NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. —  Since the early days of Marina Park, Newport Beach has looked for ways to maximize its glittering access point to the waves.

Seven years later, it’s still looking. Finally, it’s on the precipice of adding another offering to its already burgeoning list of programs.

Racquel Valdez, recreation manager at Marina Park, said the city is interested in opening events and lessons for disabled sailors.

What You Need To Know

  • Newport Beach recently added a lift that can pick up sailors confined to wheelchairs at Marina Park

  • The addition fits into long held plans to create an adaptive sailing program that can accommodate people in wheelchairs or with other disabilities

  • The city already offers sailing courses to residents and nonresidents, serving about 250 to 300 children and adults each season

  • The city hopes to launch the first adaptive sailing program by 2022 but has yet to fully outline what it will look like

“The city has had the goal of running an adaptive program,” Valdez said. “We had some setbacks with COVID.”

The city has been working toward this goal for years. It had established partnerships, hoping an adaptive program would follow. But dissolved relationships and a COVID-19 freeze in activities held up plans. But the city has always been prepared to take this step, Valdez said, evidenced by the choice in sailboats it acquired.

The two RS Venture sailboats the city already owns can take the modifications required to carry some sailors with special requirements. Valdez said that was the whole reason the specific model was purchased. However, the fresh additions, which will include bucket seats for people without upper torso strength and hand controls for people without grip strength, have yet to be applied. But Valdez said there’s already money in the budget to pay for the modifications.

Recent additions to the park will also expand the list of disabilities any new programs can accommodate. 

With the introduction, in recent days, of a lift that can hoist then gently lower disabled sailors onto the decks of seagoing vessels, the city continues its focus on developing programs for them.

“Now we have that extra support for anybody who says, ‘I’d love to take a class, but how would I get in the boat?’” Valdez said.

The city has been holding seasonal sailing lessons for years, offering affordable seabound adventures for beginners and intermediate sailors, for children and adults. The programs, operated in concert with Orange Coast Community College, serve about 250 to 300 students a season. While costs vary, a single class, depending on what it is, could be about $35, while a four to six-week course could top out at about $195. And once sailors receive enough time on the water and the right credentials, they can even rent out a city vessel for, depending on the boat, about $20.

“It’s a great resource if you love sailing, but you don’t have the funds to purchase your own boats or store it,” she said.

What programs will be available, and what the cost structure will be, is still up in the air. Valdez said they’re considering classes, an option made possible by the lift which can be used by a minimal staff. They are also exploring one-off programs which could provide people from area hospitals and nursing homes a day on the water.

“We’re really working on it this summer for a possible launch in the fall of 2022,” Valdez said.