San Diego suspect accused of bringing one-man destruction derby to harbor aboard stolen vessel

By LEN BOSE

While sitting in the Columbia Room at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club last Sunday night, a couple of people came up to me and asked what the final outcome was of the March 10th excitement on the harbor when someone allegedly stole a boat and rammed it into a dock and seawall.

That someone turned out to be suspect Joel Praneet Siam, 38, of San Diego. This incident wasn’t Siam’s first time he has butted heads with the authorities. Court records show he was previously charged in San Diego County for assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from an alleged August 5, 2020 skateboard attack on another man, and referred to a pretrial diversion program for people with serious mental illness.

This latest story, however, starts with Siam allegedly buying or receiving a stolen vehicle along with committing vandalism to a vehicle along Mariners’ Mile. Sources told me he was next seen walking through the parking lot at the Sea Scout Base.

He then allegedly made his way down to the docks and found a 60’ Azimut yacht that was in the shop receiving service, with the technician not onboard the vessel at the time. The tech had left the key in the ignition, my guess being that he was out shopping for parts.The suspect then allegedly boarded the vessel and figured out how to start it. After putting the boat into gear, he attempted to maneuver it out of its slip. 

Later, looking at photos after the vessel had been hauled out at one of our local shipyards, it appeared to still have an electrical cord and dock lines wrapped around the props, along with broken dock lines on the vessel’s cleats. The odds seem pretty clear that he pulled out of the slip without untying it or unplugging the electric cord.My guess is that Siam left the slip and had just completed a 360-degree turn before pushing it to full throttle and quickly impacting the docks at what I still call Ardell Marina. 

Damage done was running into and dismasting a Hunter 42 sailboat which appears to be totaled. Then, the boat was backed off the docks and again went into a circular patten just missing the same docks again. Somehow the suspect reportedly re-gained control and headed toward the Lido Isle Bridge where he reportedly hit another boat on an end tie, before then plowing headfirst into the sea wall.

A very good friend of mine was on the scene there at the time and informed me that the suspect was directly below him and not at the helm when running into the seawall. “I was screaming and cursing at him with every word that I know. It was obvious that he was not hearing a word.”What must have seemed like an eternity for my friend, who also had a boat berthed there, the Sheriff’s patrol finally arrived and quickly apprehended Siam. Reports indicate that he was lying down in the flybridge where the Sheriffs eventually cuffed him. 

He was taken to the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol office and subsequently transferred to the Newport Beach Police and booked on a $3 million bond.Overall damage is estimated to be $3 million; with the Azimut 60 value being in the ballpark of $1.5 million and is reported as “all messed up.”The damage done to the docks on Lido is estimated at $50,000 and with eight slips at the Ardell Marina, that has to be pushing close to another $1 million in repairs. You’d still have to add up all the damage to the other boats in that marina, bringing the rough estimate to $3 million really quick.

Siam was charged with eight counts of vandalism and single counts each of grand theft, buying or receiving a stolen vehicle and battery with serious bodily injury, all felonies. He was also charged with one misdemeanor count of vandalism and faces a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury on a victim. Siam previously faced up to four years in state prison for the charges filed back in 2020.

Siam’s jail records show his occupation to be a CEO of a San Diego-based company. I was not able to confirm whether or not he was able to pay the $3 million bond and further updates have been unavailable to me at this time.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

It’s time to gather, one and all, for a Harbor Summit to get everyone on the same page

By LEN BOSE

The older I get the more interest I have in hydrodynamics, the motion of fluids. Possibly too much information for you, and yes, from a distance I might appear to be moving slowly but I am always optimizing my propulsion efficiency.

To optimize efficiency within our harbor we might start with the flow of communication between harbor users. To complete this task, we must recognize when the harbor is at its seasonal and daily peaks by the different users. Enter Harbor Commissioner Steve Scully and Harbormaster Paul Blank who along with staff will be targeting early to mid-May to schedule a Harbor Summit. 

A Harbor Summit is a meeting with as many harbor users attending as possible. Such as the City of Newport Beach, yacht clubs, rowing and paddling clubs, angling clubs, boat & paddle rentals, charter boats and harbor cruise ships. 

Items on the agenda might range from event scheduling, communications, how to avoid one another on the water, and where the dreading equipment might be staged or working.

Speaking of dredging equipment, October 1 is the target date for the staging and starting of the dredging equipment in the Lower Bay. I am super pumped about it starting, with some other stakeholders who are still looking for ways of disposing or containing unsuitable materials in the harbor. 

While talking with people around town, I’ve heard that Five Point Anchor will be closed down during the dredging. This will open up the Five Points area of the harbor with a net gain of space, even with the dredging equipment working there.

If I heard correctly, the CAD (Confined Aquatic Disposal) will take about two-and-a-half months to open up. Should you want more information on the CAD, along with information on the Lower Bay Dredging, visit my blog here.

Not all the permits are in place yet and until the agreement with a dredging company is completed, we will not know the timing of everything.

