Harbor master sails into sunset

Marisa O’Neil

Former Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Master Capt. Greg

Russell won’t be far from the water, even in retirement.

Russell, 53, started his career with the sheriff’s department 31

years ago in the harbor and concluded it there last week. And just

hours after his retirement party, he was already heading to a

waterfront vacation by the Colorado River and talking about his love

of taking cruises with his family.

“My whole family enjoys the water,” he said. “I couldn’t have

asked for a better job. It was an outstanding position -- fun,

helping people and being on the water. It was just great.”

The son of an oil tanker engineer, Russell practically has

saltwater running through his veins. He was a founding member of the

department’s scuba diving team and in his spare time got a U.S. Coast

Guard Master license, meaning he can pilot 100-ton ships.

Though his career in law enforcement took him away from the harbor

to work at the academy, in the county jail and as acting chief of

police in Stanton, he always dreamed of becoming harbor master.

“When I graduated from the academy, I had set a goal to be a

captain in the harbor patrol or the training division,” he said.

In 2001, he returned to the harbor as a lieutenant, the assistant

harbor master. When Stan Jacquot retired last year, Russell took over

the Harbor Patrol and its 42 miles of coastline at Newport, Dana

Point and Huntington harbors.

Russell remained true to his seafaring roots, even as the

top-ranking officer on the harbor, said Assistant Harbor Master Lt.

Erin Giudice. She will serve as acting harbor master until a

permanent replacement is named.

“He would go out and pump out bilges,” Giudice said. “He loves to

be hands-on, loves to drive the boats. He always wanted to drive.”

Members of the boating community respected Russell’s understanding

of their needs, said Marshall Caplan, commodore of Bahia Corinthian

Yacht Club.

But with his departure -- the third retirement from that position

in as many years -- many wonder who will fill his seagoing shoes.

Jacquot retired last year and his predecessor, Marty Kasules, retired

in 2003.

“[Russell] went through the ranks and was very knowledgeable,”

said Balboa Island Ferry operator and city harbor commissioner

Seymour Beek. “Unfortunately, now he’s going to retire, and we don’t

know who we’re going to get -- someone with lots of experience or

someone from the sheriff’s department who just got promoted.”

Because the harbor patrol does more boating-related patrols and

rescues than strict law enforcement, boating experience is a must for

any harbor master, Beek said.

The harbor master also has to be familiar with the particular

characteristics of each of the three harbors, Russell said.

“You have to really understand and be up on boating issues,”

Russell said. “It’s not a position for someone who doesn’t understand

boating.”

Making the rank of captain in the department requires so much work

and experience that those who do are often near retirement age, said

Jim Amormino, spokesman for the department.

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona will likely start interviewing

candidates in the next six weeks, Amormino said.

Though it took a long time to get there, and he spent only a year

as harbor master, Russell said he was glad to have the experience.

“The only thing I could have wished is that it came earlier in my

career,” he said. “But I don’t look back and regret anything.”