Too Much ‘Ahoy’ at Hotel?

The 18-foot Hobie Cat sailboat perched in the parking lot of Dana Point’s Best Western Marina Inn helps amplify the hotel’s nautical theme, managers there say.

But county officials contend that the boat, anchored to two large rocks in the parking lot, should be removed.

The craft’s sail is emblazoned with the hotel’s name, effectively serving as an advertisement, they say. And the county, which leases land to Best Western, holds a tight rope on signs.

“The boat doesn’t conform to the design standards of the harbor, which were established in 1970,” said Grace Dove, an analyst in the county’s Public Facilities and Resources Department. “The harbor is supposed to have a low-key, woodsy, maritime look, and signage is supposed to blend in.”

Hotel manager Reid Martin installed the white boat in March; he said he saw it as a great icon for the hotel and the harbor. It also ties in with the maritime decor of the blue and white hotel. The lobby is decorated with lifesavers and a surfboard.

But Martin hadn’t sought permission from the three-member Dana Point Harbor Review Board, which governs the harbor’s aesthetic concerns.

The board will determine the craft’s future at its Dec. 14 meeting.

Although the county staff has recommended that the board deny Best Western’s request to keep the boat, hotel owners are hoping that the Hobie Cat is spared.

Martin says he has a structural engineering report certifying that the boat is securely fastened to its rock structure and doesn’t pose a safety hazard. He’s even offered to remove the logo from the boat’s sail.

But Dove says the craft still constitutes a sign.

“It still draws visitors in,” she said.

Martin said he wants only to improve the look of the 30-year-old hotel and the harbor but that his efforts have been spoiled by county politics.

“It’s not like we put up a naked statue,” he said. “It’s a sailboat and we’re in the harbor. I guess it’s politics. But if we have to play it, we’ll play it. I’m going to fight for what I think is right.”