A tall ship sails into Newport Harbor

Ahoy.

What a winter storm system that passed though Southern California

this week. The system generated 9-foot swells with gale-force winds.

The sea conditions were so rough on Monday that the Catalina Flyer

could not dock in Avalon to pick up the passengers wanting to return

to the mainland. I commend the captain’s decision.

I am tracking the sea conditions very closely because I am leaving

this morning to travel south of the border. I will be joined by

Chandler Bell, who is a captain with Bongo’s Sportfishing. This

weekend, we are taking possession of a new 54-foot yacht that is

arriving in Ensenada from Florida aboard a transport ship.

On Saturday, we are scheduled to off-load the vessel from the

ship, then complete the Mexican paperwork, and finally quickly

prepare the vessel for the trip to Newport on Sunday. I am hoping

that seas will decrease for a smooth ride uphill and that the war

will not close the international border.

Since I will be south of the border, I will miss the American

Pride’s arrival to the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum this afternoon.

This is the first time in history that this 130-foot three-masted

schooner will visit Newport Harbor. American Pride was built in 1941

and launched originally as the Virginia. Now, she is completing a

7,500-mile voyage from Bar Harbor, Maine, through the Panama Canal to

our harbor. She is the only three-masted schooner on the West Coast.

A flotilla of boats will escort the schooner up the harbor to the

museum. Leading the flotilla will be a county Harbor Patrol fire boat

with a water display. She is expected to arrive at 4:30 p.m. today,

and local boaters are welcome to join the flotilla.

Then, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the public is

welcome to tour the “American Pride” from stem to stern. Her crew,

dressed in period costumes, will be on hand to show you the ropes.

There is a small admission fee of only $3 for adults and $7 for

families.

The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum is at 151 E. Coast Highway.

There is ample free parking. Those wanting to participate in the

welcoming flotilla should contact Marshall Steele at (949) 675-8915,

ext. 104.

I want to extend a special thank you to those who attended

Wednesday night’s Marine Committee’s event at the Newport Harbor

Nautical Museum. It was a very enjoyable evening listening to the

stories of the nautical authors and Ray Tsuneyoshi, the director of

California’s Department of Boating and Waterways. Ray arrived in town

that morning, allowing us enough time for a cruise of Newport Harbor.

So, I called our retired harbormaster, Marty Kasules, to borrow

his tender. Ray just happened to bring his fishing rods, and while we

were visiting Gary Hill at his fuel dock, Gary just happened to throw

a package of freshly frozen squid into our boat. There was only one

thing to do, and we each had only one hookup floating off Corona Del

Mar.

That evening, Ray spoke about the importance of the Wallop-Breaux

Trust Fund that boaters pay through a fuel tax and special fees. As

such, a portion of this money is legislated to go directly back

annually to each state to support boating and those who paid into

this special trust.

The funds pay for infrastructure such as launch ramps and marinas,

boater education, on-the-water law enforcement and much more.

However, the boaters’ funding is being eyed by others in Sacramento.

In committee now is a slight-of-hand move to merge the Department

of Boating and Waterways with the State’s Department of Parks and

Recreation. The merger would allow the boater funds to be siphoned

into the infamous black hole of the state’s general fund.

This was tried once before during the Gov. Pete Wilson era and it

sparked such an uproar from the public that it was soon abandoned.

I will have more on this, hopefully, in my next column and

information about how you can contact your legislators.

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].