• • •

On March 21 at 5 p.m., a special Harbor Commission meeting discussing Onshore Mooring Rates will take place at Marina Park, in the second-floor meeting rooms. Everyone that has or is considering obtaining an onshore mooring permit should attend. 

The difficult part of this meeting will be to keep from rehashing what has already been said at the last two Harbor Commission meetings. I wrote a story in January about this topic and you can find it here. 

Ideally, the conversation will focus on what an acceptable rate is and how to scale the rate for the future.

• • •

Charlie Albright Outstanding Angler 2021

This is when I annually fall through the open hatch and embarrass myself, while writing about fishing. Yet, I think it’s important to recognize the recipients of the Balboa Angling Club’s Annual Awards. Their banquet was held February 24.

Here is the list of perpetual trophies: 

–The Larry Barrett Memorial Award for the First Tag/Release Marlin of the Year was presented to Sally Kurz for her July 17 catch. 

–Kurz also received the Beth Simmington Award for the first Marlin brought in by a woman. 

–The Western Outdoor News Award for the most tagged/released Marlin went to Kathy Ecklund. 

–The J.A. Beek Award was presented for the first Tuna of the Season pulled in by Alyssa Tupman on May 14. 

–Dave Edmondson was recognized with the J.B. McNally Memorial Award for doing the most for conservation. 

–The Balboa Peninsula Point Association Award went to Mike Parks for reeling in the Last Marlin of the Season on September 26. 

–Finally, the big pickle dish went to Charlie Albright who received the Outstanding Angler Award of 2021.

• • •

I keep telling myself I have hung up my sea boots and have retired from offshore sailing, which means I have not received a phone call inviting me onboard. 

The San Diego Yacht Club’s Puerto Vallarta Race starts this week with the weather forecast rather promising. Newport Beach has one boat entered which is John Raymont’s Ker 51, Fast Exit II, with local sailors Alan Andrews, Randy Moreno, Tyler Wolk and Navigator Brad Wheeler. 

Wheeler is a good friend and I wish him the best. Fast Exit II has spent all of the off-season out of the water and has completed an extensive refit. The boat they will have to beat is the Santa Cruz 70 Pied Piper in their division. However, the forecast might be a little light for Fast Exit. 

Another entry is Cecil Rossi’s Farr 57 Ho’okolohe, with local sailors Tom Corkett and Duffy Duffield. They should do well with this team entering their second season together. 

Wish them luck!

Sea ya.

On the Harbor: Mooring rental rates topic of Harbor Commission meeting

By LEN BOSE

On Wednesday, Jan. 12, the Harbor Commission met in the City Council chambers with 50 people in attendance. Most, if not all, were there for discussion on New Business Item 2 – “Review of Appraisal and Discussion of Rental Rates for On-Shore Mooring Permits.”

Harbor Commission Chairman Skip Kenny introduced the topic saying, “This is why we are all here tonight, with the understanding that there will only be a discussion on the recently presented shore moorings appraisal. No action will be taken on this matter until the Harbor Commission meeting in February to either make a recommendation or not to make a recommendation to City Council. As you all know, the City Council makes all the final decisions.” 

According to the previously instituted Beacon Bay Act, whereby the city is required to keep a fair market rate on the tidelands, Scott Karlin, a board member of the Newport Mooring Association, attempted to make the point that the act only pertains to Beacon Bay and not the whole harbor. 

Most of the questions the public asked pertained to where the additional revenues would go and if there are any benefits to the people paying the fees?

Also brought up was the difficulty in using the shore moorings. A shore mooring is positioned in shallow water at the end of a street and capable of tethering a maximum boat length of 18 feet. 

If you think about how many passengers potentially fit on an 18 ft. boat and ask the question, how do they enter the boat when confronted with the shallow water before them? 

There is also no power, water or accessible bathroom available and boaters must find elsewhere to clean or work on their boat. These limitations do not allow for an electric-type boat. 

Another problem mooring holders are faced with is the lack of street parking. 

Commissioner Beer questioned City Deputy Attorney Jeremy Jung on whether Karlin was correct with his understanding of the above-mentioned Beacon Bay Act. The city deputy attorney disagreed, stating that there are other examples that the city is responsible for to keep the mooring at fair market value.

Commissioner Scott Cunningham encouraged the group to continue to work towards a consensus on what is a fair market price. How would the shore mooring permit holders and the Harbor Commission come to a consensus on what is fair? It is likely that the next step will be another appraisal. 

In my opinion, the Netzer & Associates appraisal of $20 per foot is not out of the ballpark; today’s rate is $1.60 per foot. There has to be some middle ground that is fair for everyone with the goal being a roadmap to arrive at where the harbor wants to be in 25 years.

There are 478 onshore moorings which were originally placed in the harbor for access to offshore moorings. Today, it is estimated that 71 people have both offshore mooring and onshore mooring permits. For the 407 people using the shore moorings as storage, still, at one dollar a day that’s a pretty good deal. 

