Letter to the Editor: Is the Harbor Patrol Impounding Nice Vessels Only?

Byline: Camille Howarth

I am writing this to expose what I believe are unfair practices on the part of the Newport Harbor Patrol.

My 13-foot tender was impounded — with no warning and no citation — at a cost of $270 for me to recover, because it was left at the public dock on 19th Street for about an hour after the 30-minute time allotment. OK, my bad .. but here’s my question:

How is it that these boats pictured in the photographs I sent with this letter have not come to the same fate? My “nice” boat got impounded, while these seemingly abandoned boats were allowed to stay right where they are.

There is absolutely no enforcement on these docks (except for MY boat), therefore no dock space is available for those who need it.

The obvious answer is that Harbor Patrol knows that no one will come forward to claim (and pay for) these abandoned eyesores, so they choose to ignore these violators and punish upstanding taxpaying citizens like myself who have nicer boats.

I’m still waiting for answers.

Camille Howarth

Newport Beach

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