On the Harbor: What’s happening in Spring?

By LEN BOSE

Spring has arrived, and the harbor is blooming. The removal of the mooring cans in front of Newport Harbor Yacht Club (NHYC) indicates that a swarm of Harbor 20s will soon be showing up to team race in two different events from April 9 - 14.

The first event on April 9 and 10 is the Palmer Grandmasters, followed by the main event – the Baldwin Cup taking place April 12 - 14. You might ask what is the difference between the two events? The simple answer is the old folks’ race is the Palmer and the kids’ race is the Baldwin. Which is kind of cool, because us old guys still like to have our day in the sun.

I won’t be competing in this event, because I have no clue how to team race, and frankly I have never reached the skill level these competitors have. I always defer to the NHYC website for its team racing definition: “Team racing, like most traditional team sports, involves strategy, advanced skill, and teamwork. However, unlike other fleet racing, team racing pits a team of four against another team of four boats. This added dimension forces players to have a tremendous amount of boat-handling ability and quick reactions.

 “The key to watching these races and understanding if your team is winning the race is counting the place of each of your team’s boats, and if that number is less than 18, your team is winning the race. This is why you’ll see leading boats turn around and try to slow down the opposing team’s boats, making an effort to have their teammate pass an opponent.”

I have written this before…the excitement level has increased tremendously. While attending these events, the umpires are “informed” of their bad calls. Yes, team racing has umpires on the water similar to an umpire on the baseball field. Quite often you will hear the gallery shouting, “Come on, ump! Make a call!”

If this peaks your interest, you can go to http://baldwincup.com/racing/web-cam to watch the action. I will be on the docks drinking one or two of the 25 cent beers, heckling the umpires and telling the old guys to pull their pants up and get back in the race. Always good times and I will buy you a beer if you see me and tell me you read my column. 

• • •

Other activities around the harbor include the 71st Newport to Ensenada yacht race scheduled April 27 - 29 along with the 55th Annual Lily Call Bay Fishing Tournament April 28 and 29 hosted by the Balboa Angling Club.

I know more about team racing than I do about fishing, and what I’ve noticed is the number of people fishing in the harbor with their game faces on. It’s rather obvious who is competing because there is no lawn chair or beverage cooler next to them. These fishermen are taking notes and climbing fences to find the right spots. Here are the details of the event: 4# Test Max in Newport Harbor for Croaker, Corbina, Halibut, and Bass. It is limited to the first 75 anglers and entries must be received by Wednesday, April 25. The cost is $40 per person with an awards banquet at the Chicken Coop on Sunday, April 29 at 4 p.m. I’m a huge fan of the Balboa Angling Club, so if you’re still looking for ways to get your kids involved with the harbor, this is the place at 200 A Street, right next to Hills Fuel Dock.

We’ll be sailing in the Ensenada race this year aboard the Santa Cruz 50 Horizon. This will be No. 33 for me, and I’ve never been more ready to get off the starting line. The owner of the boat can’t make it this year and threw me the keys. It’s the same feeling as my father throwing me the keys to the car for the first time. We’ll be flying the BCYC burgee and have put together a solid team of Doug Carey, Craig Chamberlain, Carson Reynolds, Max Moosman, and Kat and Andy Dibbel. 

Wish us wind and luck!

Sea ya

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for StuNewsNewport.

On the Harbor: Catching up with my good friend Mark Gaudio

Mark Gaudio while coaching.                                  All photos courtesy of Joysailing.com

By LEN BOSE

I picked up the phone this week and called my good friend Mark Gaudio for an interview. If you have ever raced a Sabot, Lido 14, Harbor 20 or Cal 20 the name should be familiar to you.

Gaudio was first introduced to the harbor in the ‘60s by his father, Ed, who first owned a 20-foot Glasspar powerboat. “I remember doing speed circles in the Back Bay with my dad,” Gaudio said. His father was an electrician and after working on a house on Lido Isle, the owner gave him the old Sabot on the side of the house. “I think I was six and my father had painted the boat with some sort of latex house paint in some ‘60s color. We rigged the boat up and went sailing. Just about the time we reached the Lido Isle Yacht Club, we gybed the boat, while dad was sitting on the main sheet, and we flipped the boat,” Gaudio explained.

The Gaudio family was very active in the Orange Coast Yacht Club, which had its clubhouse at the American Legion. Later, the club would merge with the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club and the Gaudios where there for the groundbreaking of the clubhouse now located on Bayside. “I have a photo of dad somewhere with him planting a shovel into the ground on the club grounds.”

