The largest recreational harbor on the West Coast is Newport Harbor, accommodating more than 9,000 vessels at a time.
The 880-acre stretch of water sees approximately seven million visitors come through annually, according to a survey conducted by the Harbor Commission.
It is also the backyard for many of Orange County’s wealthiest and home to their alternating collection of yachts, as well as a popular port of call for out-of-town boaters making their way up and down the coast.
The harbor’s relatively cleanliness and safety as well as easy access to notable shopping, dining and beautiful homes is why many wealthy visitors and residents choose to dock here, said local officials.
“Newport Harbor is a particularly desirous place for having one’s recreational boat here because there are all these great amenities in and immediately adjacent to the harbor – the restaurants, bars, forms of entertainment and shopping,” Harbormaster Paul Blank told the Business Journal.
“The real estate that’s around Newport Harbor is incredibly expensive and so there is huge demand to have your recreation alongside your residence. And because there is huge demand, the market price goes up.” Sources have told the Business Journal that demand soared during the pandemic.
Newport Harbor generates an estimated $1 billion annually and supports more than 8,000 jobs, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the Newport Harbor Foundation and prepared by Beacon Economics.
Since its dredging, the harbor was developed primarily for recreational purposes with sailing quickly jumping to the top of the list.
There are approximately 2,000 commercial slips for all kinds of vessels and roughly 1,000 residential piers or docks, according to Blank.
While not as large as other commercially focused harbors in California, Newport Harbor is known as one of the most expensive places to dock in the U.S.
“It’s much like real estate, where it all has to do with location, location, location and what’s around it,” Blank said.
Where to Dock
The largest commercial operator in the harbor is Irvine Co. Resort Properties, which employs a management company, CRC Marinas, to oversee four locations — Balboa Marina, Villa Cove Marina, Bayside Marina, Bayshore Marina — and 455 exclusive boat slips to park local and visiting boats in Newport Beach.
The slips and end-ties range from 20 feet to 90 feet and are among the highest rates for slips anywhere in the U.S., Blank said.
The Balboa Bay Club is, however, the largest facility on the harbor and the number one spot to anchor larger vessels and many of the superyachts that its members keep in the water.
The Balboa Bay Marina offers 130 slips ranging from 20 to 100 feet in length.
“Our guest dock allows members to make a water arrival to the Balboa Bay Club and dock their boat temporarily while they enjoy our private facilities,” according to the website.
The harbor department also has a large vessel anchorage to accommodate larger ships spanning 100 feet or above – it depends on the depth of the boat’s draft, meaning the distance from the waterline to the lowest part of the boat, Harbormaster Blank noted.
This last May in particular was a busy month for the anchorage, he added.
The Balboa Yacht Basin is a city of Newport Beach marina managed by Basin Marine. The facility provides 172 slips for vessels ranging from 31 to 75 feet in length. Marina Park features 23 boat slips that are 40 feet and 55 feet, costing $88 and $121 per night, respectively.
With existing high demand for a spot at the Harbor, thanks to the local amenities and even the recent efforts to improve the quality of the water – Blank noted that much of the marine life is thriving – the Newport harbormaster is open to interested operators coming and proposing new development that best fits the market.
“There’s always an opportunity to change and adapt,” Blank said. “This harbor is not dying.”
The Boat Show Returns
The Newport Beach International Boat Show is gaining steam, attracting 20,000 attendees over a three-day period in April to Lido Marina Village, where yacht enthusiasts gather to visit over 200 boats on display in the harbor.
The show in 2019 attracted 15,000, and then it was halted in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2022, it was purchased by Revel Republic, an Irvine-based live production firm.
“We’re putting [the show] back on the map,” Co-Founder Hany Ghabour, told the Business Journal.
Tickets for the event range from $35 to $195 for a VIP pass. Ghabour wants to expand the annual event by adding more temporary docks, although there is lack of space, he said.
