I'm Ready?

On the Harbor: My observations

BCYC TACO TUESDAYS

It has been a long time since I took a tour of the bay looking for a story, so I did just that this week. My first stop was at the 15th Street public pier next to the American Legion where I met a friendly couple who were starting their daily errands.

I am going to refer to this couple as Jane and Mike who have been living aboard their vessel in the mooring fields just in front of the public dock, a little over five years. I first asked Mike how was the rotation of the dinghies on the public dock? In other words, has he seen more than one dinghy tied up to the dock for weeks or months without moving? “No, it has been really good lately. In fact, the 72-hour zone has kept empty for the most part; harbor services have been doing a good job enforcing the time limits on the dock,” Mike said.

He wasn’t in a rush, so the conversation moved toward how is living aboard on a mooring. He replied that things have gotten much better, then commented that it used to be rather “rough” in the J & H mooring fields with drugs, people stealing dingy fuel and other late-night antics. “It’s really cleaned up out there over the last year since harbor services have taken over the mooring management,” Mike said. Jane and Mike have their own mooring permit and are permitted liveaboards. I asked if they have been inspected, as each year liveaboards are inspected by the city making sure their vessels are in good order and meeting the permit requirements. Jane replied, “Yes, we have been inspected twice this year.” She went on to explain how Harbor Services has been fair to them as well as others; they don’t pounce when things seem to be a little out of place. Both Jane and Mike are very pleased with the change in city codes to allow them to transfer their mooring permit should that day ever come. They also felt that a few things can be made better, such as a dinghy rack on the beach, or even a floating dock on a nearby mooring were people could tie up their dinghies for longer periods of time and just kayak out to them. I thought Mike had a great idea for the liveaboards, and that was to be given a card so they could slide the card to show when they’re using the pump out systems around the harbor. Either that or show their invoices from the mobile pump-out services.

There has been more discussion with council members regarding charter operations in Newport Harbor. I took a simple count around the harbor and found 21 large charter boats. Most of the docks where these charter companies work from are in good to very good condition with proper lighting, electric outlets, and firefighting equipment. Although, if city code enforcement took a closer look, then they’d notice what I saw: improper lighting, electric cords running over the water and very suspicious docks in three locations. I would have to assume that the Charter Boats have to log when and how they empty their holding tanks.

My observations around the harbor: I still notice more than one dinghy tied up to moorings, there are many derelict boats tied up to shore moorings, the fishing charter boats are very aggressive to other boaters that are whale watching, and I keep noticing one of the electric boat rental companies coming very close to overcapacity on their rentals. If that’s all I can complain about for now...we’re doing pretty good to start the summer!

• • •

The Balboa Angling Club (BAC) is sponsoring their 16th Annual YSH (Yellowtail, Seabass, Halibut) Tournament on Thursday, June 14 through Saturday, June 16. Anyone can enter, and no membership is required. Tournament hours are from 8 p.m. on Thursday through 5 p.m. on Saturday. Fish may be weighed in at any certified scale location, but weigh slips must be emailed, faxed or delivered to BAC before 5 p.m. Monday, June 18. Call to confirm that the club has received your weigh slip. One fish per angler, per species limit for the trophy awards.

Summer sailing has started with the American Legion’s Monday nights, BCYC Taco Tuesdays, SSYC Hibachi Wednesdays and the NHYC Twilight Series on Thursday...you can sail almost every night of the week!

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

On the Harbor: Let’s do our part to keep it clean

By LEN BOSE

While attending last month’s Harbor Commission meeting, John Kappler, Newport Beach’s Water Quality Manager, started his presentation of the quality of the water in our harbor. This is when I normally shut down when engineers start talking about parts per million and water flow. As Kappler continued, I sat up in my seat when he started talking about the tons of trash and organic materials that his team keeps out of the harbor annually. I quickly made a note that I needed to learn more from this guy.

When I called for the interview, Kappler returned my call quickly. I don’t speak engineer at all, and he made it easy for me to understand what we can do to make our harbor cleaner.

Kappler moved from Ohio, with an engineering degree, about 15 years ago to escape from the winters, and had family in Orange County. Soon after arriving, he got a job with the City of Newport Beach. He spends his leisure time surfing and stand up paddling, and engages in competitive ocean swimming, where he regularly competes in the local Ocean Swimming series and the Balboa to Newport Pier race.

Kappler’s job as Water Quality Manager is within Public Works, where he is tasked with environmental water quality, water testing, monitoring and placing systems to keep trash out of the bay, managing the different grants, public education, and inspecting shipyards and construction sites. The list went on and on, and I started to think...when does this guy sleep?

As you would guess, fall and winter are his busy seasons, making sure the underground CDS units are cleaned. The CDS is a hydrodynamic separator using swirl concentration and continuous deflective separation to screen, separate and trap trash, debris, sediment and hydrocarbons from stormwater runoff. I had never known that the city had this type of equipment. There are also Marina Trash Skimmers, catch basin screens and the different types of booms that gather trash.

“The city has done a good job of chasing money and implementing projects,” said Kappler, while describing all the different grants the city has obtained to manage the equipment costs each year.

The City is also working toward marine recycling centers, where boaters can dispose of used engine oil and absorbent bilge pads. There has been a center in place at Marina Basin that will be remodeled and expanded in the next couple of weeks to include transmission fluid and batteries. If it all works out, there might be two additional centers in the future at the Harbor Marina under the 55 bridge/and PCH and another near Marina Park.

So now the real question. How do we keep our harbor clean? We are going to have to want it...which is evident in the annual harbor clean up days. Starting with the Newport Harbor Underwater Clean-Up on Saturday, June 2 at the Balboa Bay Club. You can check this out at www.nhunderwatercleanup.com. Help Our Harbor is looking for certified SCUBA divers and land-based volunteers to help clean up and preserve Newport’s most precious resource – our harbor. Go to the Register page and provide your email address, and you will be contacted about the event. This is all good stuff. We also have Help your Harbor at www.helpyourharbor.com with clean up updates the first Saturday of every month from April through August.

Okay, so if you are like me and go sailing or boating every weekend and you just don’t make time for organized events, what can you do to make a difference? It’s the simple things that make your connection to the harbor important. If you drop trash or see trash in the streets, it’s going to end up in our harbor. It’s a lot easier to pick it up from the streets than when you see it flowing in the harbor, according to Kappler. When you are at a restaurant, keep in mind you might not need all those napkins, condiments or straws you grabbed. It would overwhelm you how many of these items end up in our bay.

This all seems rather simple to me. Before every race, I always look around for man-made flotsam. Balloons, plastics...whatever should not be in our harbor or the ocean. Then catch and dispose of the flotsam. Makes for good juju on BCYC Taco Tuesdays, if you take a photo of the item you picked out of the harbor. Rhonda Tolar, and her team will give you an extra opportunity drawing ticket...and you will be surprised how good it makes you feel.

I am headed back out to sea again this weekend aboard Horizon participating in this year’s California Ocean Racing Week starting in San Francisco with stops in Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. As always, wish us luck, and I could use a favor. Newport Shipyard is remodeling their marina and has evicted us from our slip for Horizon. We ended up having to leave the harbor and would prefer to stay in town. So, if you know of anyone that would like to rent us a slip, please contact me at boseyachts@mac.com.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

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