THE HARBOR COLUMN:Mooring fees should go back into boating

Ahoy,

To raise the fees or not raise the fees — that is the question. Are Newport Harbor mooring permit holders getting a bargain or has the cost of property values escalated so high in the last decade that it makes the mooring fees appear out of balance?

Good question. I think the answer lies in between. However, the Newport Beach Harbor Commission is addressing the issue regardless of the Orange County Grand Jury’s report. Also in the equation are the tidelands and those docks residing over that property.

The person on the mooring waiting list probably becomes upset when a current mooring leaseholder sells a barely floating resemblance of a boat just so the lease can be transferred to the buyer for the mooring. The mooring is usually sold to someone not on the list and at a profit, but in all fairness to the mooring holder, this has been the norm for years, so I do not fault the mooring holder or the city.

It is time for the city to look at the fees, but I hope the funds generated from boaters will be put back into boating. Dredging comes to mind and public guest docks for larger boats are desperately needed.

On another topic, this Saturday we will be broadcasting live from the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum located in Balboa’s Fun Zone, and you can join us at the museum to see the show. We are at the museum because David Muller, executive director, is excited about the new exhibit “The Art of Angling” which opens this weekend. I have known David for years, and he is a fellow Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce commodore, so it is great to help promote the museum.

I thought about how appropriate this title is for our harbor and the vast number of anglers in Newport Harbor, not to mention Southern California. I am excited to interview Flick Ford who is an artist and author of “Fish: 77 Great Fish of North America,” and interview Mike Rivkin who will speak about his book “Angling and War.”

Additionally, we will be joined by Rags Laragione, owner of the Maritime Institute, and we might have a special guest from the state capital.

So, tune in every Saturday at noon to the No. 1 boating radio talk show in the nation, “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” on AM 830 with 50,000 watts to Southern California from Angel Stadium.

Safe voyages.