Don’t forget boaters at Marinapark

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.” The article continues with Canal Corp.’s acting

director Larry Frame saying, “Boaters spend more per capita than

landside visitors.”

I think Mayor Steve Bromberg will do a good job if he is elected

chair of this committee, as he is very levelheaded and has vision.

However, the committee members must not neglect boaters and the sad

lack of amenities this harbor provides to boaters, especially

visiting boaters.

There are funds available to help design and build services for

boaters ranging from our state’s Department of Boating and Waterways

to the national BIG (Boating Infrastructure Grant) grants. BIG was

designed to provide money for harbors to build docks, dredging and

services for visiting vessels more than 30 feet in length. Other

states have used these funds to improve their waterways, and those

areas are receiving an economic boom. It should be noted that the

benefits go not only to the public with access but to the city

coffers with sales tax revenue, and to the local businesses.

The Visitors and Conference Bureau could have another avenue to

promote Newport by attracting boaters to visit our harbor. How much

of the bureau’s effort is spent trying to fill the hotel rooms in the

area versus on visiting boaters by marketing the boating lifestyle

across the nation? Frame understands the importance of boating, and

the Marinapark committee or the Harbor Commission might want to speak

with him about his projects. How important is boating to Newport

Harbor and to you? Let me know.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Feb. 1 is the deadline for the BoatU.S. Foundation’s Clean Water

Grants, and the topic for 2005 is Aquatic Nuisance Species Focus.

Nonprofit groups can receive up to $4,000 to help educate

recreational boaters about good environmental habits.

BoatU.S. will give extra consideration to proposals that help

reduce the spread of aquatic nuisance species. Grants, however, will

be issued that also educate boaters on issues such as petroleum

pollution prevention, pump-out solutions, littering prevention or

other subjects.

Margaret Podlich, environmental director for the BoatU.S.

Foundation said: “Boaters in almost every region of the country are

battling an aquatic nuisance species, be it zebra mussels or Eurasian

water-milfoil or hydrilla. We are looking for proposals that educate

boaters about practical habits to prevent the further spread of these

invasive species.”

Last year’s grant program funded 19 projects in 15 states. To view

previous grant projects, learn more about aquatic nuisance species,

or download a 2005 application, please visit www.BoatUS.

com/Cleanwater/grants. Applications must be e-mailed or postmarked

by midnight Feb. 1, 2005.

Lastly, the new year brings in a new boating law that prohibits

teak surfing behind a boat while an engine is running -- you can

still be dragged from a boat under sail power. Teak surfing is when

you hang onto the swim-step and are pulled through the water.

However, some people have died after breathing in carbon monoxide

gas.

“Teak surfers don’t wear lifejackets because they say it

interferes with bodysurfing, so when they faint from the CO, they

will drown,” said Ray Tsuneyoshi, director of the Department of

Boating and Waterways.

I do not have a problem with the ban; I only have a problem with

the large, ugly warning label that boaters must now affix to boat

transoms. The abundance of warning labels on a boat now encompasses

more area than a roadside billboard.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation, “Capt.

Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.” It airs every Saturday from

noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell and

Eric Hovland by calling the listener line at (888) 344-1170.

Safe voyages.

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

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to [email protected] or visit https://www.boathouse

tv.com.