Own your own boat, cheap

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Cruise on down to the Newport Harbor Department this morning and you

might take home a boat from Newport Beach’s abandoned vessel auction.

The pre-auction viewing starts at 8 a.m. with the auction beginning

at 9 a.m. There are 20 abandoned vessels for you to bid on, and

minimum bid varies with each vessel.

The vessels include a 22-foot Merit sailboat, skiffs, kayaks,

rowboats, 15-foot white and blue outboard, 22-foot white and blue

Wellcraft, 8-foot Snark sailboat, 13-foot Laser, sabot and a grey

marine Intek inflatable. Vessels are sold as is, and you can only pay

with cash. The Harbor Department will hold the state-registered

vessels for a 10-day redemption period before releasing them to

winning bidders. The Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Department is at

1901 Bayside Drive in Corona Del Mar. Parking is available on the

street.

Then on Saturday, you can join me at Big Corona (Corona Del Mar

State Beach), where I will have the honor of emceeing the Corona Del

Mar Centennial Classic Boat Parade. I will be assisted by cabin boy

Jerry Shandera, who is a committee member and with the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club. The boats are scheduled to cruise by the

harbor side of Big Corona between 5 and 6 p.m.

You will be able to view the classic vessels that were built

between 1930 and 1959. If you have a classic vessel then call Ken

Rozak at (949) 644-9530 to participate in the parade or for more

information.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Do you think that it should be mandatory for everyone to wear a

lifejacket while aboard any boat underway regardless of a vessel’s

size? The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a forum

called “Personal Flotation Devices in Recreational Boating” in

Ashburn, Va. At this forum, the participants were discussing the

notion of a law that would require everyone to wear a Personal

Floatation Device. The thinking is that some people who die in

boating accidents might not if they were wearing a PFD.

You plan to go out on a dinner cruise, and as you board the

100-foot boat, you are required to don a lifejacket. Most states

including California already require children to wear lifejackets on

smaller boats. So, should everyone have to wear a lifejacket? Let’s

look at the numbers from year 2003.

In 2003, the National Marine Manufactures Association reports that

72 million people participated in boating on 17.49 million

recreational boats in the U.S. Also, NTSB reported that in 2003 there

were 703 people that died in all boating accidents.

My calculations show that only 0.00098% of the boating public died

-- way below 1% of participants. So, why the big push for mandatory

wearing of lifejackets? Today’s PFD’s are bulky, uncomfortable and

can actually impede some onboard tasks. I think that the focus and

all the energy should be spent on first educating the boating public

and second on developing inflatable PFD’s.

I envision an inflatable PFD that I could clip on my belt or

fasten around my waist, and the futuristic PFD does not have to

emulate today’s style. What if it is an inflatable device that, when

inflated, could be held on to or clipped on to aid in flotation

similar to a tube-like device? The naysayers will point out that one

will have to be conscious to use a belt clip-on device. But, I say

let’s address this issue with common sense with thinking outside the

box. Just more regulations will not change people’s behavior, and

remember, we are talking about less than 1% of the 72 million who

went boating.

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is

accepting applications by local community organizations for projects

that focus on increasing the voluntary use of life jackets by

recreational boaters. The 2005 Boating Safety Grant program will be

up to $4,000 each with nearly $40,000 in grant funding available. The

deadline to apply is Nov. 1, and you can go to https://www.

BoatUS.com/foundation for more information.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation, “Capt.

Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.” It airs every Saturday from

noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell and

Eric Hovland by calling the listener line at (888) 344-1170.

Safe Voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to [email protected] or visit https://www.boathousetv.com.