote the next event at the awards. 

This years lessons learned: When a yacht club hosts an event it is highly recommended that if only one race is sailed  all classes sail the same distance. 

For those of you who wonder how the scoring works?

The Harbor Report: A new shine on the shore boat

NHYC refit shore boat

By Len Bose

October 3, 2014 | 2:37 p.m.

It was brought to my attention this week that the Newport Harbor Yacht Club had completed a major refit to its shore boat.

I'm sure most of you can give a flying burgee about NHYC's shore boat, but this story is kind of cool. Hearing the rumor of the refit and how it was powered brought me down to the club the day I caught wind of it.

I noticed the old shore boat had a new glow. The gel coat on the hull, deck and interior had all been redone, the fenders, rub rail, boot strip, bottom paint and CF numbers had been replaced, and everything was in its proper place. For being more than 50 years old, the shore boat is standing tall.

As I walked closer to the boat, one of the club's prominent members, Chip Donnelly, was waiting to be shuttled out to a boat when I inquired about the boat's power system and who had done the refit work. Donnelly is a straight-to-the-facts kind of guy and I am not a very good listener, so most of what he told me about the boat's drive system went in one ear and out the other.

Donnelly has known me now for more than five years and probably realized that I am more of a seat-of-the-pants sailor who needs to touch and feel. So he told me I needed to go for a ride and see how this vessel performs.

Donnelly told me that the refit was completed at Duffy Boats as he peeled back the engine hatch and started to explain all the features of this electrical motor. I started to understand that the motor has 150 horsepower, same as the previous diesel. The motor is driven by AC current, which is provided by an inverter located just in front of the engine. The drive is cooled by a heat exchanger, and all the batteries on the boat have a one-point filling system. The batteries looked a little taller than the ones I've seen on other Duffy boats, and I was noticing how much thought went into the installation.

I had reached my input limit when we closed the engine hatch and Donnelly requested the boatswain, the boat's operator, to punch it. The torque was immediately felt as the large wake moved through the mooring field, and we quickly reduced speed. I asked the boatswain if he had towed anything to the dock yet, and he explained that they had brought in a 65-footer the other day without any problem. I then asked if he had to recharge during the day, and he replied they have not even come close to that point.

Marshall "Duffy" Duffield, who has always been easy to talk to

I was taken back to the dock and grabbed a couple photos of the boat from the club's long dock. Next, I gave a call to Marshall "Duffy" Duffield, who has always been easy to talk to because I always end up laughing, then feel like I have done something to make the harbor better. Did I happen to mention that Duffy is running for City Council this election?

He explained that this has been a dream of his for over 40 years when he first brought the concept up to the club's board of directors. He pointed out that the annual fuel and maintenance cost savings for the shore boat would be $15,000. The batteries should last for more than 10 years, and one of the keys to all this coming about was that people are becoming more familiar with electrically powered vehicles.

Another big factor was that the technology became available to purchase and install. We need to give the NHYC a "well done" for leading our harbor into the future of yachting.

Sea ya.

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

The Harbor Report: The man who walks the docks

AMANTE takes the lead in the Newport Beach High Point Sreies

By Len Bose

September 26, 2014 | 4:44 p.m.

This week, I had the opportunity to catch up with Troy Heidemann, the new dock master at the Balboa Bay Club.

Heidemann has to have one of the best views I've ever seen from someone's office window. Right in the middle of the club, out on the end of the dock, rests his work place with almost a 300-degree view of the Lido channel.

This view is not necessarily new to Heidemann, who grew up in Newport Beach and has worked on the harbor most of his life. He met his wife, Deborah, during a Thursday night beer can race and now has a daughter, Rachel, and a son, Joshua, who are all very active on our harbor.

New BBC Dock Master Troy Heidemann

As dock master at the club, he spends his time working with maintenance crews, boat owners and captains while keeping the docks safe and in order. With over 150 slips at the resort, which appears to be full at this time, his day goes by fast.

I was surprised to learn that the club is open to the public. For some reason, I always thought you had to be a member, but anyone can bring a Duffy to the guest dock and go on up and have breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Waterline restaurant or just watch the sunset from the A&Q Kitchen + Bar. The guest docks can hold up to 10 Duffys and are only available by first-come-first-served availability.

