Boaters

Newport Beach police are reminding sailors to keep their expensive equipment secured following a string of boat burglaries in the last two months. Police responded to five boat burglaries in November and six in December, said Sgt. Steve Burdette. The thieves are stealing high-priced fishing equipment, Burdette said. Daily Pilot boating columnist Len Bose said that, in one incident, a person had nearly two dozen fishing reels and a portable tackle center taken. —Joseph Serna

NEWPORT BEACH — When driving down Newport Boulevard toward Lido Marina Village, the bright white finish off hundreds of yachts beckons for a closer look. If you're up for getting a glimpse at how accommodating life on the water can be, or you have a few hundred thousand dollars to spare, the 38th annual Newport Boat Show is worth a visit. The show opened Thursday and runs through Sunday. From trawlers to tugboats and mega-yachts, the show is where attendees will likely find what you're looking for, even if it's boaters insurance or a new deck finish.

Deepa Bharath The electronics on a boat serves a variety of purposes -- from getting help in times of crisis to making sure boaters find their way home. David Lawson, who has owned Seaside Marine Electronics in Newport Beach for about 18 years, says the scope of his business has changed dramatically since he started out. Lawson initially worked for a marine electronics store and later took over that business when it folded. "Things have changed so much," he said.

MIKE WHITEHEAD Ahoy. We are into the new year, and it is great to hear that the Newport Beach City Council is wasting no time in appointing committee members to help decide the fate of the Marinapark property. This publicly owned property is the last bayside area that can be developed to the best potential for our harbor, boaters and the public. Ironically, I just read an article in BoatUS magazine about the New York State recreationway plan for New York, and the plan declares "recreational boating ... its most important asset when the plan was written in 1995."

Ahoy. I received quite a few responses to last week's column, especially about a growing lack of courtesy between boaters in Newport Harbor, and many were concerned with the never-before boater at the helm of a new yacht. Every summer, we have the intensification of those using the waterways, whether sailing classes, charter boats, outriggers, fishermen or paddlers. I actually like to see people using our harbor, and we must all learn to be respectful and tolerant of each other on the water.

MIKE WHITEHEAD Ahoy. Breaking news! The final plans for Marinapark were approved last night in a secret, closed-session meeting. The last remaining undeveloped city-owned harborfront property is to be developed as a full-scale public marina with slips large enough to accommodate visiting mega-yachts. Also at the late night meeting, members sketched out plans for a public boat-launch ramp, expressing alarm that a public launch is missing in the main harbor of the largest recreational harbor in the world.

Ahoy. The U.S. Coast Guard asks that all boaters help test their coastal stations' Global Maritime Distress and Safety System Digital Selective Calling capabilities. The marine MF/HF radiotelephone service is part of the DSC system, which allows boaters, with the touch of one button, to send a distress signal to the Coast Guard complete with Mobile Maritime Service Identity number and latitude/longitude if connected to a Global Positioning System from anywhere in the world.

Ahoy, Great news for boaters — and yes, you do make a difference when you make your voice heard. What am I talking about? Once again, the attack on the California Department of Boating and Waterways to dissolve Cal Boating by the state legislators has been avoided because of the enormous outcry from the boating community. Boaters, also, know that the real reason to eliminate Cal Boating is to steal Cal Boating’s dedicated fund source that is funded exclusively by boaters.

I could not believe my eyes while I was driving along Pacific Coast Highway through Huntington Beach on Thursday morning. I have seen many whales on the beach in my time, but now I saw a beach full of heifers ? real Corriente steers on an actual cattle drive. The U.S. Open Surfing Contest partnered with the Orange County Fair to provide 25 riders on horseback leading 100 cattle along the beach. I hope there will not be any runoff pollution. Speaking of pollution, do you know there is a national issue brewing that could hurt boating as early as next summer?

Ahoy. Do you boaters and avid fishermen know what event begins tomorrow? Well, grab your boat keys and take someone boating or fishing for the start of the seventh-annual National Fishing and Boating Week from June 2 to 10. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation created this event with the idea that those enjoying the watery outdoors should introduce someone new to boating or fishing or both. This is a national event with activities planned, including fishing derbies, regattas, demonstrations and much more.

