Brad Avery

Orange Coast College students and faculty want the school's foundation to find a way to retain Rabbit Island, a British Columbian island the foundation might sell to raise money for the college's sailing school. Since 2003, the college used the island for a number of academic courses, but the foundation has struggled to pay for its maintenance. The island could fetch up to $1.25 million to $1.75 million, Foundation President Doug Bennett said. At Monday's OCC student government meeting, the board of trustees voted unanimously to request the foundation wait 60 days before making a decision on Rabbit Island so college officials can seek other ways to save money on the island's maintenance.

Lindsay Sandham Although the rains this week were not as costly and continual as the storms Southern California saw last month, they still had a negative effect on many local businesses that rely on the sea for their livelihood. "This time of year, obviously it's very slow down here, and when the rain hits, it makes it kind of miserable for everybody," said Bob Black, president of Catalina Passenger Service and vice president of Balboa Pavilion Company in Balboa Village.

Christine Carrillo Many people dream of one day owning an island of their very own. An island where they can seek refuge from the hectic world they find themselves in every day. Rarely, does anyone ever find themselves the recipients of such a gift. But last month, the college did. Orange Coast College received Rabbit Island, a 36-acre British Columbia island worth about $750,000, school officials announced Tuesday. The donation, which came from Southern California yachtsman Henry Wheeler, was the second of two major gifts the college received in January.

Pyewacket, considered by many professional sailors to be the most technical and powerful racing yacht in the world, is now part of the educational toolbox for the students of the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship. The $7-million boat arrived at its new home in Newport Harbor last week. Since being donated to OCC by Roy Disney in July, it's been at a Marina del Ray shipyard undergoing modifications to make it easier to handle and a better fit for Newport Harbor.

Gone are the days of sharing showers, restrooms and other facilities. Gone are the days of the men’s and women’s crew teams having to practice their rowing at the Newport Aquatic Center. The Orange Coast College’s Sailing and Seamanship Center in Newport Beach has received a serious face lift. Nearly $4 million went into a series of improvements that were officially dedicated Thursday at the center, which is the only one of its kind among community colleges nationwide.

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.

Brad Avery Editor's note: This is the third in a five-part series on OCC's Alaska Eagle's 2,300-mile journey from Tasmania to New Zealand. The Auckland Islands are devoid of humans. Atrocious weather and soggy soil doomed several settling attempts during the last 150 years. However, after our arrival from Macquarie Island, we discovered that the Aucklands do have residents who lead an idyllic life. They keep beachfront residences and live off of the sea. It's a bigamous society, where the males keep half a dozen females occupied, lolling on the beach day after day. So we shouldn't have been surprised when were chased off of the first beach we landed on by a male hooker sea lion.

Sailors reflected on their sport's ever-present dangers as they returned from Ensenada on Monday, two days after fellow competitors perished in an apparent collision. The tragedy reminded them to sail with experienced crew members and craft a careful night watch plan, local racers and experts say. The three confirmed deaths were the first in the 65-year history of the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. A fourth crew member of the Aegean, the doomed 37-foot sloop from Long Beach, is still missing and presumed dead.

I decided to do a "walkabout" around the harbor in search of this week's story and happened to fall upon one at the Newport Harbor Shipyard. Kamalii is a 75-foot Rhodes ketch design, which was originally built for Edward Doheny in 1958 by Wilbo boat works in Wilmington. She sailed in five races from Los Angeles to Hawaii between 1961 and 1969, and has spent the last few years behind Bay Island. She was recently sold to a buyer from New Zealand, and is having her hull and systems repaired by Richard Strizzi and Rick Brown.