Feedback -- Rockin’ the boat

The cartoon (Daily Pilot, June 24) by Bolton wasn’t far off the mark.

On Tuesday, June 26, Lodwrick M. Cook held a demonstration by parking his

large yacht toward the beach at his dock on Balboa Island (“Yacht

controversy takes a new turn,” June 27). This boat dominated the entire

area. It was larger than any boat in sight. It was a plight to the

charming characteristics of Balboa Island that we enjoy.

He was fortunate to have docked during a higher tide. It was so long

that the first 25 feet of the boat, almost half of it, would be on sand

at low tide. The stern, possibly over the legal limit in the bay, stuck

out into the channel far enough to cause dozens of kids returning their

small sabots from races to change course. The boat was too long to tie

off on the dock, so they had a line from the bow to the pier, a fixed

point. Both the boat and dock float with the tide. When the tide went

out, the boat would have been pulled into the dock and pier with enough

force to seriously damage the pier, dock or boat.

Cook’s first application was to move the pier and dock to a new

location, effectively making the beach private. The residents were

totally against this proposal and the City Council denied the request.

This new demonstration, with the boat pointed toward the beach,

indicated he would need to dredge a hole in the beach so his boat would

float in water at low tide. Again, we would lose the beach, as sand from

the surrounding area would migrate to the hole. Not only would the boat

occupy areas for swimming and block access to the bay, the hole created

by dredging would be a giant safety hazard for anyone walking or wading

near it. Falling in the underwater hole next to Cook’s large boat could

lead to serious injury or drowning.

Cook’s only alternative is to stop this ridiculous request. If he

spent any time at his new home, he might begin to understand the

privilege of his pier and dock on a public beach, use it appropriately,

and not selfishly force the rest of us into confrontation. Welcome to

Balboa Island.

BRUCE REYNOLDS AND FAMILY

Balboa Island

I’d like to express my opinion regarding (Lodwrick) Cook’s yacht. I

feel that he should be granted his permit. Here we have a law-abiding

citizen who’s playing by the rules -- asking permission -- bought his two

lots, etc., and is merely trying to dock his boat near his homes. Would

he be endangering anyone if granted his permit?

Contrast this with Dennis Rodman’s behavior. Maybe Cook should adapt

Rodman’s attitude and just dock his boat and proclaim, “I’m going to do

whatever I want to do and the rest of the community can just deal with

it.”

I’d much rather see the city use its resources to pursue enforcement

of the laws that Rodman so blatantly breaks. If and when Cook decides to

sue the city, I’m sure that it’s going to cost us to defend the city’s

decision.

When someone endangers beachgoers by landing a helicopter, I think he

should be held accountable. I certainly would expect the FAA to suspend,

if not revoke, the pilot’s license for such blatant disregard for the law

of the land.

I’d like to see Rodman take his attitude into the city of Los Angeles

and see if the police are as polite as Newport Beach’s finest. I doubt

the press would be allowed to photograph and publicize his antics. I also

think some nightsticks would have been dispatched to quell the

disturbance.

Remember, as long as he gets away with his stunts, we are encouraging

him to do more.

MARK P. MEDINA

Newport Beach

I do not believe that Lodwrick Cook has the right to dominate the

space in front of the property he owns on Balboa Island by docking a

large boat. If Cook will check the deed to his properties, he will learn

that he does not own the boardwalk, not the sea wall, nor the beach, nor

the water in front of his property. This property belongs to the city of

Newport Beach and the people of California.

If the city of Newport Beach grants him permission to dock his boat,

this is only a privilege and certainly not a right. In my opinion,

allowing Cook to dock such a large boat will not benefit anyone but

himself, certainly not the family lifestyle of Balboa Island or the city

of Newport Beach.

ROBERT B. LAMBERT

Balboa Island

They just don’t get it. The Cook family and Tony Melum, Newport

Beach’s harbor resources manager, believe the boat “fits in there,” after

mooring it as a landlubber would -- tied forward to the immovable pier

and aft to the floating dock.

Oh yes, it fits if you disregard the tides. Disregard the tides and

the mooring line will rip the cleat off the pier in a similar fashion as

the boating accident at Disneyland where a life was taken.

What the Cooks need to do is take the lead from a neighbor just one

pier away: realize that a yacht larger than 50 feet doesn’t belong on

these piers, blocks access to the public beaches and public waterways and

instead relocate the boat to a more appropriate venue, a commercial or

private mooring. The neighbor was sensitive to the issues and showed

compassion for his fellow neighbors and for the special life that Balboa

Island offers us all.

The land is private but not the walkway, the sea wall, the beaches and

the water. We all have ownership and enjoy sharing it with visitors from

around the world. That is why we are protective about the island

ourselves.

BILL AND LINDA PIERPOINT

Balboa Island