BRIEFLY

Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol rescued a sailboat from Newport

Harbor on Saturday, after it nearly sank.

Roger Lockhart, 44, called for help at 11:58 a.m. after he saw his

docked boat take in water, Sgt. James Thomas said. The 47-foot boat had

sunk to a point where its top was four inches above water.

Using two fireboats with three pumps each, sheriffs pumped more than

6,000 gallons of water out of Lockhart’s boat. The boat was fully raised

30 minutes after pumping began, Thomas said.

Lockhart’s boat was tied to his pier at Via Lido Sud on Lido Island.

Thomas said the boat began to sink due to a leak in the “through

hole,” which is usually plugged with a hose attachment.