“It never rains in Southern California.”
Really? During our recent Saturday rainstorm, we attended a large family and friend’s celebration of Mom’s 90th Birthday luncheon at sister Di’s and Ken’s ocean view home.
Happy Birthday Mom! She was a huge force while growing up to get me out of the house and enjoy all facets of boating on our harbor. While raising four kids was quite time consuming, I have fond memories of her and my Dad racing a Lido 14 on Thursday evenings at Newport Harbor Yacht Club.
She also supported my Dad racing in the large 18-foot open Thistle class our harbor had in the 1950s. Shortly into the next decade Dad changed careers and for the next 40 years worked on weekends, but Thursday evenings allowed many local businessmen sailors to enjoy their love of sailboat racing.
As long as I can remember, family events lead to boat talk and harbor gossip.
Sitting next to brother-in-law, Ken Knight, I wondered if he saw that the City of Oceanside, after 40 years of use, wanted to replace their Costa Mesa-built Crystaliner which he and the Noric brothers built and sold to the city. We agreed that their $550,000 replacement was a silly way to spend money, as the marine publication we had both read said the city was concerned that the new owner might live aboard at the city marina, which the city shuns.
Obviously, if that’s their concern, they didn’t need a replacement, but possibly new electronics and engines which could be obtained for less than $100,000. Since the creation of fiberglass production boats in the 1950s, we still have not found the end of their structural life; just maintenance, which one has to perform on anything.
The guys closed Crystaliner a few years ago but their molds for their Lifeguard and Harbor Patrol vessels were obtained by Willard, formerly of Costa Mesa, now in Anaheim. This is a good fit as their mega yacht and trawler past business has evolved into various sizes of go-fast tube hard bottom vessels for our Coast Guard and Navy.
They have large contracts into the future, and it’s always fun to see local boat builders continue doing what they do best.
I read where our local fishing continues to outperform from years past. The beginning of the year continued to show Bluefin tuna catches on the Tanner and Cortez banks which are a six to ten hour run for local sportfishers.
Large Yellowtail can be landed off San Onofre to La Jolla shorelines with an occasional 40-60 pound White Seabass. Bottom fish, whose white meat is a delicacy, are being caught near Catalina and the Channel Islands. I watched some nice size Spotted Bass caught in Newport Harbor on Anglers Chronicles which airs Sunday mornings on Fox West, along with Inside Sportfishing and Stoked On Fishing, all excellent local based fishing shows.
Remember to purchase your 2015 fishing license and check the rotating no catch state species rules.
Sea Ya,
Skipper Steve
