Meeting to address several fair issues The...

Meeting to address several fair issues

The Orange County Fair board will take its first look at the

California Performance Review’s assessment of the Fairgrounds as

underutilized, surplus property during its meeting Thursday.

It will also review Assemblyman John Campbell’s proposal to sell

the Fairgrounds property and move the fair to Irvine.

The fair board will also hold a public hearing on the rough draft

of its request for bids for the weekend swap meet. The swap meet is

run by Tel-Phil Enterprises under the moniker of the Orange County

Market Place. The goal of the hearing is to take input on the early

draft of the request, so it can be refined before its official

release in September.

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Visual Arts Building at the

Fairgrounds. For more information, call (714) 708-1500.

Plane to splash down for surfing expedition

An expedition to find and ride the world’s biggest waves took off

Wednesday.

Billabong announced it is adding a former military seaplane to its

Adventure Division surf expeditions.

Newport Beach resident Bill Sharp is among the leaders of the

project. He has helped organize the “Billabong Odyssey,” a years-long

project to surf the biggest waves, and the annual Billabong XXL

contest, which honors surfers for the biggest rides of the year.

The Grumman HU-16B “Albatross,” almost 63 feet long, can carry two

pilots and nine passengers along with surfboards and gear. It will

enable surfers to move faster than swells and allow them to land near

surf breaks otherwise reachable only by boat, if at all.

Among the plans for the plane are a full circumnavigation of the

Pacific Ocean and an extended around-the-world journey.

Reigning world surfing champion Andy Irons is among those

committed to the first flights.