THE HARBOR COLUMN:Charity, right-of-way and lightning

Ahoy.

The seas are flat and the water is warm, so get out on the water before summer is over. Actually, we are lucky to have a year-round boating season, but we are experiencing great recreational boating conditions, especially in the ocean.

As I have been mentioning in my recent columns that fishing is very good with the warm waters, there is a very worthy fishing tournament next month. The Make-A-Wish Tuna Challenge is accepting registrations for the Sept. 30 fishing fundraiser. All of the proceeds will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego, and the 2005 tournament raised $300,000.

I am on a team entered in the Tuna Challenge, and we will be using the Maritime Institute’s training yacht for the day. Our team includes Ray Tsuneyoshi, director of the California Department of Boating and Waterways; Rags Laragione, owner of the Maritime Institute; and Chandler Bell, “Boathouse Radio Show” manager.

We hope to bring in the big one, but most of all, we are glad to help a great cause. Find out more by going to www.tunachallenge.org.

Speaking of online, I receive numerous e-mails with questions from loyal readers of this column and listeners to my radio show. I try to personally answer all legitimate e-mails, but due to the volume, some slip through the dock planks’ cracks.

However, I receive good questions and bizarre questions, which leaves one worried that these people are sharing the waterways with us.

The recent e-mails that really concern me are those questioning who has the right-of-way between them or the tug maneuvering the dredging barge for the Back Bay project.

I understand that Newport Harbor is not a large commercial port with large ships, tugs, tows and submarines transiting the channels. Therefore, many local boaters may rarely or never encounter these right-of-way situations, but one e-mail posed this question: “Who has the right-of-way in Newport Harbor, me or the tug with the barge going between the Back Bay and the dumping grounds off the coast?”

This e-mail clearly answers yes to the argument whether we need mandatory boater education in the nation. If a boater does not know this basic answer that the tug and tow are the “stand on” vessel, especially with their large size (rule 9), I am concerned about their right-of-way decisions with other recreational vessels.

I did receive a very good question from a boater who asked about lightning hitting a boat and what can be done to prevent a strike. I thought that I would mention lightning because we receive lightning storms at the end of August and into September.

Lightning does hit boats, and I have seen the aftermath of a strike, but the chances are slim. Of course, sailboats with the masts acting as lightning rods are more prone to strikes then a motorboat, and I recommend that if there is lightning in the area to stay at the docks or tuck into a harbor or cove.

There is not much you can do while in the ocean to prevent a strike; however, you can minimize some of the damage. I always turn off all the electronics if lightning is within a few miles and immediately plot my position, course and speed on the chart.

You remember a chart — the big piece of paper with drawings that look like a map of the ocean and crisscrossing lines on it?

Additionally, I would not recommend standing next to the mast or holding on to any shrouds or stays on a sailboat. Also, don’t be sitting in the bow pulpit surrounded by stainless steel rails and a metal anchor with chain leading aft into the chain locker — just stay away from metal.

In answering both these e-mails, the bottom line is to play it safe and use your head.

Remember to tune in to the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation every Saturday at noon. “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” is on KCBQ-AM (1170) and can be heard online at www.boathouseradio.com. Oh, major radio news forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Safe voyages.