I also learned that if you want to bring your boat in and stay for a couple days or weeks, there are sub-lessees available to the public. Pre-approval by the dock master is needed before arriving, and you would then be able to use all the features of the resort: dining, beach, pool, spa, cable TV and Internet hook up, weight room and Duffy rentals all at your disposal. I'm going to have try this myself as a staycation and tell my customers to do the same.

One must be a member of the club to become a permanent slip tenant. From my observations, the marina is very clean with good parking, dock carts and plenty of water underneath your boat to keep from grounding even in our king tides. The marina is about half an hour from the harbor entrance, and being that the federal channel runs in front of the club, this allows even mega-yachts to reach this fine resort.

If you are reading my column and it's Saturday, Sept. 27, you might consider getting into your Duffy and heading over to the resort for its OktoberFestival from 2 to 5 p.m. If you need more information, go to the resort's website at balboabayresort.com and look under the "Activities" link.

Now that I have gotten reacquainted with Heidemann, I'll hit him up for information and observations on the harbor's activities, from the holiday boat parades to visiting mega-yachts. From his vantage point, he will see everything going on in our harbor.

Speaking of what's going on, the Richley family, aboard their Choate 48 Amante, dominated last weekend's Ahmanson Cup sailed out of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Amante sailed in PHRF division 2, which had nine local boats all contending for this year's Newport Beach High Point Series. With this win, Amante has taken the lead away from Brian Dougherty and his J 105 Legacy. Following in a close third place is Roy Jones' J 133 Tango.

The next race in the high point series is the 14 Mile bank race on Oct. 4. Any of these three boats can take this year's series, although I'd have to give the advantage to Tango because of the normal tight reach home from the 14-mile bank. Amante and Legacy are two of our harbor's best-sailed boats, and the race will be very close; stay tuned by checking out my blog site at lenboseyachts.blogspot.com.

2007 22' Cuddy asking $39,500

I thought I'd give myself a little plug before I go. I have a long waiting list of prospective brokerage Duffy buyers. If you are considering selling your Duffy, please give me a call. Or if you are just wondering what your Duffy is selling for, go to boseyachts.blogspot.com and scroll down page to obtain the best comparable sales information available.

Sea ya.

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

The Harbor Report: Calling for comments on story boards

BCYC Club Championships            Photo courtesy of Joysailing.com

By Len Bose

September 19, 2014 | 6:26 p.m.

Summer is slowly coming to an end, and yet the harbor is as active as if it were June.

This weekend, you will notice the 36th annual Lido Boat Show in Lido Village. I had a chance to walk around the show this week, and a couple of thoughts came to mind. Inventory on late-model brokerage boats appears to be in high demand due to limited production over the last six years. The sailboats are back at the show, with large displays from Beneteau and Jeanneau, along with sailing catamarans. There is the normal amount of large boats, although the flagship of the show is the new 43-foot Hinckley Talaria power boat. If you are a yachtsman, you have to come and appreciate this work of art, as she is one good-looking vessel.

Two other boats that caught my eye were the two VanDutch 40s located on the south end of the show. What a perfect boat for Catalina. All boats are a compromise for your desired use, and for my use, this vessel comes very close to my dream boat. In my opinion, she might be missing eight feet of interior volume, and I have to wonder how she rides at anchorage with her hard chines forward. I wish the best to our local dealers and have a feeling they are entering the market at the right time. I recommend you go to the show and look for that hard-to-find, clean late-model boat and buy it. If I can speculate, these boats will hold their values for the next 10 years.

I also made time to attend this week's Tidelands Management Committee, where the topic was the Balboa Island Seawalls Replacement Project. Rather than go into great detail, I would like to refer you to the city's webpage, which you can find by Googling "Balboa Island Seawalls Replacement Project" and clicking on the top two links. What you might also notice while walking around the island are 30-some storyboards that were placed around the island this week. These will show you the height of the proposed seawall cap. The idea of the storyboard is to obtain your comments, which you can give by contacting seawalls@newportbeachca.gov.