Another issue is how shore moorings transfer ownership, as many of the permits have been in one family for more than 60 years. With boat storage becoming more in demand I have always been a believer in “use it or lose it.”

One of my all-time favorite people in town is Jim Dastur, who came up with the concept of the city buying back the shore moorings. I was not able to take notes fast enough to report the whole concept. But, after grasping the idea, it makes sense that the city makes the permit holders whole, then rents back to them the same space and when the renter no longer requires the mooring, it’s passed on to the next person in line on the waiting list. In the long game, this is the best play for the harbor. 

I interviewed Dastur back in 2016. You can find my interview here. 

Not sure who has the ball at this point. Is it the shore mooring permit holders or the Harbor Commission? If I was a permit holder, I would counter the $20 per foot with an $8 per foot increase over the next five years, working towards a 25-year transition moving the shore mooring to a fair market rate.

If you have a shore mooring, I would strongly suggest you attend the next Harbor Commission meeting on February 9 at 5 p.m. in council chambers.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

On the Harbor: Meet Jackson Willett, the guy to know if you’re having a boat delivered

Jackson Willett, owner of Newport Coast Marine Yacht Charters and Powerboat School

By LEN BOSE

In the world of ever-changing marine insurance requirements, yacht brokers must reach out and become closer with U.S. Coast Guard licensed captains. Gone are the days when a new boat owner can take the keys of a vessel and learn how to operate and maintain a vessel on their own. 

If you have just purchased a 35-foot plus vessel, and have never owned or operated a vessel before, you will now be required to have somewhere between 20 or 40 hours of instruction. 

Others might never get the knack on how to maneuver a 60-foot vessel through the harbor safely and will require a skipper to pilot it.

For those just entering the yachting lifestyle, they will have two options. One is hiring a skipper to take you out each time you want to use the vessel or two, hiring a skipper to instruct you how to become efficient enough to run and maintain your purchase. 

Enter Jackson Willett, owner of Newport Coast Marine Yacht Charters and Powerboat School.

 Our town is not that big, and it’s easy to notice the people that are running the extra mile and working hard. About three years ago, I first noticed Willett on the docks, or on the bridge of larger boats instructing owners how to maneuver it. From a distance, I could see that he is a good coach by his body language and the success I witnessed with his students coming in and out of their slips.

Willett was born in Manhattan, New York City, and sailed in the junior program at the New York Yacht Club, spending his days sailing in the Hamptons, Long Island Sound and Oyster Bay. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a B.A. from Washington & Lee University. 

“This is my second career. I was a corporate financial consultant for 15 years and moved to California in 1998, bouncing between San Francisco and LA, then moving back to Newport Beach in 2002,” said Willett. 

“I received my 100 Ton Master Captain’s license 10 years ago through the Maritime Institute in San Diego. Then, I started private instruction shortly after while living aboard a Grand Banks 36 for three years in Newport Beach. 

“Next, I started as an instructor at OCC teaching their sailing and powerboat courses and quickly observed that many of the powerboat students were inquiring for instruction on their boats. 

“So, I started the Newport Coast Maritime Academy three years ago.” 

During our interview, it quickly became obvious that Willett is a well-educated person, easily remembering all the different government agencies he has to deal with, while using their initials along with his understanding of the whole marine industry. 

He explained the story of how he received his U.S. Sailing Power Boat certification. “U.S. Sailing turned me down three times. Emails and phone conversations were not getting it done, so I flew out to Rhode Island requesting a meeting with senior management. After I made my presentation, U.S. Sailing management loved it, and that’s how I obtained the certification,” Willett said. 

The Newport Coast Maritime Academy website can be found at https://ncma-ca.com/. In his bio page there, Willett explains that, “He specializes in training owners and their families to become proficient operators of their vessel and qualify with insurance carriers to command their own vessel.” 

He has more than 20 years of experience power cruising and sailing on the East Coast, Southern California, Mexico, and Hawaii and extensive education training.

Best of all, Willett offers a pragmatic and principled approach to teaching all aspects of vessel ownership and operation.

“The Basic Cruising Course is described as a 20-hour program taught onboard your own boat. Starting with a vessel orientation by lifting up every hatch and access cover, going into the engine room orienting the owner with the systems onboard and reviewing all forms of preventive maintenance. Then, reviewing items before departing, while cruising and then on your return. Seventy percent of the course is concentrated on close-quarter maneuvering. We teach them everything about docking, rules of the road, aids to navigation, chart reading, anchoring, emergency procedures and VHF radio operation.”

There are many other courses that can be taken from Coastal Cruising, Night Operations, Electronic Navigation, Maintenance and Basic Sailing to Advanced Sailing. 

There is also another hidden pearl of knowledge he gave me. During our interview, we discussed his delivery agreement which he completes before delivering a boat for an owner. Personally, I would have saved a fortune and hours’ worth of grief if I had completed this interview years ago on how to set the terms for a delivery crew. 

I was so impressed with the detail of his agreement, that I reminded him that I was available to crew for him anytime the circumstances occur.

