Elia Powers
Bring on the big boats.
Four-hundred feet of temporary docks have been put in near
Carnation Cove to accommodate the eight largest vessels in town for
the First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta.The zig-zagging docks
protrude from shore near 2209 Bayside Drive, said Robert McDonald,
the regatta's deep-water dock committee chair, who supervised the
construction project.
A U-shaped section at the end of the docks will hold four of the
largest race boats. At the deepest point, the dock is bolted 21 feet
underwater, leaving about a foot of space in between the ocean floor
and some of the yachts' keels.
"We needed to get out to the deepest part of channel," McDonald
said. "This is a big-boat race. Some of these boats are more than 80
feet long and have sophisticated underwater apparatus that can't
touch the bottom."
Twenty boats were invited to participate in the first-time event,
which begins Friday and ends Sunday. The race course is set close to
the shore, McDonald said.
Proceeds from the regatta will benefit the Hoag Heart and Vascular
Institute at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.
The first yacht to arrive at the temporary docks Wednesday was the
Dubois 90-foot Genuine Risk. Most are arriving at the docks today,
McDonald said.
The other boats located at the site include a Max Z 86 called
Pyewacket, an Andrews 80 named Magnitude, an Andrews 67 called
America's Challenge, an Andrews 68 dubbed Vicki, a Santa Cruz 70
called Grand Illusion, a Dencho-69 named Peligroso, and an Andrews 61
known as Medicine Man.
Regatta co-chair Jim Madden, a Newport Beach resident, will be
entering his 50-foot J145 called Stark Raving Mad.
It is one of the smaller boats, he said, and therefore won't be
occupying space at the temporary docks. He said the docks allowed
race organizers to be more inclusive when sending out invitations.
"The bigger race boats have historically stayed away from Newport
Beach," said Madden, a Hoag Foundation board member who has won
numerous regattas with his race boat. "This ought to be, and now is,
a place where all sailboats can race."
Deep-water dock committee members met for the past six months to
finalize design plans and get the necessary permits. The organizers
hired a marine biologist to dive on site and locate eel grass, an
endangered type of seaweed.
Using global positioning system coordinates, the diver worked with
a construction crew to place the temporary dock in places where it
wouldn't damage the eel grass, McDonald said.
In order to hold the docks in place, the crew relied on 18,000
pounds of lead in six different locations.
The committee received building permits from numerous agencies,
including the Coastal Commission and the city of Newport Beach.
Madden said the next time the regatta is held, likely in two
years, the process won't take as long. McDonald said he couldn't
remember a similar project that had taken place in Newport Harbor.
The temporary dock was officially opened Wednesday and is
scheduled to be taken down Monday, McDonald said.
* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.
He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at
elia.powers@latimes.com.