Gaudio recalled fond memories on the harbor now lost in time. “We used to sail our boat over to Shark Island, now Linda Isle, and play Army. From there we would walk over the Pacific Coast Highway bridge to Will Wrights for ice cream. Summer days seemed to have the wind blowing 10 knots out of the west. We could pull our boats up onto a beach at the Fun Zone and goof around there, or we would sail up to the 19th Street beach and go to Tasty Freeze. Sometimes Phil Ramming and I would just fill our boats with water balloons and throw them at people on Balboa Island. You cannot do that now, but it sure was a lot of fun then,” Gaudio recalled.

Today, Gaudio spends most of his time on the harbor coaching sabot sailors. During the summer he has more requests for coaching than he can handle, while during the winter he coaches Friday afternoons for BCYC and gives private lessons on Saturdays. He is the go-to guy when it comes to finding the racing sabot our just tuning one up. “Tuning a sabot is all about mast rake, leeboard angle and a vertical rudder,” Gaudio said. Most sailors in the harbor who have been coached by him recall the words: “Get off your knees.”

I asked Gaudio what are the dos and don’ts for sabot parents? “Parents can be overly competitive, which can lead to performance anxiety at the wrong time. Sailing is a hard sport, with many variables, weather included, it can be frustrating…sometimes physical, but mostly mental. Once a kid starts moving up, stay away from move up itis,” Gaudio said.

Gaudio explained that one of his concerns today is that there is too much focus on racing, with not enough attention on just harbor exploring and having fun. There are some kids out there today that will not leave the dock without a coach. In the end game, he feels that this is hurting our sport.

So, before we ended the interview I asked for some simple bits of advice that I can write on my notepad. “Don’t pinch in light air, keep the boat moving, always look around to assess your competition. The wind in our harbor is the trickiest when it is coming out of the southwest with a bearing from 200 to 245 degrees when you should focus on connecting the dots. When the wind is left at 200 degrees, consider going left; when it is right of 240 degrees, consider the right side of the course. Remember that you have a lot of traffic in the harbor to stay away from, and he always reminds his students to anticipate the high odds maneuvers of competitors.

This Saturday, the Harbor 20 fleet will be racing in the Earl Corkett Regatta out of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. At BYC, the Lido 14s will be gathering on Sunday for the Harry Wood Regatta. And, the PHRF fleet will be sailing out of BCYC to Catalina on Saturday and returning on Sunday in the Bogart Race.

Keep it, fun everyone.

Sea ya! 

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for StuNewsNewport.

Gaudio coaching me to BCYC Club Championships in 2017

On the Harbor: My sail from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta

Horizon & Lucky Duck after the start of the 2018 SD to PV Race

The clocks have moved forward and spring sailing season is underway. This last week I was sailing aboard the yacht “Horizon” in the 2018 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Yacht Race.

The Newport Beach entries were John Raymont Andrews 40 “Fast Exit,” Steve Sellinger Santa Cruz 52 “Triumph,” John Shulze Santa Cruz 50 “Horizon,” Manouch Moshayedi Bakewell White 100 “RIO” and Tom Corkett Andrews 70 “Runaway.” “Horizon” started on Friday, March 2 in Division 5 with the other Santa Cruz 50’s & 52’s.

The forecast was for a light sea breeze out of the south and dying off as we reached Ensenada. This forecast left Friday starters with a bit of a hindrance because the smaller boats in Division 7 had started the day before with a clearing westerly and there were reports of 40-knot squalls and blown up spinnakers. Saturday starters are the big boats like the 100-footer “Rio,” Andrews 70 “Runaway” and Roy Disney Andrews 70 “Pyewacket.” Their forecast was for 15 knots out of the southwest.

With that aside and a 1,000 mile-race to Puerto Vallarta, we knew that there would be many opportunities for us to make that time up on the other boats for the overall standings. One thing that always comes to mind is that the race is never over until you cross the finish in a Mexico race. I first heard this saying from Newport Beach City Councilmember Brad Avery back in the ‘80s and have always remembered it. 