If you are considering purchasing a vessel anytime in the near future or looking for a delivery crew, I strongly recommend the Newport Coast Maritime Academy.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

On the Harbor: Completing Phase II of the Lower Bay Dredging Project

Don Logan photo

By LEN BOSE

We all know that the Super Bowl is next weekend, but did you know it’s being played right here in Newport Beach, California? I bet you were thinking NFL championships. No, this is all about completing Phase II of the Lower Bay Dredging Project, which only comes around every 100 years. The cost of a Super Bowl ticket and dredging is similar in that both are very expensive and difficult to obtain. The purpose of this column is to explain the need for a Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD), or “Super Hole” as I call it, in our harbor and explain how it will be used to reach our long-game goals.

The goal of the Phase II dredging project is to improve navigation and streamline the dredging process in Newport Harbor by creating a cost-effective disposal location for unsuitable materials. The level of unsuitability of this material is less than what the FDA permits for the swordfish you would be served at any of the seafood restaurants in town – that is, 1.5 ppm for the unsuitable material versus 1.6 ppm for the swordfish. The construction of a CAD facility is the solution for unsuitable sediment dredged from within lower Newport Harbor that is not accessible for beach replenishment or disposal at the EPA approved disposal site called LA3, which is about six miles out to sea from the harbor entrance.

 So, before I get too far ahead of myself, let me go back to the beginning when on May 23, 1936, President Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key on his White House desk, to start the opening of our harbor. Prior to opening day, the Army Corps of Engineers removed 8,500 tons of sand and 50,000 tons of rock and the Lower Bay was dredged to a depth of 15 feet with the main channels 20 feet and the entrance channel to 25 feet at the cost of $1,835,000. Now fast forward to 2003 with the start of the environmental restoration of the Upper Bay and the Lower Bay with 2.9 million cubic yards of material removed. For us to return to our original depth, we have to enter into Phase II, which is the removal of one million cubic yards of sediment that covers most of the Lower Bay from the harbor entrance channel to the most western reaches of the harbor.

Of the one million cubic yards (CY), about 90 percent of the sediment in the harbor is characterized as “suitable.” Our councilmembers, harbor commissioners and city staff with a huge amount of hard work were able to lobby the EPA to allow us this one-time deal to place sediment at 1.5 parts per million from 1.0 parts per million. This allows us to place 850,000 CY in the LA3 dumping site. Seventy thousand CY of clean sand will be placed six miles off our coast that will replenish our beaches. This is a beautiful thing, and we are very lucky to be so “sand-rich.” The other 100,000 CY is “unsuitable material” and is the responsibility of the city to dispose of.

This is where the Super Hole/Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) is needed to complete the dredging of the Lower Bay. The hole would be 450 feet x 450 feet and 47 feet deep. The CAD will be located in the five points area of the harbor in the anchorage area just east of Lido Isle. The EPA and Army Corps have accepted the CAD as an affordable method to safely dispose of unsuitable materials. The CAD system is not new and is in seven other locations in the U.S., including two in California that are located in Long Beach and San Francisco. Simply put, the CAD system is the only feasible option the city has to complete our harbor’s dredging at this time.

There are concerns from some harbor users that the dredging will stir up the unsuitable materials, and if you are going to dredge them up why place them back in the harbor? When referring to unsuitable materials, mercury is the material that grabs your attention first. Understanding mercury concentrations within our harbor is well beyond my pay grade, yet it is simple to understand that these unsuitable materials are at the top of the level of the sediment. So, if your kids or grandchildren are making sandcastles on the beaches around Lido, Balboa Bay Club, or at Marina Park, they could potentially be playing in or near unsuitable material. By dredging the harbor, we would be digging up these materials and placing them in a 47-foot hole and placing a three-foot cap of clean sand on top of it which completely isolates chemical contaminants from the environment. With one million CY of sediment removed from the harbor, the bay will have two hundred million gallons of additional water. The deeper the water,  the bigger the flush. These two flushes a day bring in cleaner water and nutrients to our ecosystem.

Another concern is the disruption of navigation at this point of the harbor with the scows and dredging equipment. After further review and a better understanding of the whole project, this is simply a win-win for the entire harbor. I’m confident the city will work with the community to minimize the impact. The many different harbor users have worked and played around the dredging equipment before, therefore it should be no different than the last time we dredging  in Phase I.

So here is the good news! The Army Corps of Engineers’ work plan for 2021 includes 6.7 million dollars for dredging Newport Harbor, which is twice as much as we received in 2012. That brings the scoreboard to $9.6 million in federal funding. The city has spent two million already on engineering, design and permitting along with six million in sponsorship in hand and is working to find the remaining funds to complete the project. It has taken years to get to this point, with Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) and Congresswoman Michelle Steel (CA-48) stepping up and obtaining the funding for our harbor. A Bravo/Zulu for a job well done must be flown for City Councilmembers Duffy Duffield, Mayor Brad Avery, Harbor Commissioner Scott Cunningham, Public Works Director Dave Webb and Public Works Administrative Manager Chris Miller. It’s game time baby…the ball is teed up, so let’s do this and kick the ball past the end zone. The last thing we need is to have some Lucy pull the ball away and have us land on our backs for another 100 years.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

WHY THE CAD PROJECT IS NECESSARY

                                                                                  By

                                                                                                  Duffy Duffield

This week the City of Newport Beach was informed that the federal government had approved funding for our dredging project. It took five trips to Washington DC and one virtual trip this year to finally receive the good news. Congratulations to all those who worked to get this done!  

