SCUBA Divers Make an Eco-Splash at the Newport Harbor Underwater Cleanup Sept. 21
By Guest Contributor – September 26, 2024
Source: Newport Beach Independent https://www.newportbeachindy.com/scuba-divers-make-an-eco-splash-at-the-newport-harbor-underwater-cleanup-sept-21/
By Spencer Grant | Special to the NB Indy
It’s surprising what you can find at the bottom of Newport Harbor.
Bicycles, toolboxes, traffic cones, even a boat. There’s lots of plastic and things that have fallen off boats—not that boaters are dumping stuff deliberately; they just wind up in the harbor.
On one memorable occasion, a diver found a gun. “We informed the police and they said don’t touch it,” explained boatman Guy Harden. “Two divers stayed there until the police showed up, saying the gun was part of an investigation. We never heard anything about it after that, sorry to say.”
Newport Harbor got an aquatic boost on Saturday, Sept. 21 after the fourth annual Newport Harbor Underwater Cleanup arrived at Marina Park on Balboa Peninsula to seek out and collect underwater trash.
Around 60 SCUBA divers and 125 “above-water” volunteers answered the call to make the bottom of the harbor a cleaner place. The event was part of the larger Coastal Cleanup Day along the OC shore.
Explained dive safety officer David Mansfield, “There’ll be divers on multiple boats all over Newport Harbor plus others diving off the beaches. Then there are the above-water people: their job is to clean the beaches and beach heads.
And all trash isn’t of equal importance.
“I’ve personally collected up to 10 pounds, but the entire event collects hundreds of pounds,” said diver Amy Meier. “Some of the most important stuff doesn’t weigh very much: plastic scraps that get eaten and become part of the food chain. They look like sea life, so if you can see them and get them out of the water before they break down any further and get eaten, that makes a difference. A beer bottle in the ocean doesn’t do much harm but plastic does.”
The cleanup began at 9 a.m. as a dozen boats loaded up with divers and headed for prechosen spots in the harbor, each diver equipped with a mesh collecting bag. While the subaquatic searching was random in some places, other target areas had been scoped out a week before, yielding a bigger return on the divers’ efforts.
The harbor is no more than 20 feet deep, meaning that divers had to avoid passing boats whose propellers would stir up sediment and obscure vision. In addition, the divers wore powerful flashlights on their wrists and were careful not to stir up sediment with their foot-long flippers.
Wearing SCUBA outfits costing anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000, the volunteer divers expressed their commitment to the project.
“It’s a new experience and we expect to find all sorts of stuff,” said diver Claire Brown. “We love the ocean and want to give back some of the joy we get from it. We know other people do too.”
Noelle Daniels echoed the sentiment: “The ocean brings me so much peace and joy. It’s my way of giving back and taking care of the ocean. I love the ocean, and a lot of people don’t realize how much trash there is out there. We need the ocean to have everything on earth.”
By 11 a.m., the dive boats were returning to Marina Park with their loads of recovered refuse. After being unloaded on the pier, the trash was piled on a boat owned by Apex Diving who in turn transferred it to a CR&R. dumpster for final disposal.
David Mansfield pronounced it a good haul.
“We didn’t get the big stuff this year but we got plenty all the same. I’m grateful to the volunteers who made it such a successful event.”
By Guest Contributor – September 26, 2024
Source: Newport Beach Independent https://www.newportbeachindy.com/scuba-divers-make-an-eco-splash-at-the-newport-harbor-underwater-cleanup-sept-21/
Newport Harbor Foundation Chairman Dennis Durgan has announced the addition of Newport Beach Harbor Commission Chairman William “Skip” Kenney to the Foundation’s board of directors.
Kenney joins former Newport Beach Harbormaster Dennis Durgan, Val Lyon, and Devon Kelly.