Out of the starting gate, it was our class favorites “Horizon” and “Lucky Duck” side by side reaching out of San Diego harbor and pointed for the Coronado Islands. At this point, on “Horizon” it officially became duck season. The two boats exchanged the lead at least five times down the Baja coast, always staying within eyesight of each, and crossing jibes under the light of the full moon at night. When two competitors meet up like this, they normally push their boats that much harder with the sail changes happening with each wind shift rather than giving it the old five-minute rule and waiting to see if the wind will shift back.

Crew of Horizon

Life aboard “Horizon” goes into a four-hour off, three-hour on watch system after the first dinner with three people staying on deck, unless we have to make maneuvers and everyone is called on deck. With each maneuver, be it sail changes or gybing each crew member, the assigned position throughout the race never changes. For example, the same person will drive the boat, just like the same person will be in charge of pulling up and letting down the halyards that lift the sails up and down.

I am also listed as the chef aboard the boat and by today’s race boat standards that is not too far from the truth. In an effort to save weight, most competitors are chocking down freeze dried foods which I hear are not that bad if you can add your favorite hot sauce. Aboard “Horizon,” breakfast consists of yogurt and granola or cereal with fresh fruit. Every other day I will warm up some Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, which are always well received. There is nothing more appreciated than a warm meal while you are out to sea. For lunch, I’ll fix deli meat sandwiches with avocado, onion, and lettuce, and on odd days serve up hot dogs, which have seemed to be the crew’s favorite. For dinner, we ask for volunteers to provide the boat with dinner casseroles with favorites being beef stroganoff, pasta bake, and enchilada pie. Each dinner is served with a fresh salad and choice of dressing. After the galley is cleaned up, I’ll fill a container with candy bars, trail mix and or some dried fruit along with leaving the Starbucks instant coffee and hot chocolate packets out for the crew. Now that might not seem as much of an effort on my part, but have you ever tried boiling water for hot dogs while tight reaching with the 3A spinnaker up and the boat leaned over in a mixed sea? It is rather challenging just serving the meals to the crew.

One of the largest obstacles of this race is navigating past Cabo hole, which can block the wind as much as 30 miles away, before entering the Baja Gulf on your way to Puerto Vallarta. So, there we are with the Duck just close enough that we can talk to them. As night falls and the full moon has not yet risen, the two boats split so that we can’t make out our running lights. This is when our navigator, Alex Steele, puts his plan into effect on how to work our way through the Cabo hole as fast as possible. Steel put in a ton of time studying this part of the course and just crushed it. The next morning, the Duck was more than 30 miles behind us in four knots of wind, while we were close reaching in at 15 knots headed straight for the finish line.

Like I mentioned before, a Mexico race is never over until it’s over, and we kept the throttle down until we crossed the line with a first in our class and seventh overall. Another great race with a solid group of sailors from our harbor! This years’ crew was John Shulze, Len Bose, Alex Steele, Justin Law, Tom Okeefe, Craig Chamberlain, Andrew Dippel, Doug Cary and Greg Newman. Now we have to get the boat home and start getting ready for the upcoming Ensenada race.

Sea ya!

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for StuNewsNewport.

On the Harbor: Keeping you updated on the winter series races and more…

The mighty AMANTE dominates winter series

By LEN BOSE

To say that things around the harbor are “heating up” is a bit of pun with the weather we have been having.

I was in Basin Shipyard this last week and they are working hard with the yard at full capacity. While walking by the outside of the shipyard it reminded me of a busy Sunday morning at the Galley restaurant with all the customers wrapped out around the corner waiting for their table.

Over at Newport Harbor Shipyard, things seem to be just as busy with a number of large racing sailboats getting ready for the upcoming season. Two new race boats, to our harbor, have been recently added with Newport Harbor Yacht Club members Jim Bailey having purchased the Trans Pac 52 “Destroyer” and David Team recently purchased  the Trans Pac 52 “Vesper”. Destroyer will be making her Southern California sailing debut in the Islands Race on February 16. Vesper has been seen heading out of the harbor looking for wind to start practicing for the upcoming season. They are headed to San Diego February 10 - 11 to compete in the TP 52 Mid-Winters event that promises to have nine TP 52 boats attending. ( Update: Vesper dominated the first day of races during the Mid-Winters and broke a spreader during a spinnaker set and had to withdraw from remained of the regatta.)

If you are wondering about the outcome of our winter series races across the harbor…here are the results. In the BYC Sunkist Series, in PHRF class A with no throwout – James Dealings’ “Carbon Footprint” took first and held off team “It’s OK. In B class, The Richley family aboard “Amante” kept rolling for the win and in class C “Doubletime” swept the series with straight bullets. The real race in class C was for second with Bill McKeever’s “Reliance” holding off Brian Dougherty’s “Legacy.” Class D came down to a tiebreaker for first with Ray Booth sailing “Altheris” just nipping out John Szalay’s “Pussycat.”

