The Harbor Column -- Mike Whitehead

Ahoy.

Happy New Year, and what a fascinating year 2001 was to the boating

world. I easily remember 2001’s boating events from broken world speed

records to the OMC bankruptcy, which took us all by surprise, and then

Sept. 11, which threatened to hinder boating. However, the good news is

that boating survived and most, if not all, of OMC’s bankrupted divisions

were acquired by other marine companies. In addition, boat purchases rose

after October, especially after the lowered interest rate for financing.

As we leap into the New Year, take a look at our vital local marine

businesses and think about all the local jobs that are created in Newport

Beach and Costa Mesa. Just reflect for a moment on the people you know

personally who are somehow related to boating in their work, and then

think about how this area would be dramatically different if boating were

to vanish.

I spend a large amount of time keeping informed of boating news, not

only locally in our harbor but also at the state and federal legislative

levels. We have to think globally as we enter the new year and look

forward to the advancements in other parts of the world in boat design,

construction, environmentalism, and trends and safety -- to mention a

few. Great things are happening around and on our waterways and I am

anxious to see what this new year holds.

In last week’s column, I left you with a poem. Well, for New Year’s

Eve, here is a Captain’s Log, past to future.

Captain’s Log:

Time -- 00:01 on Jan. 1, 2002

After checking the navigational equipment and scanning the horizon for

other boaters, I can see my crew members cheering in the new year.

Cruising 100 nautical miles off the coast of California this

celebration will not disturb anyone. The yacht is on a course to Newport

Harbor, but all of a sudden out of nowhere a nameless cruise ship sides

in on a very close parallel course.

Curiously, I come alongside the cruise ship, and I hear the New Year’s

celebrations onboard. I try to peer through a porthole, but what I see in

the glass is the reflection of New Year’s past. I can see ancient wooden

boats with very uninviting accommodations -- I’m amazed how the boats can

float upright while in the ocean.

I notice the captains are navigating with crude compasses and

inaccurate charts that look like treasure maps. The captains are wearing

eye patches on one eye, blinded by not knowing to guard from the sun’s

rays while looking though their shiny brass telescopes. Also, I can see

the crew clapping while someone is playing a fiddle. And there is the

galley, where the cooks are trying to catch a live pig to prepare dinner.

Oops, I almost hit the side of the cruise ship.

I regain course while glancing at another porthole where I can see

what looks like the reflection of New Year’s future.

Sleek, fast cruising yachts built with accommodations equaling most

five-star hotels. Now, the captains are talking on satellite phones while

monitoring the multifaceted electronic displays that control everything

on the vessel with just a touch on the view screen.

Wow, the charts are interactive and display information from other

vessels in the area via an interfaced satellite Internet system.

The captain’s eye patches have been replaced with night vision

goggles, and windshield heads-up display is impressive.

In lieu of the fiddle for entertainment, the crew is watching the

Boathouse TV Show on a high-definition satellite television while the

chefs prepares the dinners from an extensive menu.

Hey, is that a -- oops, I almost skimmed the side of the cruise ship

again.

I am suddenly awakened from my nap when I hear the Global Positioning

System chart plotter beeping warning that the harbor entrance is nearing.

I glance from the bridge’s soft leather couch where I am laying to see my

first officer standing his watch. I know we are getting close to the

harbor as I can see the lights on the buildings at Newport Center out of

the bridge windows.

As I rise to take the conns to enter the harbor, I cannot stop

dreaming about that cruise ship -- or was it reality?

End Captain’s Log:

“All safe, yacht is securely moored at home slip in Newport Harbor.”

I can imagine that the New Year will bring new innovations and new

boaters onto the waters, where I hope we welcome the past, present and

future.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send him

your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions via e-mail

to o7 [email protected] or o7 https://www.BoathouseTV.comf7 .