For the second time in a month, sailboat crew members have died while racing off the California coast. Two weeks ago, five died when their 38-foot boat was swamped by two waves near the Farallon Islands, 27 miles from San Francisco. And now, four crew members are believed to have been killed when their 37-foot-boat disappeared Saturday on a race between Newport Beach and Ensenada, Mexico. The regatta sponsors believe the sailboat collided with a "much larger vessel" although theU.S.

Mariners used to toss a wooden log overboard, and while its line spooled out, they would count each of the knots that passed through their hands. After 28 seconds, they recorded their boat's speed in knots, or nautical miles per hour. Today, 200 years later, boaters look at their digital instrument panel and still see their speed in knots. That tradition was nearly subverted when the Newport Beach Harbor Commission voted in April to change the city's municipal code to measure speed in miles per hour, a slightly slower measure than knots.

Boaters already dodge large entertaining yachts cruising through Newport Harbor, and come Friday they will have an additional obstacle: tugboats hauling massive barges full of dirt from the Rhine Channel. The city will begin scooping out generations of industrial waste that has settled in the underwater area near Cannery Village. Once the $4-million project is complete, about 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment should be moved from the waterway to the Port of Long Beach.

NEWPORT BEACH — When driving down Newport Boulevard toward Lido Marina Village, the bright white finish off hundreds of yachts beckons for a closer look. If you're up for getting a glimpse at how accommodating life on the water can be, or you have a few hundred thousand dollars to spare, the 38th annual Newport Boat Show is worth a visit. The show opened Thursday and runs through Sunday. From trawlers to tugboats and mega-yachts, the show is where attendees will likely find what you're looking for, even if it's boaters insurance or a new deck finish.

NEWPORT BEACH — The city is creating a special permitting process to allow sail and crew racers to exceed the harbor's 5-knot speed limit. Five knots equals 5 nautical miles per hour, or an approximate speed of 5.75 mph. After years of discussion and various proposals, the Harbor Commission, Orange County Sheriff's Department's Harbor Patrol, boating organizations and city officials appear to have agreed on a concept. It would allow groups such as yacht clubs and collegiate associations to apply for a permit before a given regatta — both for sailboats and crew boats — and any practices leading up to the races.

The U.S. military was said to be "evaluating the options" regarding a possible rescue of a former Newport Beach couple and two other Americans taken hostage by Somali pirates. A military source told CNN that a U.S. Navy warship and helicopters were trailing a boat believed to be the hijacked yacht. On Friday, a distress signal was sent by a yacht from the middle of the Indian Ocean, according to AFP, the French news agency. The hijacking was first reported by Ecoterra International, which monitors regional maritime activity.

Newport Beach police are reminding sailors to keep their expensive equipment secured following a string of boat burglaries in the last two months. Police responded to five boat burglaries in November and six in December, said Sgt. Steve Burdette. The thieves are stealing high-priced fishing equipment, Burdette said. Daily Pilot boating columnist Len Bose said that, in one incident, a person had nearly two dozen fishing reels and a portable tackle center taken. —Joseph Serna

As Newport Beach's Cannery Village changed from an industrial pocket of shipbuilding and canneries into a residential, entertainment and marine business hub, one thing always was missing: a public dock for small boats. Now that the city has completed the renovation of a wooden wharf and installed a 100-foot guest dock, boaters can tie up for a short time and visit friends, shop at stores and dine at nearby restaurants. It will be especially useful as the city contemplates a "revitalization" of the surrounding areas of Lido Marina Village and the existing City Hall site, potentially to include more restaurants and shops.

NEWPORT BEACH — Paying $55,000 for a mooring in Newport Harbor seemed reasonable to Dan Gribble. It's what everyone does, he figured. A longtime owner of a local boatyard, Gribble's no novice to maritime business. But he may have made a serious miscalculation. More than three years since an Orange County Grand Jury found that Newport Harbor boaters were essentially buying and selling public moorings, the city is taking steps to curb the practice. City officials want to prohibit private transfers of moorings and to raise the fees the city charges mooring holders.

The Newport Beach Harbor Commission is considering extending the time limit boaters can tie up to public docks, and prohibiting fishing from some of them. The commission will vote on the matter during its meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the City Council Chambers. At issue are 10 public piers throughout the harbor where boaters dock temporarily to load passengers and supplies, or where they park dinghies overnight while they stay on land. Fishermen often cast from these docks, setting up a maze of lines for sailors and power boaters to navigate.