Take a cue from other harbors

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

I’m off again on three yacht deliveries this week with the

assistance of Capt. Chandler Bell, visiting Alamitos Bay, San Diego

and Ensenada and finally returning to Newport Harbor on Saturday. One

of the most exciting trips will be aboard a newly designed Marquis 59

from Bayport Yachts -- I understand this is one of only two Marquises

on the West Coast.

However, before I cut the dock lines loose this week, I was

contacted by an acquaintance who was going to visit Newport Harbor

for the first time in his new $1.5 million, 60-foot yacht.

“I will drop the hook in the Anchorage area, but then, where can I

dock my dinghy to go ashore for a few hours to visit my friends, go

shopping, and maybe grab a bite to eat?” he asked.

Excellent question, I responded, but unfortunately I had to tell

him that Newport Harbor does not have any public docking longer than

20 minutes and that only a few restaurants have guest docks for those

patronizing their establishments.

As I constantly travel the harbors from Ensenada to Canada by

boat, I am aware of the varying degrees of each harbor’s boater

friendliness and boater accessibility to shore. Many of the yacht

clubs do have reciprocal agreements with other yacht club members,

but a small number of boaters belong to a yacht club.

I also wonder as the roads become more and more congested why

transportation by water is not used in the traffic planning for

Newport? Many bayside homeowners could easily go by water if it was

convenient and feasible.

I submitted a letter to the Newport Beach’s Harbor Commission in

July 2002 in which I outlined two simple solutions. As a bonus,

neither suggestion has any major costs associated but will ultimately

help increase the sales tax base. I have included below some excerpts

from my letter.

1. LOCATION SIGNAGE

ON ALL CITY-OWNED

PUBLIC DOCKS

A few years ago, the federal government removed a number of

federal channel markers in Newport Harbor with no intention of

replacement. Newport Harbor is known as the world’s largest

shallow-draft harbor, including eight islands, three peninsulas and

the mainland. The waterways are confusing to visiting boaters and

local boaters alike. On the landside, there are ample directional

signs and street signs at every intersection, yet on the waterways

there are just over half a dozen channel markers along the federal

channel up to the large turning basin. It is difficult for a boater

to identify his or her location in the harbor and, for example, relay

to the Harbor Department in an emergency.

I recommend that on each public dock a location sign be placed on

the float, a light post or wherever visible from the waterside. As an

example, the sign can read: “15th Street on Balboa Peninsula.” This

will allow directional location and orientation for boaters, those

meeting them and emergency services.

2. TIME LIMITS AND

USAGE AT CITY-OWNED

PUBLIC DOCKS

The Rhine wharf has a new boater dock projected for the near

future, and new guidelines are proposed for the mooring holders’

dinghy storage in Newport Harbor. Yet, there are no city public

docking areas anywhere in Newport Harbor where docking is legally

permitted for longer than 20 minutes. As you know, this time is

insufficient for visiting or for local boaters to use nearby

amenities, whether dining, shopping or visiting a friend.

I recommend changing the 20-minute period to a more realistic time

three hours on all of the city’s public docks and enforcement of the

time limit.

What do you think and what have you seen when visiting other

harbors that can help improve Newport’s boater friendliness?

Tune in to my “Boathouse Radio Show” this and every Sunday from 4

to 5 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170), or listen over the Internet at https://

www.boathouseradio.com. You can call the toll-free listener line at

(888) 344-1170 and join in on Southern California’s only boating talk

radio show reaching up the coast from San Diego to Oxnard and out to

Santa Catalina Island.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to mike@boat housetv.com.