Base ready for opening day

Lindsay Sandham

Opening day -- almost every yacht club observes it. It’s the first

official day of sailing season. And even in Southern California,

where sailing season is year-round, the long-standing tradition

remains.

But it’s a little different for the Newport Sea Base -- more of a

community facility than a yacht club -- which is holding its opening

day ceremony this Saturday.

Marking its one-year anniversary since reopening last April, the

Sea Base has a lot to celebrate. The facility has completed $6.7

million in renovations and has added a fleet of new boats, including

a recently donated 78-foot Turbo Maxi Sled for sailing programs.

The base has been owned and operated by the Orange County Council

of the Boy Scouts of America since 1937. It offers a bevy of

community-oriented water education programs, such as sailing classes,

water safety programs and a shark camp.

“Our goal is to get kids on the water, while promoting water

awareness and water safety,” said Daniel Van Dellen, special events

director for the Sea Base.

Brenna Cleeland, marketing coordinator for the Orange County Boy

Scouts group, said one of the goals of the celebration is to raise

awareness of the Sea Base and the programs it offers within the

community.

“A lot of community members may not even realize we’re here,”

Cleeland said.

Van Dellen said they anticipate 500 guests between 10 a.m. and 4

p.m. Every child who shows up will get a free Newport Sea Base

Opening Day 2005 patch.

Tours of the remodeled facility will be given throughout the day,

as well as tours of the 100-year-old tall ship Argus, the 78-foot

racing yacht Scout Spirit and some of the other boats used in the

various sailing classes.

The festivities will also include a visit from pirates, water

taxis to Estuary Discovery Day at the Back Bay Science Center, tours

of the Harbor Patrol fire boats, food cooked by the Newport Beach

Firefighters Assn.’s BBQ1 and hands-on water education activities for

kids.

Knowlton Shore, Newport Sea Base’s program director, said that

representatives from Vanguard boats will be there to promote their

new Nomad 17-foot sailboat, and they will be taking people for rides

in the harbor.

“We bought a fleet of Vanguard boats last season,” Shore said,

adding that new boats were necessary to beef up their sailing program

after all the renovations. “We’re really trying to increase the usage

and the number of people that go through the program.”

Money for the construction and the new equipment came from

fundraisers and donations, allowing the Sea Base to keep the cost of

the programs low, Shore said.

“We have eight weeks of programs and six different sailing

classes,” he said. “We serve thousands of youth throughout the

summertime.”

The base has limited parking, but there will be additional lots up

the street with shuttles running to and from the celebration about

every 20 minutes, Van Dellen said.

The Newport Sea Base is located at 1931 W. Coast Highway in

Newport Beach. For more information on the opening day celebration or

the programs offered, call (949) 642-5031 or visit

https://www.seabase.org.