“As we build out our board of directors Skip Kenney’s almost eight years of service as a harbor commissioner and over forty years of business experience is a welcome addition to the Foundation’s board,” said Dugan. “Skip was instrumental in the complex redrafting Title 17 of our Harbor Code so it reflects current conditions in the bay. He listened to the multitude of stakeholders and worked with his colleagues to help create a blueprint for the harbor that helps the Foundation with our goal of taking it to the next level.”
“My service on the Harbor Commission will end next June,” said Kenney. “I am excited about transitioning to the Newport Harbor Foundation and their mission to preserve our most important asset while improving it for future generations. I appreciate the Board’s confidence in me to help realize their mission.”
Kenney has been involved in the shopping center industry for over 40 years, many of which were spent at Donahue Schriber, a well known Southern California based shopping center developer. He formed The Kenney Company in May 1995 to pursue new development opportunities and challenges.
He is a past Chairman, President, and Treasurer of the California Business Properties Association, and a past State Governmental Affairs Chairman for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
He currently is the Chief Financial Officer of Balboa Yacht Club and has been serving on the City of Newport Beach Harbor Commission since 2014, including three terms as Chairman.
The Newport Harbor Foundation was incorporated in 2019 as a 501C3 non-profit educational corporation dedicated to the preservation and improvement of Newport Harbor. At a recent kick-off luncheon, the Foundation raised $550,000 towards their goal of $2.5 million to purchase police boats and fire boat for the harbor.
Longtime Newport Beach resident Devon Kelly has joined the Newport Harbor Foundation board of directors.
“Devon brings a wealth of harbor history and knowledge to the Foundation’s mission. She has spent her entire life sailing on the bay and volunteering in the community. Her boundless energy is welcome as we push towards taking our harbor to the next level for all to enjoy,” said Newport Harbor Foundation Chairman Dennis Durgan.
“I’ve sailed throughout the United States and Mediterranean and believe Newport Harbor is a treasure that needs to be maintained and managed properly for future generations,” said Kelly. “I look forward to working with the Foundation to develop programs to improve water quality and enhance the harbor’s ecosystem for recreation, boating, and commerce.”
Kelly was born and raised in Newport Beach and grew up sailing and cruising to Catalina. She attended Newport Harbor High School and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She and her husband Gregg have two children who live locally. Kelly taught school at Carden Hall Elementary in Newport Beach, and coached field hockey at Newport Harbor High School. She has served on the Newport Harbor High School Educational Foundation and also was a Board member on the Lido Isle Community Association.
The Newport Harbor foundation was incorporated in 2019 as a 501C3 non-profit educational corporation dedicated to the preservation and improvement of Newport Harbor. At a recent kick-off luncheon, NHF raised $550,000 toward their goal of $2.5 million to purchase police boats and fire boats for the harbor.
Photograph by D Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0It’s been more than five decades since Newport Beach City Councilman Marshall “Duffy” Duffield started his Duffy Electric Boat company.
Duffield built his first boat when he was 16 years old. His company has sold tens of thousands of boats and become synonymous with Newport Beach, where Duffy rides on the harbor are the norm.
“I’ve had to endure decades of laughter,” he told a crowd — also laughing — on Thursday at the Balboa Bay Resort. “To be known as a builder of the world’s slowest boat is something that I really didn’t think I wanted on this planet. I wanted to be a famous sailboat designer and racer dude, and I sort of kind of am, but not really.”
Still, Duffield now hopes the Newport Harbor Foundation can also similarly be built from the ground up.
The foundation, launched in 2019 before being curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic, held a kickoff champagne brunch Thursday.
It announced that it had raised more than $275,000 at the event, which also served as a celebration of 50 years of Duffy boats. That number was doubled to $550,000, as foundation chairman Dennis Durgan said there was an anonymous matching gift.
The Newport Harbor Foundation’s stated goal is to take back local control of Newport Harbor, which is now patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and start a Newport Harbor Public Safety Department.
Durgan, himself a former harbormaster, said the foundation wants to initially raise $2.5 million for the purchase of a fire boat and four police patrol boats.
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