Newport Harbor’s main channels have been federally controlled since 1936. The U.S. Army Corps is responsible to maintain an authorized design depth of 10-20 feet (depending on the particular channel). 

Newport Harbor is actually an estuary with many thousands of acres upstream delivering sediment, vegetation (organic) and trash (inorganic) to the Lower Bay both in dry water flows (no rain, daily runoff) and rain events. 

The U.S. Army Corps and the EPA, along with several other agencies including the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Coastal Commission, control the dredging projects in our FEDERAL CHANNELS, therefore the City must comply with their strict rules and regulations. Our harbor has not been comprehensively dredged to its design depth since 1936. In 2012, 600,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment was removed from Newport Harbor with 130,000 cubic yards deemed “unsuitable for ocean disposal” and barged to a confined aquatic disposal (CAD) site at the Port of Long Beach where it was used as fill and buried. To be clear:  Unsuitable material is not considered “toxic” nor “contaminated” per the stringent definitions of the EPA. There are different criteria for determining whether sediments are harmful to animals in the harbor vs. in the ocean. Our sediments are not harmful to the animals that live in the harbor nor to those that live in the ocean. Because of the large volume of material that we need to dredge, however, EPA was concerned that this larger volume could skew the results so they preferred the safer alternative of keeping the material in the harbor.

Unfortunately, there are no plans in the foreseeable future at the Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles to expand operations, so there is no opportunity now or in the future to dispose our unsuitable sediment at a remote CAD site elsewhere.   

The City has identified areas within the channels of Newport Harbor where approximately 106,000 cubic yards of unsuitable material still remain – areas adjacent to Lido Island, the peninsula, and along W. Coast Highway. Dredging this unsuitable material using an excavator, then barging to a shore-side processing area (assuming one were available), then trucking to a landfill, would potentially cost at least $21 million and require 8,800 truck trips (assume 12 cubic yards per truck). For many reasons, including the impact of the volume of truck trips within the community and the lack of availability of a shore-side processing area, we cannot truck the unsuitable material to a land fill or a confined disposal facility (CDF) without causing tremendous impacts to our infrastructure and our residents.   

The EPA set a mercury limit of 1.0 part per million for sediment to be placed at the federal disposal site six miles offshore referred to as “LA-3.” Our channels have sediment with mercury values between 1.5 to 5 parts per million in some areas. This is something from our industrial past and not associated with our current watershed best management practices. Because the tests did not show any impacts to the animals, the City negotiated with the EPA an increase from 1.0 to 1.5 parts per million that could be placed offshore resulting in a huge cost savings. EPA agreed with the test results yet they did not have any long term (20 plus years) studies to determine the correct mercury number as a threshold for ocean disposal. The City and the U.S. Army Corps worked feverishly with the EPA to allow a higher threshold for ocean placement, but ultimately, the EPA remained at 1.5. This EPA agreement also required the City develop an overall dredging plan (Sediment Management Plan) for the next several decades – a plan that also included a CAD site. Conversely, if no CAD is developed, then the option to place 1.5 parts per million is not an option and a more restrictive level would be imposed.   

Every day in Newport Harbor, humans and wildlife are exposed to this unsuitable material especially when sediment is stirred whether during natural rain flow events or navigating at lower tides. It is not buried. Rather, this unsuitable sediment sits on top of the harbor floor and can be found in the channels adjacent to private homes and public beaches. We have been living with this material since WWII, and while there have been no human or wildlife health issues as a result, the City would like to move it deeper underground so that we are not exposed to it.

SEDIMENT TESTING

Several aquatic animals were studied while living in the unsuitable sediment (under strict laboratory testing protocols developed by the EPA and regulatory agencies) for weeks and then removed to measure any toxicity or biological effects. All results were negative which means that those same animals were healthy and were not affected nor harmed by the unsuitable material. The tests also focused on the animal’s ability to absorb the mercury from the sediments, and those tests also showed no impacts. 

The living organisms, vegetation and wildlife in Newport Harbor are healthy and flourishing. The 2012 removal of 600,000 cubic yards of material radically improved water quality and resulted in the return of several fish species not seen for decades in the Newport Harbor. Additionally, our eelgrass beds have consistently grown to 112 acres per our most recent 2020 survey – they have not shrunk – proving with evidence that dredging makes a healthy harbor.  

