Cleanup is a maritime service

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

What are you doing tomorrow? How about helping our ocean, bays,

lakes, rivers and creeks? Saturday is the 20th Annual California

Coastal Cleanup Day, when you can get involved to help clean up at

numerous sites up and down the state.

“The only way a program like this stays in business all these

years is because the people of California love to participate,” says

Eben Schwartz, statewide outreach coordinator for the California

Coastal Commission. “It’s more than a cleanup -- it’s an event that

helps bring every Californian together to set a benchmark for what

environmental stewardship can mean. That is reflected not only in the

popularity of the event, but also in the annual support we receive

from organizing groups, sponsors and other statewide agencies. Thanks

to everyone’s efforts, some volunteer this year will pick up the 10

millionth pound of trash that Californians have removed from our

beaches and waterways since this program began in 1985.”

You can join in locally at several areas -- from Newport’s west

jetty to Santa Ana River along the oceanfront, in Upper Newport Bay,

at Corona del Mar State Beach and in Costa Mesa at three sites: Vista

Park, Victoria Pond and Talbert Marsh. Go online to see all the sites

in Orange County at https:// www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ pendx.html.

Three boat shows are also featured this month -- from San Diego to

Long Beach.

First, this weekend is the big, big boat show called YachtFest.

This show’s theme is a “Celebration of the Yachting Lifestyle,” and

on display are mega-yachts. The event is at the Shelter Island Marina

from today through Sunday, featuring luxurious super yachts, seminars

and exhibits geared toward those interested in high-end yachting. You

can get detailed information at https://www.yachtfest.com. Tickets are

pricey at $50 per person. This show is for serious yacht enthusiasts.

Next week, the Southern California Marine Assn. International Sail

and Power Boat Show is at the Long Beach Convention Center and

downtown marina.

“We’re bringing the largest sailboat show on the West Coast back

to Long Beach -- a hub of Southern California’s boating industry --

with more than $100 million in boats and accessories,” said Dave

Geoffroy, executive director of the association.

The show runs from Sept. 23 through Sept. 26. Tickets are more

than $10 each, but you can get tickets for $7 each if ordered before

Sept. 22 at https://www. internationalsail andpowerboatshow.com.

Finishing out the month and leading us into October is the 26th

annual Lido Yacht Expo, known at the West’s premier in-the-water “Big

Boat” boat show. You will soon seen the temporary docks being

installed at the Lido Marina Village to accommodate luxurious yachts

that range in length from 26 to 100 feet, with many falling into the

40-foot class. The show will run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, and tickets

are $10 for adults with children 12 and younger admitted free. You

can view more details at https://www. goboatingamerica.com/boat

shows/lido2004.

Wow, I will have to go to all three shows, and stay tuned because

we will be having call-in reports from our reporters at the shows.

You can hear my radio show for the next three Saturdays.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Have you applied for your MMSI number for your VHF-DSC marine

radio aboard your boat? What am I taking about? Well, new marine

radios have new features, one of which is that the radios can

broadcast maydays automatically. An MMSI number is the maritime

mobile service identity number that you can receive free from

BoatU.S. at https://www. boatus.com/mmsi. New radios interface with

your global-positioning system, so with the push of one button, the

radio will transmit your latitude and longitude and your unique

nine-digit number over channel 70. The Coast Guard uses this number

to access its database about you and your boat, which helps remove

the “search” from search and rescue.

Recognized as the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation,

“Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” airs from noon to 1

p.m. Saturdays on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell and

Eric Hovland on my radio show by calling the listener line at (888)

344-1170.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the boating and harbor columnist. Send him

thoughts and story suggestions by e-mail to mike@boathousetv.com.