THE HARBOR COLUMN:

Tonight I am heading out to sea from the San Diego Yacht Club aboard the Maritime Institute’s training motor yacht, named the “M/Y Rhumb Punch,” and we will not return to shore until probably Sunday morning.

I will be joined by four others, including Chandler Bell, radio-show manager, and Rags Laragione, owner of the Maritime Institute.

We are casting off for a great cause: to participate in the Make-A-Wish Tuna Challenge, now the largest tuna tournament in the continental United States.

This is a very worthwhile cause, in which I am proud to participate and donate airtime on my radio show as a media sponsor.

Last year’s tournament donated $301,000 to the Make-A-Wish organization to help the kids get their wishes.

You can go to at www.tunachallenge.org to see more about this event.

Also, do you know that Saturday is opening day for the California lobster season?

So, if we can not find the fish then we might go bug hunting (bug is slang for lobster).

The recreation season is open from 12:01 a.m. Sept. 29 through March 19, and commercially opens Oct. 3.

I love to eat panulirus interruptus, so I hope to receive a few bribes from Laguna Sea Sports.

Did you know the Pacific Coast lobster does not have claws like their East Coast cousins do?

Tip of the week: When the lobster season opens, boaters need to be cautious transiting Newport Harbor’s entrance.

Lying just outside the jetties will be lobster pots with their marker buoys floating on the surface.

I recommend navigating a straight course to and from the jetty entrance to floating Mo Buoy to avoid wrapping a line on your prop, especially after dark.

If you do wrap a line, first try reversing that prop slowly, and if you lose your engine(s) then be prepared to drop your anchor and set your hook to prevent your vessel from drifting ashore.

Lastly, after a storm or heavy seas some of the traps may drift directly in front of the jetty.

So keep a good lookout, as I am sure you always do.

Due to the Ducks’ hockey game being played in London, my radio show will not broadcast this Saturday.

However, tune in next Saturday at 11 a.m. to Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show on AM 830.

Safe Voyages.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to www.boathousetv.com.