The Commodores Club Presents the 87th Annual Flight of Newport Beach July 16
By Christopher Trela – July 07, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent The Commodores Club Presents the 87th Annual Flight of Newport Beach July 16
If you’re out and about on Newport Harbor on Sunday afternoon, July 16, you may see dozens of sailboats racing around the harbor. Give them plenty of room and cheer them on—it’s the 87th Annual Flight of Newport Beach, presented by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce with assistance from the Balboa Yacht Club.
The race dates back to 1936 when it was known as the Flight of the Snowbirds—a small wooden sailboat that was once the most popular boat in the harbor (and was used in the Olympic Games). Some 200 boats regularly entered the race in the 1950s.
The 2022 Flight of Newport Beach / photo by Jim Collins
In the early 1970s the race briefly became Flight of the Kites, a sailing dinghy slightly longer than a Snowbird.
The race was renamed again in 2020 to The Flight of Newport and welcomed ILCA (formerly known as Lasers), Harbor 20 and Terra RS boats.
The Flight of Newport has three separate races depending on class, and three start times on July 16. The RS Terra boats set sail from the Balboa Pavilion at 12:45 p.m., the ILCA 7 and 6 (Laser Full and Radial) at 1 p.m., and Harbor 20 boats at 1:15 p.m.
The boats will take about 90 minutes to complete the course, which circumvents the entire bay.
According to information from race officials, the first-place winner in the ILCA fleet will receive the Albert Soiland Trophy, named after the first Commodore of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club along with a new sail provided by West Coast Sailing.
Other placing racers first to cross the finish line in these categories will also receive prizes: ILCA fleet, the First Girl, Youngest Boy, Youngest Girl, Oldest Person and First Married Couple.
The 2022 Flight of Newport Beach / photo by Jim Collins
The Albert Soiland Trophy is engraved with the names of past winners; the trophy has frequently been awarded to sailors who have gone on to participate in bigger races, including the America’s Cup.
“It’s great to see the huge spread in age of the skippers in this race, from young kids to legends of the bay like Seymour Beek and Dave Tingler. The Flight of Newport has been the starting point for many young kids,” said Brett Hemphill, a Commodore and Co-Chair of the Flight of Newport.
There is no charge to enter the race. Each registered participant will receive a Flight of Newport T-shirt and must provide their own boat.
For more information including sailing instructions and to register for the race, visit https://flightofnewportbeach.com.
By Christopher Trela – July 07, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent The Commodores Club Presents the 87th Annual Flight of Newport Beach July 16
It’s hard to believe that Thursday, July 6 will mark nine years since the passing of Newport Beach Lifeguard Ben Carlson. He was special to so many people, as his unexpected and untimely death would prove.
On that Sunday, in 2014, shortly after 5 p.m., a Newport Beach rescue boat identified a swimmer in distress off 16th Street. The surf at the time was six-to-eight feet.
Ben, as everyone knew, entered the water to make that rescue and swam to the man, making contact, before they were both hit by an unexpected large wave. The swimmer Ben was attempting to rescue was successfully pulled from the water, but Ben was not.
Newport Beach scored high marks during the summer season in the 33rd Annual Heal the Bay Beach Report Card, released Wednesday, June 14.
Of the 36 Newport Beach bay and ocean testing sites listed in the report, 32 earned an A or A+ during the summer season, when the beaches are most frequented. Four sites earned a B grade. Heal the Bay’s annual report measures bacterial pollution for more than 700 West Coast beaches, from Washington to Baja, ranking them and grading their water quality from A to F.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) has halted the dredging of Lower Newport Bay and construction authorization for the City of Newport Beach’s (the city’s) Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) facility. The Corps put things on hold after Orange County Coastkeeper (Coastkeeper) filed a lawsuit challenging their failure to fully analyze actions possibly violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA).
So, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!