OTHER HARBORS WITH CAD SITES

Long Beach, Port Hueneme, Boston Harbor, New Bedford, Chesapeake Bay, Humboldt Bay Harbor and Baltimore Harbor have implemented CAD sites in which to place their unsuitable material with the approvals from the regulatory agencies including the EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife etc. These projects were all successful and are being monitored and measured into the future. 

The CAD method is safe and economically feasible. If we choose not to construct a CAD site, the harbor will continue to have those 106,000 cubic yards of unsuitable material stirred up from the bottom and choking our beautiful and valuable harbor forever. Likewise, we will be prevented from dredging our channels down to their intended depths so that they can be fully utilized now and in the future.

On the Harbor: Boating, a treasured family business, passes down to the next generation

 

(L-R) Mike Howarth with his son, Barrett

By LEN BOSE

While working the harbor as a yacht broker, I am constantly on the water, walking through shipyards, launching boats, referring insurance agents and maintenance teams, because “It’s what I do.”

Each day we watch the tide come in then go out and over time we notice a change within and around the harbor. Some of the change is not substantial, yet just shifts in the wind. For example, while walking up the gangway from my slip in the Newport Marina, there was a group (I’ll call them kids) circled together telling sea stories. In the circle was Tyler and Travis Duffield talking to Carson Hill. The kids gave me a very welcoming hello, and I thought to myself there is the wind shift, which I understood would come someday.

Tyler and Travis Duffield are the siblings of Terry and Marshall Duffield who we all recognize as owners of Duffy Boats. Both young men are very active in the family business and have the individual skill sets that will take them well into the future. Last week, I was in the Duffy maintenance boatyard while Travis and Tyler were installing a new boat lifting system. I’ve also spent time with them understanding and marketing Following Sea, their Bertram 56. Both are focused on the task at hand, and it’s rather interesting listening to their fresh perspective of our harbor and the marine business.

With my life revolving around sailboats, it’s not that often I pull up to Hills Boat Service/Fuel Dock. Established in 1947, it’s quite obvious that we are shifting into the third generation of the family business. The integrity of the family name continues through the different generations. From afar, I have watched and worked with Gary Hill around the harbor for many years. I have not had a chance to work with his son Carson yet, although I have observed him greeting customers on the fuel dock and running the fuel tanker. Like they say, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” – and from our first meeting I respect the kid, and how he represents his family’s history in our harbor.

Bunker Hill Sr & Jr

Another arm from the Hill’s family tree is Bunker Hill with his son Bunker Hill Jr., who have been working together for close to 10 years as marine surveyors. They are not just any marine surveyors…they are the harbor’s go-tos for respected/quality marine surveys. I have worked with Jr. on a couple of boats, and have observed him working on the family boat where it is obvious that he takes pride in his work with a strong passion for boating. Jr. always greets me with a welcoming hello which translates to going the extra mile for you

While walking the boatyards, you recognize the best quickly, which I did some 32 years ago when I booked my first survey at Basin Marine. Dave New has always quickly shared information with me and taken extraordinarily good care of all of my customers. The New family has operated Basin Marine since 1939 with Don New at the helm. I met Dave in 1989 and he had already lost most of his hair. Dave’s son Derek jumped aboard in 2006 and has become the primary helmsman. Both still work closely together at their navigation table in the main office. Derek still has a full set of hair and greets me with a big smile, demonstrating that he wants to help. I’ve worked next to Derek while solving and estimating repairs. I have never disagreed with his recommendations while always feeling he has my clients’ best interests at heart.

Back in 2012, I wrote a story about meeting two boat making legends: Mike Howarth and Henry Mohrschladt. At that time Howarth took me back into his shop and introduced me to his son Barrett who had his head deep into the center console of a prototype of the Mag Bay Yachts 33. Mike called Barrett up for an introduction, in which Barrett quickly backed out of his difficult position to say hello, then dove back to his task of solving an electrical issue. Mike went on to explain that this project was all Barrett’s. Now after nine years, the team is building two of the sexiest boats on this planet – the Mag Bay 33’ Center Console and 42’ Sport Fisher. I had a chance to run into Barrett the other day while he was launching a 33’ Center Console at Newport Dunes by himself. I re-introduced myself and he said, “Yes, I know who you are Len. How have you been?” The greeting felt like I had not seen a good high school friend in years while taking the time to talk about the marine business with me. Another great kid that takes great pride in his work.

Speaking of great kids, Patty and Harvey Wills at Western Marine Marketing have recently handed over the helm to their son Whitney, who is out at every shipyard, boat show, and at the manufactures facility with the 16 marine products they represent. The Wills family has been a pillar in the yachting community for as long as I can remember. I witnessed Whitney demonstrate the new features of a Pettit bottom paint at our local shipyard, and I was instantly sold on the product and have recommended it to the Harbor 20 fleet.

I gotta tell you, it feels really comforting to know that our harbor is in good hands for years to come.

