Balmy Days of Fall Are Best Time for Cruising

There is no better time for cruising than these balmy days of early autumn when the atmosphere is infused with the golden aura of a descending sun.

I puttered under power in my little sloop down the coast recently from Newport Beach to Dana Point. The golden light lay like a benediction upon the shoreline’s cliffs and hills. I trolled a handline from the Herald Bird’s stern, but caught nothing but kelp. I mildly resented the interruption of my reverie to haul in the line to remove the kelp, its presence announced by a slight tinkle of the little brass bell tied to the line.

Perhaps a fish would have increased my resentment. I was content to putter along without any interruptions. We didn’t need to catch fish. We would buy our fish for dinner at the good fish market in Dana Point Harbor, after we’d been assigned a guest slip for the night.

Our need was simply to be where we were, and to be grateful for all that lay around us--the vast horizon off our starboard side and off our port Crystal Cove, then Emerald Cove and then Laguna Beach, its buildings climbing the hillside and sending occasional beacons of reflected sunlight at us from window glass.

Our bow was pointed toward the headland of Dana Point, its reefs marked by white water visible from two miles away on a glorious clear day. We had been following the sparsely placed line of lobster buoys from Newport Beach to Dana Point Harbor, steering idly to avoid striking any of them.

I had never considered these buoys, marking lobster traps and crab pots, as particular navigational hazards, but I suppose their lines could foul a propeller of a fast power boat if it turned into them. Well, we are not one of those. At best we were doing five knots, and that was just right for this golden day.

Yet, I can see that on crowded days the clusters of buoys at harbor mouths could constitute a hazard, as vessels swing to avoid them.

As I write these words, there is on my desk a communication from Brad Gates, Orange County’s sheriff-coroner. It seems that a local boater had expressed concern over the navigational hazards created by the numerous lobster trap buoys in and around the entrances of Newport Bay and Dana Point Harbor.

Consultations with the Sheriff’s Harbor Advisory Group and the Fish and Game Commission have resulted in safety zones in which lobster traps are excluded at the mouths of both harbors.

These Fish and Game regulations are now in effect and will be enforced during this year’s lobster season which opens Oct. 2. It is unlawful to place lobster traps within 250 feet of these safety zones.

Here are the descriptions of the safety zones so they may plotted on a chart:

Newport Bay--Starting at the demarcation line at the entrance to the bay and extension of the west side channel line, proceed southeasterly on a bearing of 151 degrees magnetic one nautical mile, then northeasterly 44 degrees magnetic 500 feet; the northwesterly 331 degrees magnetic one nautical mile to the demarcation line and an extension of the east side channel line.

Dana Point Harbor--Starting from the east jetty light 6, proceed on a bearing of 120 degrees magnetic 450 yards to red buoy 4; then south 180 degrees magnetic one nautical mile, then westerly 270 degrees, 300 yards; then north 0 degrees magnetic approximately one nautical mile to Dana Point Harbor Light 5.

Sailing Notes

The Ninth Annual Rowing and Paddling Derby from Catalina Island to Marina del Rey will take place Oct. 6. About 20 rowing boats from 14-16 feet will race from Catalina’s Isthmus to the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. The race begins at 4 a.m. and is scheduled to finish at 2 p.m. . . . . Newport Bay’s east jetty light 4 is being repaired, according the Coast Guard . . . . Doug Campbell, president and general manager of Hobie Cat Oceanside, has announced the introduction of the company’s latest design, the Hobie 17. This is a high-tech catamaran designed for both on-person racing and up to three-people cruising. The designers have created a hybrid that combines features from the Hobie 18 and 14. The Hobie 17 is cat rigged and relies on a larger mainsail for power, like the original Hobie Cat 14. The hulls, however, are based upon the design of Phil Edward’s Hobie 18 hulls. They are symmetrical with retractable centerboards.