Harbormaster’s Report

Summarized from Harbormaster Kurt Borsting’s report to the Harbor Commission on July 10.

Abandoned Vessel Auction

An abandoned boat auction was held at the Marina Park guest slip facility on June 5. The public sale featured 33 previously impounded and abandoned vessels.

The city collaborated with the Orange County Sheriff Department Harbor Department to time both agencies’ boat auctions on the same day. It made it “more fun and exciting,” Borsting said.

Conducting both auctions concurrently allowed both agencies to share resources and benefit from a larger pool of bidders versus hosting individual events at different times.

The program was well attended, competitive bidding took place and 15 vessels were successfully sold.

All boats purchased at the event have since been released to their new owners. Those vessels which did not sell, are currently in the process of being destroyed.

The program resulted in $1,005 in sales revenue to the department.

 5 MPH / No Wake Signage Replacement

During the month of June, Harbor Department staffers removed, refurbished and remounted four previously worn and illegible instructional speed limit signs located along the channel at the Balboa Island Bridge.

“Our team is actively out there on the water looking for other public markers, buoys that have fallen into similar disrepair and can be upgrade or replaced,” Borsting noted.

Removal of Select Marina Park Sand Line Moorings

Staff also removed five Marina Park sand line moorings (MP moorings) from the Harbor after determining they were mistakenly placed at locations within the navigational channel, immediately south of, and outside of the J mooring field.

They fell right on the edge of the defined field, Borsting explained.

“Vessels that were moored in that area extended well into the navigational channel and we had a number of concerns,” Borsting said.

They negatively impacted sailing instruction activities hosted at the Marina Park facilities.

They initially looked for alternative locations in other fields, but those efforts were largely unsuccessful, Borsting said.

Four guest moorings will remain in place at the east side of the H mooring field, as will a number of two-point moorings (owned by the city).

California Association of Harbormasters and Port Captains – Southern CA Meeting

Borsting attended the Southern California Regional member meeting of the California Association of Harbormasters and Port Captains on June 26 at Port San Luis in San Luis Obispo.

“This officially proves there is an association for everything,” Borsting joked.

While this particular meeting was sparsely attended, the get-together provided an opportunity for staff become acquainted with the professional association (which is comprised of other municipal and other governmental harbor operators).

Customer Satisfaction Survey

During June, 15 customer satisfaction surveys were completed and returned to the Harbor Department office associated with visiting boaters at the Marina Park guest slips.

“We continue to get very good, strong marks,” Borsting commented.

Borsting noted that one respondent checked “strongly disagree” with the question about receiving the quality and value they expected for the cost. The person(s) took exception to the current pricing, Borsting explained.

In the written comments, there was some constructive feedback about the condition of the restrooms, Borsting pointed out.

They are following up on that, he continued, and are considering using some additional detail cleaning and making better use of the day porters.

“So we can always present those guest restrooms at the high standard,” they should be, Borsting said.

Other written comments noted the friendly and helpful staff, convenience of the facility, prices, and more.

Overall, all either agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with their stay and they would return or recommend the facility.

Code Enforcement Activity

Code Enforcement staff opened 77 new cases and successfully resolved/closed 88 existing files in June.