Briefly in the news

-- Deepa Bharath

Gale force winds kept harbor patrol officials busy Friday afternoon.

Three sailboats, including one off of Newport Harbor, struggled to

reach shore in the afternoon, said Sgt. Gary Smith of the Orange County

harbor patrol in Newport Beach.

Two of the boats lost their masts because of the winds, which had

gusts of well over 35 mph, and one other sailboat ran out of fuel and

could not refuel because of the high winds, he said.

“The gale advisory went up at 3 p.m. [Friday],” Smith said. “We got

the first call about 2:45 p.m. from Emerald Bay, the second about eight

miles off the [Newport] Harbor entrance about 3:10 p.m., and the third

one from Huntington at 4:45 p.m.”

All sailboats were safely towed back into Newport Harbor, and no one

was hurt in any of the incidents, he said.

Sailors should check the harbor patrol’s flag advisory outside their

Bayside Drive station, Smith said.

The gale advisory is likely to be lifted Friday between 9 p.m. and

midnight, he said.