Built to scale, built to last

Alex Coolman

LIDO ISLE -- On a recent morning, 8-year-old Emily Hutchins

launched a little red sabot sailboat called Sun Burn from the dock at

Genoa East.

Emily eased the boat into the cool water and pulled it alongside the

dock with a thin rope. A few minutes later, she was cruising away through

the bay.

It was not a moment of high drama. Yet a small group of sailing

enthusiasts on the dock looked quite pleased by what had just taken

place: a child had taken to the water about as easily and naturally as a

duck.

The people looked happy because it was their creation, the

inconspicuous dock under Emily’s feet, that had made the process of

getting in the water so simple.

For Carter Ford, the energetic leader of the group, it was the

realization of a dream that was long in coming. The dock was finished

about three years ago, but it’s only as time has gone by that the success

of its design has been demonstrated.

Ford, along with island residents Derek Niblo and Kris Mungo,

approached building the dock with an open mind. What they were interested

in doing, Ford said, was less about duplicating other approaches around

Newport Beach than drawing from a wide range of inspirations to produce

the best possible result.

They wanted a dock that was user-friendly, safe and inconspicuous --

something that would balance Lido Isle standards of good taste with need

to get kids into the water.

“We went far beyond our local limitations,” Ford said, to draw on

design elements from around the world.

What they came up with was a dock whose ramps can be lowered into the

water with the push of a button, a feature that means kids can get into

and out of the bay by themselves.

The dock incorporates many other subtle features as well, from a wide

walkway to tie-up facilities that won’t trip small feet.

They’re small details, but Phil Gautschi, vice commodore of the Lido

Isle Yacht Club, said they make a difference. They contribute to an

atmosphere about the dock that’s very community-oriented and friendly.

“At most places, the boats get in the water and that’s it,” Gautschi

said. “Here, that’s just the beginning. It’s a meeting place. It’s a

social place.”