City to address waiting boaters

Newport Beach will begin to whittle down its lengthy waiting list for boat moorings next year— a daunting task, considering some have been waiting for a mooring for 30 years, harbor officials say.

“What’s happening is once you’re on the mooring list you’ll wait for years,” said Mark Silvey, chairman of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Marine Committee and port captain at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Silvey said he has been on the list since 1997 for a 60- to 70-foot mooring. “This makes it a little more reasonable so more people will have access to the moorings. I think the harbor will be happier in the long run.”

Among other reforms, the city eventually will charge a nominal fee to remain on the list. No new names will be accepted after Dec. 31, and requests for updated contact information also will be sent to listed people.

Waiting-list reform marks one of many changes the city plans to make on how it manages its 1,200 some moorings. The changes come after an Orange County grand jury report earlier this year critical of how Newport handles its moorings.

The report found moorings may be illegally bought and sold by boat owners and that the city’s charges for mooring permits are below fair market rates.

“We want to tighten regulations to reduce mooring speculation,” said Harbor Commission Chairman Don Lawrenz, at a recent joint study session of the commission and Newport Beach City Council. “The waiting list is very long, and moorings are very highly sought after.”

About 2,000 people are on the waiting list for moorings, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol, which administers and patrols moorings for the city.

Silvey said he has heard of people waiting 15 years or longer for a spot in the harbor because most moorings change hands when people sell their boats and the mooring along with it.

A derelict vessel on a mooring usually signals others that the mooring’s owner is willing to sell the boat and the mooring along with it — or rather, sell the mooring, along with the boat.

“Some people are willing to pay for a derelict boat to get the mooring,” Silvey said.

Silvey said the size of vessels has increased with the demand for moorings, making it even harder to find moorings. While a 40- or 50-foot boat was the norm a few decades ago, people are buying 60- or 70-foot yachts today.

Others say wait-list reforms aim to fix something that isn’t quite broken.

Finding a mooring isn’t hard if you know how to go about it, said Carter Ford, vice president of the Newport Mooring Assn. The process usually means circumventing the waiting list, and going directly to the harbor to do some investigating, he said.

“You drive around the harbor, or borrow a boat and drive around with a pad of paper.” Ford said. “When you see a boat that’s clearly not being taken care of, call the city or leave a note on the boat, and you end up acquiring a boat and the mooring.”

While Ford said he feels the reforms are fair and will improve the process of acquiring a mooring, he said he feels there are other issues that deserve more attention on the water.

“Mooring permits are readily available for the public. It’s a long-established process and a straightforward process,” Ford said. “A free permit isn’t readily available in this harbor, given the desirability of being in this harbor, and I don’t see why it should be free.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.