Trial anchorage could return to Newport Harbor for another run

NEWPORT BEACH ― Boaters planning to visit Newport Beach this summer may have a trial anchorage available to them yet again. Meanwhile city officials acknowledge Newport Beach is making progress in removing abandoned or derelict vessels from the local harbor. Both issues were on the agenda at recent City Council and Harbor Commission meetings. Looking ahead, the seven-member Newport Beach Harbor Commission hopes to fill its two vacancies within the next few weeks. Anchorage Trial Newport Beach’s Harbor Commission recommended a temporary anchorage be established once more at the Turning Basin for the third year in a row. The trial anchorage, which still requires City Council approval, could be activated by Memorial Day weekend. “There [are] some appetite for moorings in that area and some clever thoughts on how they might be maintained and administered,” Harbor Commission Chair Paul Blank said. “The subcommittee will do a bit more research on costs and the best way to administer the use of those potential moorings and then come back with recommendations.” A subcommittee of the Harbor Commission did ask the commissioners to go to the City Council with the recommendation of establishing the temporary anchorage at the West Turning Basin near Lido Marina Village again this summer, according...