New main man of the local sea

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

There is a new sheriff in town, or should I say on the water these

days.

Last Friday, Orange County’s Sheriff Michael Carona officially

promoted Greg Russell from lieutenant to captain, but the big news is

that Greg was appointed as the new Harbor Master for the Orange

County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol Division. The Harbor Master is an

important position who oversees the law enforcement,

marine/residential firefighting, open-water rescue and vessel

assistance for Orange County’s three harbors -- Huntington Harbour,

Newport Harbor and Dana Point -- and protects 42 miles of the

coastline.

Greg has been serving as second in command at the Harbor Patrol

for years, plus he has served as the acting harbormaster when the two

recent Harbor Masters retired. Greg has additional valuable

experience to bring to his new position, including his stint as

police chief of Stanton along with other duties at the sheriff’s

department.

I am very pleased that Carona appointed Greg, who has firsthand

knowledge of our harbor, plus he can actually operate a fireboat.

Marty Kasules, retired Harbor Master, told me that the appointment of

Greg is great for the organization. Greg has his United States Coast

Guard Master license after successfully passing the Maritime

Institute’s training class.

I interviewed Greg during my radio show last Sunday, and he

mentioned that the department will continue to provide quality

service to the harbors. He promised to remain active in the community

and in touch with boaters. The department has become very

boater-friendly over the past few years and the deputies are much

better trained in all aspects of boating. Greg mentions that if you

have a question to wave over any of the deputies on the water or stop

by the state-of-the-art headquarters on Bayside Drive.

Also, Greg attends many of the marine-related committees and

events including the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Marine

Committee, the Coastal/Bay Water Quality Citizen Advisory Committee

of Newport Beach and many others.

Congratulations to Greg on becoming Harbor Master as he takes the

helm at a very busy time, when two big boat shows will be in Newport

and the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race this April. I just wonder how

he is going to drive home in his fireboat.

On another important boater’s note, I received reports that the

U.S. Immigration Service was actually out on the ocean, and they were

boarding boats checking for smugglers. However, the boaters said they

were cruising off Encinitas when they were boarded by Immigration.

Now this sounds strange to me, as Encinitas is located between

Oceanside Harbor and Mission Bay, and about 28 nautical miles north

of the U.S./Mexican International border.

Wouldn’t it make more sense if the officers were patrolling the

waters between San Diego Bay and the international border?

This would allow them to check the boaters who are entering the

U.S. from Mexican waters versus someone out on a day sail.

TIP OF THE WEEK

On April 1, the United States Coast Guard will be discontinuing

the printing and mailing of the Local Notice to Mariners.

In a cost-saving measure, the LNM will be available only online.

Boaters are encouraged to read the electronic version at

https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/ lnm/default.htm. You can sign up to

receive an e-mail notification when a new LNM is posted. Also, you

can print the corrections for your charts and navigation rules book.

A nice bonus to posting online is that you can read the notices of

other areas that you might be cruising to in the near future, thus,

know before you go.

On Sunday, Ray Tsuneyoshi, who is the California Department of

Boating and Waterways Direction, will be in-studio on my “Boathouse

Radio Show” from 4 to 5 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can call in to

the toll-free listener line at (888) 344-1170 and join in on Southern

California’s only boating talk radio show, broadcasting along the

coast from San Diego to Oxnard and out to Santa Catalina Island.

Safe Voyages.

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

him your thoughts by e-mail to [email protected].