THE HARBOR COLUMN:Flight of the Lasers is a timeless tradition

Ahoy,

In a couple of Sundays Newport Harbor will be beaming with lasers. I am referring to Laser sailboats.

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Commodores Club is calling all captains and helmsmen, Newport Beach locals, tourists, families and friends to join the 72nd annual Flight of the Lasers, which is a timeless tradition of the single-sailed boat race in our harbor.

This event was originally known as the Flight of the Snowbirds. In the early 1970s it was renamed the Flight of the Kites, and today it is titled the Flight of the Lasers.

Seymour Beek is the long-standing chairman who is active in the harbor as owner of the Balboa Island Ferry boats and Island Marine Fuel.

He is also one of the city’s harbor commissioners.

This year’s competition will begin at 1p.m. on July 29 in the bay about a ¼-mile east of the Balboa Pavilion.

The starting line is located off Balboa Island’s shore just east of the pavilion where the racers will first head up the channel to the large turning basin.

There they will round course marker 1 by the anchorage.

Passing to port, the racers will turn heading for marker U off the Lido Isle Yacht Club and then begin the long sail to marker Z in the small turning basin by Lido Village.

Then the racers will begin a 2.4-nautical mile reach to marker 4 near channel marker 8. Once rounded, they will complete the final leg to the finish line where it all started.

The first-place winner will be the proud owner of a new Laser, courtesy of Vanguard Sailing Center.

The awards ceremony is held every year at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club at 720 W. Bay Ave. immediately following the race.

Numerous trophies will be presented for the best-decorated boat, best first parent/child team, and best costume to name a few.

Tip of the week is to sign up now for this family fun race by going to www.NewportBeach.com or by calling (949) 729-4417.

The new home for our radio station is in the Big A Stadium where the studios have been relocated for AM 830 that is Southern California’s 50,000-watt giant.

So, tune in every Saturday at Noon to the No. 1 boating radio talk show in the nation, “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.”

Safe Voyages.