THE HARBOR

Terrance Phillips

For all of you who don’t know who I am, allow me to introduce myself. My

name is Terrance Kirkpatrick Phillips and I’ve been writing the boating

column every Friday for the past two years in the Daily Pilot’s sports

section. It has been determined that there is a great deal more to

boating that just sport, and other harbor-related events.

I also believe a writer should give his reader the most knowledge in the

least amount of time, so therefore, let’s get on with it, shall we?

The other day, while walking into Wilma’s Patio diner on Balboa Island, I

was almost knocked down by a herd of bikers wearing neon-colored

clothing. Their outfits looked ridiculous. Then I thought to myself, what

if other weekend warriors went to that extreme concerning their sport or

activity? I can’t remember the last time I saw full contact pads and

uniforms for a flag football game at Mariners Park and I’ve never seen

satin tanks and shorts in a pick-up round ball game at the main beach in

Laguna.

Then I thought about my weekend activity -- boating. I chuckled when I

related the biking attire to that of a typical opening day at a yacht

club and pondered just who looked the most ridiculous. With blue blazers,

white slacks, gold-braided hats, protocol, pomp and proboscises pointed

upward, who are boaters to be judgmental?

You see, yachting has the image as an elitist activity and oftentimes,

boaters lose perspective on why others don’t understand them, ahem, our

idiosyncrasies.

Alrighty then, what’s happening on this bay of beauty?

Sheriff Harbor master Captain Marty Kasules estimates there are 9,000

boats that call Newport Harbor home. That equals about 19% of the total residents living in Newport Beach.

“Of the 9,000 boats, I would venture to say only 8 to 10% are interested

in racing, sport or are commercial vessels -- the rest are basically

boats used for pleasure,” Kasules said. With that in mind, it’s

reasonable to assume many of the boats are infrequently used and

oftentimes piloted by less than experienced owners. Owning a boat makes

you no more a sailor than having a piano makes you Horowitz. A lack of

experience combined with an unforgiving sea, frequently spells trouble.

The Sheriff’s Harbor Department is building a new facility, which should

be completed in March. The large building will provide classrooms for

safety, navigation and fire prevention education.

“We are always trying to come up with programs that make boating more

safe. Education, demonstrations, guest speakers and open houses for kids

are all helpful,” Kasules said.

The department is trying to find funding for defibrillators -- devices

that use electric currents to restart the heart -- that would be

stationed aboard each fireboat.

“We receive about 12 calls annually where a defibrillator could save a

life. Heart attacks and drowning victims have at least a 60% better

chance of survival if a defibrillator is used within four minutes after a

heart stops beating,” Kasules said.

During the holiday boat parade, three Sheriff’s boats were equipped with

demonstrator defibrillators on loan from the manufacturers. Fortunately,

no emergency required their use during the parade, however, the

lifesaving devices have since been returned.

“We are looking deep into the budget to try and find a way to outfit each

boat,” Kasules said. Each device costs about $4,000.

The Sheriff’s Department would also like to make it mandatory for all

vessels in the harbor to add colored dye tablets to their holding tanks.

“When dye seeps from a boat, it not only alerts our deputies, it alerts

every boat around the perpetrator that he or she is violating our harbor.

It’s very effective,” Kasules said.

The grand opening day of the new Sheriff’s Harbor Department Office will

be announced soon, Please support and cooperate with these hard-working

deputies.

*TERRANCE PHILLIPS is the Daily Pilot’s yachting writer. His column runs

Mondays. He can be reached by calling (949) 646-4321 or by e-mail at

dailypilot@latimes.com .