Ahoy.
For the past 20 years Art Gronsky has fired the starting gun for
the Flight of the Lasers, and on Sun., July 28, it will be time once
again for the 67th annual race. This year I have heard rumors that
John Wayne Airport's flight controllers are rerouting air traffic so
that Art does not hit an aircraft, but we better warn the seagulls,
or maybe not.
The race has roots back to 1935, beginning as the Flight of the
Snowbirds, then becoming the Flight of Kites in the early 1970s and
now the Flight of the Lasers. Balboa Island local Seymour Beek is the
chairman once again, and he leads the race as an event of the Newport
Beach Chamber of Commerce's Commodore's Club, of which, I must
declare, I am a Commodore. This is a race where you can just have fun
or be as competitive as you want while vying for the first place
trophy.
The 1 p.m. start will be off Balboa Island's shore just east of
the Balboa Pavilion and the racers will first head up the channel to
the large turning basin to round course marker 1 by the anchorage.
Passing to port the racers will turn, heading for marker U off the
Lido Isle Yacht Club and then beginning the long sail to marker Z in
the small turning basin by Lido Village. I wonder if any sailors have
contemplated sneaking under the Lido Isle Bridge versus going around
Lido's east tip to get to the Z mark.
If the normal prevailing winds are blowing, the racers then will
begin a 2.4 nautical mile reach to marker 4 located between channel
marker 8 and the Harbor Master's office. Once round the mark is the
final leg beating back to the finish line where it all started.
The awards ceremony will be at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club,
which also provides the Jim Webster committee boat. For race
information call the club at (949) 673-7730. Local businesses help
sponsor the race, and the race is successful thanks to the volunteer
race committee.
Narwhal adopted
The Newport Beach Council of the Navy League officially adopted
the Newport Harbor-based Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal. The Narwhal
docks at the Harbor Department with separate facilities to house the
crew. Lt. John Kidwell, the commanding officer, is the first officer
to be the captain of this new cutter, which replaced the Point
Stuart. The Newport Navy League is active, reaching out to those
protecting our nation here locally with the Narwhal and in San Diego
with adopted ships USS John C. Stennis, USS Belleau Wood, USS
Bonhomme Richard, plus the Miramar 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and the