Sea ya.

~~~~~~~~

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

If you own an Yamaha Outboard than you have already met Nick Kelly.

 

West Coast Marine Service

Over the last ten years, it’s been no secret who the go-to person is around town to service your Yamaha outboards. Nick Kelly is the owner of West Coast Marine Service located at 1555 Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa is that go to person.

Nick was born in Newport Beach at Hoag Hospital and recalls his father introducing him to a dinghy with an outboard at a very young age allowing him free access to the harbor as soon as he was able to start the outboard himself. “I recall jumping into the dinghy with two of my friends and spending the entire day on the harbor with them. I have another fond memory of one Halloween when my father made an outboard motor costume for me,” Nick said. While away at college Nick took a Diesel mechanics class “just for fun” at a local community college. “This is when the puzzle all came together for me deciding I wanted to become a mechanic,” Nick said.

Shortly after college Kelly opens West Coast Marine Service and has not looked back. I then asked about the part shortages like almost all industries are facing around the world these days. “ I placed my order in for new engines mid-summer last year and I am hoping to receive them before March of this year, the odds of me adding on to the order appears to be rather challenging at this point. In regards to finding parts for our customers, we have become very efficient at rebuilding parts. It’s not how I like to do things yet I have to keep my clients running and on the water over this next year.” Kelly said.

Regarding maintenance, Kelly could not express enough every 100 hours or annually haul out to change the lower end oil, check the spark plugs, and filters. Like in most all boats, owners need to make sure there is no fishing line wrapped around the props causing larger problems.

I did not realize that West Coast Marine Service has its own boat trailers allowing them to pick up customer’s boats, bring them to the shop for engine service along with other maintenance items such as bottom painting. If the boats are too big for the trailers the shipyards in town place their first call into West Coast Marine anytime a Yamaha outboard is involved.

Tate & Nick Kelly

While walking the docks is quite obvious that most of the marine manufacturers are all offering boats driven by outboard motors. Companies like Hunt, Mag Bay, Hinckley all your upper-end yachts are all offering outboards while expanding to larger vessels each year. It makes sense also, with fewer acoustics problems, better engine accessibility, more usable space aboard, fuel economy, and the list goes on. We all know that joke while walking down the dock and asking your friend why that boat has four outboards on it? The reply is 5 will not fit! If I was to speculate on the all-purpose vessels one might see only one or two outboards with the increase of horsepower we are seeing each year. This will allow these boats to have larger swim platforms.

I then inquired about electric outboards in the near future? “ That’s a good question, the marine industry will always follow the car and other industries. Maybe not as fast, the first couple of tries have not caught on yet I feel it’s safe to say we will see the change soon.” Kelly said.

Kelly was also excited to tell me about his new fishing charter business. If I recall correctly he picked up a Parker 28 and is outfitting it with all the newest features that Yamaha has to offer such as the new XTO phase charging systems. This way he can demonstrate the new systems to prospective buyers along with a platform to take out fishing charters.

My last question for Nick was how do you like to go boating? “ I enjoy it all from sailboat cruising with my whole family, taking the kids to Moonstone, or just going fishing with the gang yachting has always been a big part of my life. I’ve done many delivers down the California Coast along with a Hawaii delivery after a Trans Pac I enjoy it all. With the Kidds entered in junior sailing now.

I need to apologize to Kelly because my recording from our interview is not replaying and I am trying to remember our 40-minute conversation. What I do recall without any hesitation is that every one of my customers from Dana Point to Cabrillo Beach with Yamaha outboards tells me that Nick Kelly and at West Coast Marine is the go-to person. 

Sea ya

2010 Mid-Winters In Paso Robles

By Len Bose

Len and Jennifer Bose on their wine-tasting trip to Paso Robles.

While most of you were sailing in the 81st annual 2010 Midwinter regatta or sailing in the Vallarta Race, some of us were catching up with our annual maintenance. Please understand as a yacht broker, when I take time off from work, I go racing or to Catalina with the family, that’s pretty much it.

Around this time of year, my wife Jennifer reminds me it's our wedding anniversary, and very gently asks where we might be going. My reply is normally, “Let's load up the boat and head to Catalina.”

Well about every five years, Jennifer looks at me, places her hands on her hips and tells me: “Not again. I want to go somewhere were there are no boats and just relax.”

So, what’s a sailor going to do? Go drinking of course, or to put it more eloquently – wine tasting. Yeah, that’s it, let's go wine tasting!

It’s also strange that about every five years I sell a boat to a vintner; it’s always good to “talk the talk.” Now, I just need to learn to “walk the walk,” because after 17 years with my love, staying at a Motel 6 and doing 10 tastings in a day is no longer an option. This time, I needed to do my homework and plan a strategy and route in mind. So, I tried to recall the first winemaker I sold a boat to some 20 years ago – Cliff Giacobine. Cliff has since passed away, but what I recall was always talking about Italian wines. I thought this was strange, because the year was 1990. He had been growing Zinfandel for years and had just started planting Syrah. Now jump ahead 20 years: the Rhone style is getting most of the attention in Paso Robles. And I can still recall Cliff talking about Italian wines.

