More dinghy parking to be considered

June Casagrande

Owning a mooring in Newport Harbor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Sure, it’s great to own a boat. And there’s no better place to berth

it than Newport Harbor. But if your boat’s on a mooring 5, 10 or 40

yards off shore, how do you get to it?

The answer, as mooring permit holders know, is that you usually

need a boat to get to your boat -- a dinghy, that is. But even these

tiny shuttlecraft are making waves because, for many mooring owners,

there’s no place to keep them.

The city’s Harbor Commission has proposed a solution, one that

could be a godsend or could raise all kinds of ire. At their next

meeting, commissioners will discuss whether to move forward with a

plan to build 15 racks at eight public spots to hold up to 76

dinghies.

The four- and six-unit racks would be at the Fernando Street beach

and pier, the 15th Street beach and pier, the 16th Street beach, the

19th street beach and pier and at the Lido Bridge public beach area.

Often, they will be next to pump-out stations, but would be designed

in a way that would not hamper boaters’ access to the facilities.

They will cost $14 a month to rent and will only be available to

permit holders.

“This is something that has been discussed for a long time,”

Commissioner Seymour Beek said. “The basic reason for it is just to

make it easier for people to get out to their boats. It would be done

on kind of an experimental basis.”

Simultaneously, commissioners are considering extending the period

of time the dinghies can be docked at these piers, as well as at

Coral Street public pier. Tentatively, the 20-minute time limit for

docking dinghies at the existing piers at some of these locations

would be extended to two hours in most cases.

Now, boat owners are allowed to dock their dinghies at public

piers only for short periods of time.

Extending some time limits, Harbor Resources Supervisor Chris

Miller wrote in a staff report, could allow boat owners enough time

to access amenities on shore, thereby making the harbor more “user

friendly.”

Miller’s department is sending out notices to residents within 300

feet of each site, inviting them to share their opinions at the next

commission meeting, on July 9. Only then will they have some idea

whether this plan will float.

“We want to get feedback from the residents, to make sure we’ve

got all the bases covered and views aren’t obstructed and to give the

public a chance to voice their opinions,” Miller said.