“We’re looking at all options,” Ghabour said. “I think the biggest thing is to continue getting fresh eyes and fresh consumers in here for all the brokers.”
—Emily Santiago-Molina
Newport Harbor’s Notable Boat Owners
Newport Harbor’s main channel is surrounded by several residential communities and villages, such as those on Balboa Peninsula, Lido Island and the Back Bay, where many of OC’s wealthiest keep homes.
As for their vessels, local boaters update their yachts often. “Owners tend to switch them out like cars” having two to three at a time, Rick Torgerson, who has been a licensed yacht broker in Orange County for almost 30 years, told the Business Journal.
Here are just a few of the better-known yacht owners:
• Rick Caruso, developer of high-end retail properties in Southern California, keeps his Invictus 216-foot mega yacht in the harbor and reportedly has required a special permit from the city to dock in the past. The Invictus, with a staff of about 23 people around the clock, is reported to be the largest vessel to have ever moored there. He ranks No. 13 on the Business Journal’s annual list, with an estimated worth of $5.83 billion.
• Jim Glidewell, founder of Newport Beach-based Glidewell Laboratories, is known for keeping his Westport vessel named Serengeti at Balboa Bay. The executive also owns a Trinity model, the Unbridled, running 191 feet long. Both yachts are currently listed for sale.
Glidewell also reportedly has two slips out in front of his house.
• Milan Panic, founder and former chief executive of Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals, and former Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, has kept his 128-foot yacht, the Bellissima, in the harbor for decades. The vessel is one of the more recognizable boats in the water, brokers say, for its blue hull.
• The 170-feet Tamsen, built in 2007 and owned by the Firestone family, is a frequent visitor. The owners are known to mainly reside in Santa Barbara and sail up and down the coast.
• Igor Olenicoff, No. 8 on the wealthy list, has a yacht dubbed Rusalka.
• The Stella Maris yacht charter was built by Viareggio SuperYachts and is currently owned by Ming Hsieh, founder of Cogent Systems and CEO of Fulgent Genetics. It runs at almost 237 feet and charter rates start at $697,000 a week during the summer.
• Anthony Hsieh, founder of loanDepot and No. 41 on our list of OC’s wealthiest, owns two yachts named Bad Company and Good Company, which are both often docked outside his home on Linda Island.
• Larry Van Tuyl, No. 23 on the list, owns a mega yacht valued at $125 million called Vanish.
• Palmer Luckey, co-founder of defense contractor Anduril Industries and No. 14 on our list, keeps a JFK-like PT boat moored outside his home on Lido Isle. The boat can get up to 70 miles per hour on the ocean.
• Montana’s richest person, according to Forbes, Dennis Washington has brought his Attessa superyachts around to the harbor on occasion as well.
—Emily Santiago-Molina
The Charter Business
Newport Beach is well known for the vessels both locals and visitors can rent and take out on the water, from the ubiquitous harbor cruising Duffy Boats to yachts that cost almost a million dollars a week.
For many of the region’s boat owners, chartering their yachts is another large part of keeping a vessel in Newport Harbor.
A handful of yacht dealerships also act as a chartering service for local owners when the summer season comes around.
One of the largest firms with local offices, Northrop & Johnson, oversees multiple transactions in Orange County; it is currently managing the sale of Jim Glidewell’s Serengeti, with an asking price of $4.2 million, which is down from the price of $4.96 million in April.
Glidewell also rents out his almost 130-foot-long vessel with five staterooms as a charter in Alaska in summer, bringing in up to $1 million each year, Kevin Merrigan of Northrop & Johnson said.
The firm also has a charter division, which recently added the 2022 Benetti superyacht CALEX owned by David Wilson of Wilson Automotive. Named after his children, the yacht runs 219 feet with charter rates between $740,000 to $800,000 per week.
Catalina Island and Avalon are common destinations with some going to Twin Harbors and even down to San Diego for a weekend.