Over at the BCYC Hot Rum Series, in PHRF C, Bob Wine sailing “Carioca” won the class. “Pussycat” took class B and “Amante” won class A. In the Harbor 20 NHYC Winter series, Ann and Kurt Wiese won class A, Doug Rastello brought home the class B trophy and Kathryn Reed held on to her lead to win class C.

Nate Dunham 17.97 Halibut

The Balboa Angling Club is off to a fast start this year. Harbor 20 sailor and past Balboa Angling Club President Chris Allen took off on New Year’s Eve with crewmember Nate Dunham aboard his boat “Taravana.” Dunham caught a 16.71 lb. BFT (I hope that means bluefin tuna) and a 5.42 lb. yellowtail, which allows Allen to bring home the first two flags of the year. Allen described the weather as perfect with flat seas and a whole lot of fish. He still had a rather large smile when telling me about his trip a month later. Another big day at the Angling center is receiving the 1,700 juvenile sea bass on January 19, 2018. I assume most of you are familiar with the sea bass cages in the mooring fields just in front on the Balboa Angling Club. The sea bass are released later in the year, with the volunteers from the center talking care of them in the meantime.

Upper Bay

Upper Newport Bay channel markers

News around the harbor: A number of topics have been brought up during the Harbor Commission meetings, and I have heard some rumors around the harbor. It has been indicated that three old channel markers 6, 10 & 12 will be removed and replaced with new floating markers. This is long overdue, and we can only hope this task is completed this year. Another topic broke the surface at the last meeting, and that is marine recycling so that all you boaters will now have a place to dispose of your hazardous waste without driving miles inland to do so properly. I’ve heard these centers will be around the harbor sooner rather than later. My little harbor birds also informed me that the upper bay channel markers have a very good chance of being lit up at night, so you can make your way through the upper bay much easier when it’s dark. The word around the harbor, during the recent Blue Moon high tides, is that the amount of flotsam that was collected was overwhelming. One boatsman from the NHYC reported that he scooped up a whole drowned chicken. The good news is that with the large water flush, people are telling they have never seen the water so clear. This is very good news for the harbor, because when you add the amount of sunlight we have been having, the chance of a good crop of eelgrass might follow for this year’s surveys. Remember eelgrass is our friend!

Wish us wind and luck as we will be competing in the Islands race on “Horizon” in preparation for this year’s Puerto Vallarta race.