So while researching the trip, I found www.giornatawines.com, whose headline on the website read: "Inspired by Italy – Crafted in California.” This winery is owned and operated by Stephanie and Brian Terrizzi, whose philosphy reads: "Creating giornata started with a dream to create wines from Italian grapes grown in California employing the sensibility and philosophy of Italian winemaking."

What I liked most about this vintner was that after I sent an email requesting a tasting time, Brian called me personally. The Terrizzis don't have a tasting room yet, so you meet Stephy at a local wine bar called 15 Degrees C, which refers to a nice cellar temperature for a red wine. There is no better way to get a true feel for a region than getting an overview from a local wine bar.

Jennifer and I had a chance to try the “il Campo” and the Sangiovese. This is when Jennifer said "yummy," and we purchased a bottle of the 2007 Gemellaia, two bottles of the 2007 Nebbiolo along with a bottle of the 08 il Campo. It might be because of the past comments made by my old friend Cliff, but my gut tells me to keep my eye on giornata wines. I would also like to point out that I was not charged for the tasting.

So now it was time go drinking ... I mean wine tasting. Attached is my google maps. Because Jennifer and I went tasting on a Sunday and Monday, the yellow pins mark the wineries open Thursday through Sunday.

We pulled off the 101 onto Vineyard Drive. I called Booker wines because I had read that they were closed for tasting due to a fire. This wasn't really a problem as Turley Wines is on the way to the 46. Turley Zins are the "best in the world," and the owners are mighty proud of their product. This didn't keep us from buying a bottle of Dogtown and a bottle of Turley olive oil.

With the time now at 3 p.m., I decided to pass on L’Aventure. On a side note, you can find L’Aventure wines for sale at The Wine Club in Santa Ana.

Next on the list was Zin Ally. You have to stop by and see Frank. He only makes 300 cases of Zin a year, but his father used to own Pesenti Vineyards, which is now owned by Turley. This winery is a must see and an outstanding value.

Just down the Hill is Four Vines. The tasting room was packed, and just not a comfortable place for Jen and me. If you are under the age of 40, stop by and enjoy a tasting.

Next on our list was Dover Canyon. This winery has one of the better views of Paso Robles, and we stayed well over an hour tasting 12 different types of wine. I really liked this place; we walked out with two bottles of their Rebel Rose’ and two Bottles of their 2007 Osso Seccho.

We then pushed to the Far Out region of Paso and stopped by Le Cuvier. The tasting room is a couple of picnic benches in the middle of the winery with everyone working around you. To me it does not get any better than this. And as for the wines, all Jennifer could say was, “We'll take that one and that one and ..." I am just glad our son Andrew wasn't with us, because we might have just left him there in trade.

With time running out, we started back to the bed and breakfast we were staying at with the hopes we could make it to Villa Creek. We pulled in front of Villa Creek at 5:20 p.m., and they had already closed. But to tell you the truth, we were done tasting for the day.

View from Belvino Viaggio, their charming bed and breakfast.

We arrived at Belvino Viaggio, our quaint lodging, at just before six o' clock, with a very warm greeting from Lois Fox owner/innkeeper. To keep the article short, we loved it! We've never stayed at a better place in Paso.

We were the only ones there on Sunday and Monday nights, and we'll be back. We shared some wine and cheese and just took in the breathtaking view with Lois, who talked about her upcoming bare boat charter in La Paz.

Jennifer and I have been wine tasting a number of times, and our routine is to have a picnic in the room for dinner. As the moon came over the city lights it was the end of a perfect first day.

On day two, we took out our party hats after a nice walk through the orchard below the B&B, and started out on our course. First stop – Lone Madrone, with a farm-style wine tasting room and a comfortable feeling.

Next was Linne Calodo. This is one of the new high-end places in town with some of the better wines from Paso. The whole place is breathtaking. With their flagship wine being named “Problem Child” it made me laugh and think of my good friend Dan Rosen and his boat of the same name. The wines are pricey but it’s worth the stop.

Our next waypoint was Denner Wines – and just like Linne Calodo – this is one of the new wineries in town where no expense has been spared. Jennifer and I used one of their picnic benches for lunch, and spent an hour just enjoying the view.

We continued traveling north on Vineyard, and as we approached Norman we noticed the time was 3 p.m., and we were already running out of steam. We made our last stop – Tablas Creek. By the time we arrived there, Jennifer had caught her second wind and started by saying “yummy” and “we will take that one and that one and …"

It was approaching 5 p.m., and we needed to go back and change to get ready for dinner at Artisan. We wrapped up our 17th wedding anniversary in style, with a three-course meal, and of course, the wine pairing.

To tell you the truth, I hit every lay line and made it around this course like I knew what I was doing. When Jennifer went to work today she still had a big smile on her face, leaving the house with a big, “I love you.” Well, it will be great until my MasterCard bill arrives. If any of you readers would like a copy of my wine notes and some of the information I gathered, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Now it's time to get ready for the Cabo race.

Sea ya'
Len Bose

Len Bose is a contributing writer to the Daily Voice and owner of Len Bose Yacht Sales.