THE HARBOR COLUMN:

Sailboat racers inside Newport Harbor may have to reef their sails or risk the chance of being cited if they break the speed limit.

Thursday’s Daily Pilot article (“Harbor, speeds, races in question”) states, “A few racers recently were cited for traveling at unsafe speeds on the harbor, according to Harbor Commission staff reports.”

Who knows the actual speed limit for boats underway inside Newport Harbor? Is it 5 mph as posted, or is it 5.75 mph (5 knots)?

The speed limit is listed in the city’s municipal code section 17.16.010: “No owner, operator or person in command of any vessel, except a public officer in the performance of his duty, shall operate the same or permit the same to be operated in any portion of Newport Harbor or the water in the present or prior channel of the Santa Ana River within the city at a rate of speed in excess of 5 nautical miles per hour, or at any speed which creates a wake that may cause damage to moorings of vessels or floating structures, except as hereinafter provided.”

Every boater while underway inside the harbor must keep speeds to no greater than the limit or no wake, whichever is slower.

So, technically, the sailboat races with the larger boats on a windy day must follow the law, however, it is tradition in Newport for the Harbor Patrol to look the other way if the racers are sailing safely above the limit.

Yes, there is a minority of the racers who are rude barging their way through the harbor, but the majority are racing with respect to other boaters.

There is a scarcely known caveat called “steerage,” where you can exceed the speed limit only to maintain steerage. Maybe this caveat will work for the sailboat races.

With that said, I will continue this topic in next week’s column, but let me know what you think about enforcing speed limits for sailboats races.

You can e-mail me, or you can post a comment to this column to start a dialogue with others at www.dailypilot.com.

Tip of the week is to tune in this Saturday at 11 a.m. to my “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” on AM 830 because joining us in studio inside Angel Stadium are Walt Kadyk, president of the Recreational Boaters of California, and Mark Silvey, who is president of Mark Silvey Marine Services.

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.