Balboa fishing club angles for cash to repair deteriorating building supports

Unlike in years past, when hundreds would jam the Balboa Angling Club’s light blue clubhouse overlooking Newport Harbor to celebrate the organization’s annual junior fishing tournament, this year’s event might have to be held elsewhere.

The club’s board decided that because of the extent of repairs needed to the building’s support system, it’s not safe to pack members into the clubhouse.

“We just can’t have that many people in here,” said club secretary Amy Elliott. “It wouldn’t be safe.”

Since its inception in 1926, the Balboa Angling Club’s goal has been to promote sportfishing and teach children to fish in an effort to keep Newport Beach’s angling heritage alive.

The pair of tuna pictured below the sailboats on the city seal is a reminder of those roots, even as the city has evolved from a bustling port town to a luxury destination.

The Dory Fishing Fleet, established in 1891 in McFadden Square, and the Cannery Restaurant, originally built in 1921 as a fish cannery, also provide a glimpse of the past. However, the angling club’s dedication to its youth program has helped it remain a draw for youngsters citywide, members say.

The club has 40 youth members who often can be found at the harborfront clubhouse before and after school. Beginning in June, the club will present the junior fishing tournament, in which kids ages 5 to 15 can compete for the most — and heaviest — game fish caught. The tournament ends in September.

“They just love to be out here on the water,” Elliott said. “It’s just fun in the sun with these kids. It’s their home away from home.”

Every October, the club holds a celebration of the tournament at the clubhouse.

However, the organization faces a challenge that began in February with a boom.

Nine board members were meeting around a large table in the back of the clubhouse on A Street when a thunderous sound jolted them from their seats.

They looked at one another, silently questioning what could have caused such a noise.

“It felt like a little earthquake,” board President Dave Elm recalled. “We finished the meeting, and when we went underneath the building with a flashlight, we saw that it moved a bit toward the bay.”

The group soon learned that the noise was a support beam snapping. The aging concrete piles that support the building and docks, which were initially installed in 1947, also are deteriorating from years of exposure to the elements.

Some piles are cracked and some weep rust stains, indicating that the rebar inside the concrete that holds up the building is corroding. If left untreated, the rebar will continue to expand as it corrodes and will eventually cause the cracks to become bigger until the concrete fails completely.

The city has leased the building to the club since 1947 with the understanding that the organization would fund all repairs. The clubhouse was refurbished in 1983 to repair water damage from a large storm and again in 2012.

Though the repairs are necessary to keep the building from sliding into the harbor, the cost — estimated at $86,000 — is too high for the club, which receives all its revenue from memberships and tournaments, Elm said.

The club approached the city for help, and in April, the City Council agreed to provide a one-to-one matching grant of up to $40,000 for the repairs.

“It’s not like it’s a huge moneymaker,” Elm said of the club. “We barely break even … just enough to keep the doors open.”

To donate to the repair effort, call the club at (949) 673-6316 or visit https://www.crowdrise.com/ClubhouseFund/fundraiser/balboaanglingclub.