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
Visitors to Newport Beach today might know the coastal Southern California city from “The Real Housewives,” “The O.C.” and “Arrested Development,” all of which were set amid its rolling green hills and picture-perfect beaches. But I had come to Newport Beach to commune with the stars of Old Hollywood, who began staking their claim to this idyllic spot just one hour south of Los Angeles during the silent film era.
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, Newport Beach’s lure was not so much its land, dotted as it was with big-band ballrooms and smoke-filled cocktail bars. It was its water, and specifically the sprawling recreational harbor where the stars docked their yachts and sailboats.
Continue reading at The New York Times…
Photo Credit: Beth Coller/The New York Times
After taking over management of the moorings from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol last summer, Harbormaster Dennis Durgan provided a “Year in Review” summary for the Newport Beach Harbor Commission on Wednesday.
Commissioners asked a few questions and expressed support for the work the Harbormaster team has done over the past 15 months.
“I think your numbers speak for themselves,” Commissioner John Drayton said. “You’ve really done a fantastic job.”
Among many other reported statistics, between July 1, 2017, and June 30, the Harbormaster team has recorded 2,144 general assists, 962 wake or speed advisements, 662 mooring checks, 253 pier/dock/bridge issues (includes jumping, fishing, time limits, and gangway issues), and 19 emergency calls to either OCSD Harbor Patrol or NB police.
The city of Newport Beach, steadily considered a premier boating destination, has made strides, in the last year, to improve services, amenities and educational information available to recreational boaters, residents and tourists. A model was also introduced for a freshly conceived Harbor Department, which also happens to be “new to the world,” according to several city officials.
“A lot has happened/is happening with harbor operations over the past year,” Tara Finnigan, Deputy City Manager, said in an email to The Log. “A lot of thought and effort went into the department structure that the city council approved on June 12.”
In addition to approving the department structure, council members approved the new budget of $1.1 million – up around $200,000 from last year’s budget – to be included in the 2018-19 fiscal year at the June 26 meeting.
Photo Credit: Devon Warren/The Log
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