What's New in Newport Beach?April 11 - Newport Beach Newport Beach has always been a great place for visiting cruisers, as they've got a nearly unlimited number of moorings available, and they're only $5 a night - which for Profligate, is a savings of $41 a night over Catalina. The problem at Newport has always been where to land your dinghy. There's an unlimited-time dinghy dock near the Coast Guard station, but all the other docks around the long and narrow bay were limited to something like 20 minutes. That didn't leave enough time to shop or go to a restaurant. When in Newport this last weekend, signs posted around the little docks indicated a great improvement. As you can see, depending on where you tie up on the little dock, you can legally stay anywhere from 20 minutes to 12 hours. This makes life much easier for visiting mariners, for which the Orange County Sheriff's Department, who is in charge of such stuff, is to be commended. Also relatively new - and in time for the start of the Ensenada Race - are new heads and showers by the Coast Guard station. Because of the abuse such heads receive from the general public, they have to be the nearly-indestructible San Quentin type. Nonetheless, the showers now feature hot water - in fact, almost too hot water - a commodity that was lacking in the old ones. So while you don't want to use them expecting Four Seasons opulence, and you definitely want to remember to wear flip-flops, the showers are certainly functional. |
Doha Wins Oryx QuestApril 11 - Qatar Brian Thompson, who used to kick around
Sausalito when crewing on Steve Fossett's trimaran Lakota,
guided the 110-ft maxi-cat Doha (ex-Club Med) across
the finish line last weekend off Doha, Qatar, to take honors
in the first ever Oryx Quest around-the-world race. He and his
crew finished in just under 63 days, more than 10 days off the
around-the-world record recently set by Bruno Peyron and Orange
II. Thompson was lucky to have finished the race at all,
having been hit flush in the face by a block. |
Volunteers Needed for the America's CupApril 11 - The Sailing World Got time on your hands? Enjoy the America's Cup? Have enough money to survive in Europe with the strong euro? Then you may want to be a volunteer for the America's Cup. They've got almost 50 different position, from regatta operations to hospitality. Check them out at www.americascup.com. |