The Harbor Column:

Ahoy,

Great news for Newport Harbor and boaters alike as Dave Kiff was appointed this week to take the helm as the new city manager of the city of Newport Beach. After Kiff worked as the assistant city manager under the leadership of Homer Bludau, the City Council appointed him to replace Bludau upon his Sept. 12 retirement.

The big question was, how does one replace Bludau, who has done an outstanding job as city manager with his can-do and positive attitude? Well, the answer is that one does not just replace Bludau, but promote Kiff, who has proven himself and shares Bludau’s work ethic and culture.

Kiff is known as the “water expert,” and the harbor has benefited from his efforts to continually look for ways to stop the urban runoff pollution.

Also, he successfully lobbied for funding to dredge the Back Bay. Now, the completion of Marina Park will be on his list, as well as the dire need to dredge the lower bay.

I will miss Homer, but I believe that Dave can step up to the helm and keep us on course.

Tip of the week is that Garmin has issued a statement confirming that discussions are underway for it to take over the troubled Raymarine, and Garmin’s follow-up announcement mentioned that it would probably be an all-cash deal.

Both Raymarine and Garmin are leaders in manufacturing electronic equipment for boats, including GPS plotters, VHF radios, radar, autopilots, Sat TV and much more.

Raymarine was formed in 2001 from the Recreational Marine Division of Raytheon, when management brought out the division, and the U.S. headquarters are in Merrimack, N.H. In 1989, Garmin was started with a workforce of more than 7,000 employees.

Garmin is based in the United Kingdom, with offices worldwide, and the corporate headquarters in the Cayman Islands.

If Garmin gobbles up Raymarine, then your selection of maritime electronics will become limited to a few brand names. I have skippered vessels equipped with Raymarine or Garmin onboard, and both brands have served my needs well while underway in the Pacific Ocean.

Safe voyages.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to [email protected] or go to www.boathousetv.com .