Balboa Island Story Signs

While visiting the seawall website, take the time to read through the different options staff has provided the tidelands committee. While attending these meetings, citizen advisory member Jamshed Dastur always provides the most useful information to the committee, and if you would like to read what Dastur has to say, you can go to my blog at lenboseyachts.blogspot.com to read his comments and concerns. This issue is rather important to our harbor, so please take the time to research this topic and take a look at the story boards. If you would like more information on this topic and other harbor issues, make sure you attend the Harbor Commission Public Outreach harbor tour aboard a ferry on Saturday, Nov. 15. This event will be limited to 60 people on a first-come, first-serve basis the day of the event. A photo of the route is posted on my blog site.

BCYC Family Champions The Doran Family

It's been at least a month since I talked about sailing Harbor 20s, so hold onto your tillers — here it comes. This last weekend was the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club Championships, sailed in Harbor 20s provided by club members and fleet one members. A total of 14 boats was collected for this two-day event. On Saturday was the Family Championships, which is intended to bring out the club's membership to use the club; participants get to invite family members who would not normally attend a sailing event, and it's the perfect photo op day to last a lifetime. Sunday is the club championship, which is very competitive and always introduces the Harbor 20 to sailors who would not have an opportunity to sail this boat in a one-design format. BCYC has run this event for three years now and the participants, who don't own a H20, truly consider joining the fleet and or returning to the fleet. This year's Family Champion is the Doran family, and the new BCYC Club Champion is Erik Shampain.

Over the next two weekends, things will get rather serious out on the harbor as fleet one gets ready for its class and fleet championships on Oct. 4 and 5. Next weekend, Sept. 27 and 28, are the warmup regattas that are run by BCYC and Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Wish me luck.

Sea ya.

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

Jamshed Dastur Letters to the City

November 15th Harbor Tour Route

The 2014 Master Angler Billfish Tournament Rocked – Literally

High Angler  Jock Albright

The 33^rd Annual Balboa Angling Club’s Master Angler Billfish Tournament was held September 12^th and 13^th with challenging weather conditions, high winds and seas and the anglers really had to work for it!  This is the most prestigious and oldest marlin tournament on the west coast.

It all started with a Kick-Off Party on September 10^th held at the Tee Room in Newport Beach with a packed house!  Marlin had been caught since August 2^nd and the participants couldn’t wait to hit the water and were truly excited about this year’s tournament. 

The fishing started on Friday at 6:00 a.m. and the first fish was hooked up at 8:04 am and was released after tagging with the IGFA (International Game Fish Association) Satellite Tag for the Great Marlin Race.  This is the first time the Great Marlin Race is being tracked in Southern California waters.  During the tournament 2 tags were deployed and you can track their paths by going to http://www.igfa.org/Conserve/IGMR-Satellite-Tag-Tracks.aspx. 

All in all, the tournament was a great success for the Balboa Angling Club and the participants are ready to come back next year!

Here are the results:

2014 Master Angler Billfish Tournament

         

Clubs = 8              Boats = 49           Anglers = 193

24 Hook Ups       15 Releases

Total Fish            1^st Day                                     9 Released       

                                2^nd Day                                    6 Released       

High Club

        1^st                  Pescadores -  Team 1                     540 pts.

        2^nd                 Dana Angling Club – Team 1        480 pts.

        3^rd                  Tuna Club – Team 1                         390 pts.

High Boat            

        1^st                   Bounder                                              300 pts.

        2^nd                  Kea Kai                                                 240 pts.

        3^rd                   Poco Loco                                            210 pts.

High Angler

          1^st                 Jock Albright                                      240 pts.               

          2^nd                Bill Buchannan                                   210 pts.

          3^rd                 Rod Halperin                                      180 pts.

          4^th                 Vick Sommers                                   180 pts.

          5^th                 Calen Offield                                      180 pts.

          6^th                 Drew Lawler                                       180 pts.

          7^th                 Bob Denault                                       180 pts.

          8^th                 Brian Fox                                             150 pts.

          9^th                 Alyson Gillett                                     150 pts.

        10^th                 Linda Crean                                        150 pts.

The winner of the Bob and Sally Kurz Perpetual Circle Hook Award is Vick Sommers on Sleeper

And in the Tuna Division Greg Taite of the S. S. Minnow took home 1^st place.

For more information on the Master Angler Billfish Tournament, the Great Marlin Race and Balboa Angling Club, please contact Amy Elliott at the Balboa Angling Club 949.673.6316 or via email at balboaanglingclub@sbcglobal.net

High Boat BOUNDER

High Club Pescadores