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
The City of Newport Beach has introduced a new license program offering 16 onshore and offshore City-owned moorings to the public in a variety of sizes. Applications for the initial licenses will be accepted through March 1, 2024.
The new program is designed for vessel owners to lease moorings long-term without having to acquire a permit, sub-permit or mooring equipment.
Monthly fees will be charged based on the size of the mooring, starting at $162 a month for an 18-ft. mooring. There is no cost to apply for one of the 16 new mooring leases.
Siyamak sits down with Seymour Beek, president of Balboa Island Ferry, one of Southern California’s oldest family-owned businesses. Today he will discuss the new rules in California aimed at reducing emissions and how they will impact small businesses.
“CARB made a rule that all short run fairies in California had to be zero emission by 2026. We consume an average of 26 gallons of fuel a day. You’re not gonna save the world by making us go zero emission,” Mr. Beek said. “They haven’t really examined the consequences of the rules they’re making. It’s extremely challenging, extremely expensive.”
As winter approaches, I start to look back on the year, and to prepare for the new year. Very similar to looking aft while sailing downwind in a sailboat race. Doing this will keep you aware of the changing conditions. With this in mind, I checked back in with Harbormaster Paul Blank this last week.
Q: From a distance it seemed like a quiet year, no oil spills, tsunamis, down aircraft. So what did I miss?
A: There were a couple of severe weather (wind and rain) events this year. We revived the technology we use to notify mooring permittees of approaching weather and urge them to verify their mooring equipment and lines to ensure all are secure. You may recall, there was considerable attention and communication in anticipation of Hurricane Hilary arriving in August. One other of the severe weather events was a strong Santa Ana which stresses the mooring equipment from a different direction than usual, so we have significant concern about boats staying in place when faced with unusual conditions. All in all, things were fine and we greatly appreciated everyone’s preparedness in the face of these severe events.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!