Good ‘Seamaritan’ Sets a Course to a Trash-Free Harbor
Source: Newport Beach Independent Good Seamaritan sets a Course to a Trash Free Harbor
Having sold four of the five highest-priced Newport Harbor waterfront homes during his 24-year sales career, Coldwell-Banker realtor Tim Smith has been “cleaning up,” but not in the way you might think.
An avid fisherman (he owns a Boston Whaler Realm 38’) and Dover Shores resident who “loves this harbor,” Smith has been focused on how he can help make the bay as clean as possible.
The answer came from his firm’s marketing partner, Greg Blake, who asked, “What if we had a boat and a crew to clean the bay?”
It was textbook service marketing, where company efforts both promote good for the community as a whole, while hopefully generating the attention of potential clients.
To that end, Smith ordered a “skimmer,” an all-aluminum, flat-decked, outboard- powered catamaran workboat designed by Elastec Boats of Carmi, IL to suck up floating trash. Fitted out, the vessel cost $120,000 and took a year to build. The Smith Team christened her “The Good Seamaritan.”
She has now been in service for just over three months under the command of local Capt. Robert Sloan. Although he currently works but three days a week, Sloan and the “Good Seamaritan” have collected and ferried thousands of pounds of trash to an offload zone at Marina Park.
Unless one gets down and dirty, it’s hard to realize just what floats above and just under the surface of bay water.
“The most common things I pull out are plastic water bottles, cups and lids, tennis shoes, large wood logs, plus other wooden objects and polypropylene line,” shared the skipper.
On one outing, Sloan snagged a 25-foot waterlogged log, which he had to tow to Marina Park. On his most prolific day to date, the skipper offloaded 550 pounds of trash. He uses boat hooks and a variety of nets that he has purchased to capture the flotsam and has become “good at driving and collecting” without having to stop. Except for that log.
“The more extreme the tides, the more extreme the trash,” Sloan observes. Depending on those tides, the trash seems to collect in certain areas — which he knows well from having skippered a variety of boats for several companies in the harbor since 1985. In terms of collecting, Sloan generally patrols between the Newport Aquatic Center and the harbor jetties.
Although most often crewing and collecting by himself, he is never alone, for his long time partner, Xena, always joins him. Xena is a giant mutt that fits that salty description, “old sea dog.” Sloan, however, is looking for human volunteers to help spot and haul in the trash.
Skipper Sloan doesn’t always concentrate on flotsam; he’ll often stop at various beaches, docks and residences along the route to sweep or rake up the jetsam. Although he now gets paid for his efforts, Sloan has made it a practice for a couple of decades to scoop up anything that pollutes the waters. He is well known along the waterfront for his work.
In the long haul, “Good Seamaritan” may become one of the more famous boats afloat in Newport, even though it will have a trashy reputation—but in this case, that’s a good thing.
Source: Newport Beach Independent Good Seamaritan sets a Course to a Trash Free Harbor
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.
If you have started to hear Christmas music and noticed holiday TV ads, then you know it’s time for my annual recognition of our harbor’s sailing awards.
I’ll start with the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club’s (BCYC) awards night and the juniors. Sailing director Carolyn Smith stepped up to the podium for her first time presenting awards at BCYC, and she nailed it. One can always tell if the event is someone’s first rodeo, however, Smith’s a pro and she made the night fun and memorable with clear descriptions of the awards she was presenting. The Juniors awards always brings back good times, or even more so by diluting the agony of defeat.
Nine years ago, when the 106th Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade was held, a few of us thought something was missing.
Not that there was anything wrong with the parade, which was going to feature its usual holiday splendor. But a few people felt it needed a little extra touch that many other parades around the country usually feature.
It was a Grand Marshal.
It almost seems impossible that a parade of this caliber can be held for more than a century without a Grand Marshal. Even much smaller parades in Orange County have them, with some even having multiples for the same parade (Say you Garden Grove Strawberry Festival).
RIGHT ON ROBERT!
The Sloan’s and Giddings’ have been friends for close to seven decades, and sailed the area for many years before that. Our parents even built a boat together in the 50’s, and our mothers were classmates at NHHS.
As a kid, I was lucky enough to have met him in my Lahaina, when he and his dad were doing a gear delivery for Trans-pac. Coincidentally, we had no idea about the family connection, but became fast friends and have remained so ever since.
They just don’t make ’em better than Rob. He’s true blue, a great sailor, and a super guy, I’m proud to call (as we say in Hawai’i), one bruddah from one noddah moddah.
Aloha Nui