Sea ya!

~~~~~~~~

Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for StuNewsNewport.

SC 50+ Horizon: This is why we are FAST

ZOOM ZOOM!

Had some work completed for us last year before Hawaii

This is what we found at this years haul out

Bottom Damage at Haul Out

Carbon cloth was used for spot repairs behind keel. They have delineated possibly the substrate was wet and not thoroughly dry before applying. We inspected the damaged area of the interior and it visually is intact meaning no signs of cracks. 

Reinforcing applied with fairing glaze

Areas of touch up and rudder to shop for white bottom paint finish

Horizon Rudder with new white bottom paint

First coating of proline epoxy primer

Epoxy primer Strut

Keel White application

NICE

Ready to launch

Looks like she is doing 20Knots just setting there

This is why you have Team Choate  work on the bottom of your boat!

If you cannot beat us I suggest you join us at  " Diversified Composites"  (562) 366-9698.

LBYS Good Start to 2018:

LEN BOSE YACHT SALES:

2018 SOLD:
                                          2005 28' Alerion

Represented Seller

                                          2014 Duffy 21' Sundeck

Represented Buyer & Seller

                                         2010 Duffy 22' Cuddy

Represented Buyer & Seller

                                          2015 Duffy 22' BayIsland

Represented Buyer & Seller

                                          2014 Duffy 22' BayIsland

Represented Buyer & Seller.

Three deals in contract with new listings arriving daily and strong showings. Time for a bottom turn and get back on it! Check out the comparable sales on your Duffy at http://boseyachts.blogspot.com

Winter Sailing Series…what’s going on

By LEN BOSE

Balboa Yacht Club 2017-18 Sunkist Series

Courtesy of Joysailing.com

The Newport Beach winter sailing series is about halfway though its season, so I wanted to provide you with an update on races that will be taking place in our Harbor. 

Balboa Yacht Club 2017-18 Sunkist Series

Thirty-five boats signed up for this year’s four race Sunkist Series and like all the other harbor winter series it has been sailed in light winds and strong currents. The final race of the series just happens to be on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 4 with most of the competitors wondering how they will get home in time to watch the game.

In PHRF A fleet, Jim Devling’s shiny black boat “Carbon Footprint” has sailed very consistently and leads the fleet going into the final minutes of the game. Just behind, is team “It’s OK” that with a throw out, discarding their worst race, this series could end up in a tie breaker. It’s going to be close…let’s hope for wind.

PHRF B has “Amante” winning and if there is a throw out she does not have to go out on the field for the fourth quarter. Peter Wells sailing the J 120 “Adios” is in second followed by Seth Hall aboard “Marisol.”

In PHRF C, “Doubletime” has the overpowering offensive line in this series with three first place finishes and like Amante can sit the fourth quarter out should there be a throw out in the series. Tied for second is Brian Doughty J 105 “Legacy” and Bill McKeever “Reliance,” both boats with identical scores, this race will be close.

PHRF D appears to be a close one with Ray Booths C&C 35 “Altheris” only two points out of first with nine points to John Szalay’s Peterson 34 “Pussycat.” Third place is tied between Mark Rosene “RD” and Roger Gooding “Rhythm” both with 11 points. This series will be a barn burner with some of the best racing in the harbor. Now I really want the wind to show up!

PHRF E has another close game going on with Gavin Herbert Rhodes 41 “Madness” in first place with nine points. Followed closely by Caleb Everett’s Moore 24 “Tortuga.” All good stuff, so make sure you tune in.

Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club Rum Series

Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club Hot Rum 2017-18 Series

Jan. 21 will be the last race of the three-part Hot Rum Series. Twenty-seven boats have entered and are split up in three PHRF classes and have been greeted with light winds and strong currents.

In PHRF A, The Richley Family sailing the mighty “Amante” has a thee point lead over Russell Grant’s “Wild Thing,” and in a close third is Bill McKeever’s well sailed “Reliance.”

Next up is PHRF B with Joe Degenhardt’s “Lickity Split” in third, Larry Kilger’s “Healer” in second and “Pussycat” with a strong lead in first.

PHRF C has Emile Pilafidis sailing “Party Globe” in third, Bob McDonald aboard “Undecided” is in second and with another strong lead, Bob Wineat is at the helm of “Carioca.”

Newport Harbor Yacht Club Winter Series

NHYC 2017-18 Winter Series

Forty-four Harbor 20’s have entered Newport Harbor’s Yacht Club’s Winter Series this season. Racing has been close and the winds have been light as we approach the last race in the series on February 4. First race is an hour earlier at 12 p.m., because the start of some silly football game!

In Harbor 20 C fleet, Kathryn Reed’s “Wood in it be Nice” is leading going into the fourth quarter by six points to Mike Kohl aboard “A Tack Dragon” in second. Ross Watanabe is in third and only 11 points out of first.

In B Fleet, Doug Rastello brought in fleet champ Bill Menninger as his front line and they have rolled through the competition. Chris Allen racing his boat “Zephyr” with Walter Johnson as his crew are not known to give up, even though it appears the fat lady is clearing her voice. Allen is 15 points back and might just show up with a Cal Bears hats on and pull something out of his sail bag.

A fleet has “Shana’s Secret” with Mark Conzelman at the helm with a six point lead and has been the only team to keep a perfect attendance in the series. Conzelman will have to keep his head down and not look up at the game monitor going into the last quarter of the series. Should he decide to look up, he will see a yellow boat by the name of “Ping” with Anne and Kurt Wiese chasing him down. Over the last six races, team Wiese has not finished out of the top three and no one has thrown a flag at them.

Get out and enjoy the races!

PLEASE THANK BRONNY FOR THE PHOTOS!

For Sale: Alerion 28 ASKING $ 58,000

If you are looking for a daysailer with classic lines then the Carl Shumacher design Alerion 28 is calling you. Chances are you already have noticed her beautiful lines from a distance. The large sail area of her mainsail has kept your attention while she moves through the water with little effort. Built for the sailor who wants the best for their limited time on the water.

ASKING $ 58,000   OWNER WANTS HER SOLD GREAT VALUE! MAKE OFFER!