A long-sought, new harbor master is in place at the Redondo Beach waterfront.
Curt Mahoney was appointed last September, an RBFD veteran since 2002, working most recently in the fire prevention bureau.
He has never before been assigned to Station Three at the waterfront, but worked there at times in his first year with the department as a medic and second deckhand.
The new harbor master role is a one-year commitment by the city council, approved last summer, and funded by a vacant deputy fire marshal position.
“My job is to support staff; operational, moral and administratively,” Mahoney said.
He oversees vehicle traffic, can enforce laws, but may call in police too, and calls in the Coast Guard or California Fish & Game for other matters. Anything outside of the breakwall is under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
“This is like harbor lite, if you will,” Mahoney said. “95% of the traffic is recreational. We expect a lot more volume once the new boat ramp arrives. You need a harbor master to facilitate.”
King Harbor has not had a dedicated harbor master since 1992. After the job was eliminated, staff at Fire Station Three dropped from 11 people to six by 2010, in further budget cuts.
“We were down to six guys on the Harbor Patrol, and now to have a seventh guy, able to think ahead, it adds a lot of capability to the team,” said Roger Carlson, Redondo Beach harbor commissioner.
The commissioners have requested an on-site harbor leader for the past nine years, in the city budget process.
Harbor masters have historically been stationed in King Harbor, but in later years the title was switched to the overall fire chief. Thus, RBFD Chief Patrick Butler held the title before assigning Mahoney, 55.
Before Butler, Interim Chief Keith Kauffman recommended in 2022 that the on-site harbor master role be bought back.
It requires no special training or background.
“My role is similar to a division chief; they don’t pull a ladder or roll out a hose,” Mahoney said.
The position is a liaison between the land-based fire department and the boating community, a “point of contact.”
“Between the harbor patrol and the boaters, (Mahoney’s) going to get a crash course and understand what our issues are,” said Mark Hansen, harbor commissioner. “It’ll be so much more effective for communication. This is brand new, but it’s what other harbors have. It really elevates the harbor in status to the harbor commission and city council.”
On Wednesday morning, Mahoney drove to Newport Beach for a ride-along with its harbor master.
On an average day, Mahoney works afternoons in the Crow’s Nest – the top floor of the original wooden Redondo Beach Fire Station Three – on stilts next to the docks behind the current Station Three living quarters.
Incidentally, RBFD just bought a used 1973 Seaway boat, originally part of the L.A. County Lifeguards fleet, later sold to a private operator running “wine and cheese” charters out of Long Beach.
The 24-foot boat is now in drydock in King Harbor, getting RBFD Harbor Patrol paint and decals.
“We’re anticipating it to be ready in the next 4-5 weeks, in time for the summer season,” Mahoney said.
The Seaway is meant as a backup, in case Baywatch is otherwise engaged when a call comes in.
The boat will take the place of RBFD’s No. 808, a 27-foot Boston Whaler, to work alongside the no. 801, a 29-foot Crystaliner.
“Our daily Harbor Patrol boat,” Mahoney said.
The No. 808 will be sold.
Station Three’s living-quarters building is shared with Baywatch – a division of L.A. County Lifeguards – operating out of the first floor. Two Baywatch personnel are on shift at all times.
Mahoney previously did a lot of public relations in his last role, running CPR trainings and more.
“For the first few months at the harbor I’ve been just trying to get my arms around what the harbor’s all about,” he said. “A very-steep learning curve for me, but I have embraced it nonetheless.”
He is originally from Mesa, Ariz., and first came to the South Bay in 1994, during a summer off from University of Arizona. His divorced mother had moved here. Two summers later, Mahoney bought the Hermosa Beach gym he worked out at. He sold that, traveled, then was at a crossroads, tending bar at Islands Manhattan Beach.
He was 26. His grandfather died in Meadville, Penn., and Mahoney and his mother went back to clean out his house. Mahoney found an old photo album rife with black and white pictures of his grandfather as a volunteer firefighter.
It drew his interest.
A year later, Mahoney went to El Camino College for his EMT certification, then to South Bay Fire Academy.
“It was the first time in my life where, I walked onto the grounds and, ‘this feels like me.’ It felt so natural, not to be corny, but why I was put on this Earth,” he said. “I am nearing the end of my career now, and this assignment has only added to my enthusiasm for the job.”
RBFD’s Fire Station Three runs like its land-based stations; three shifts, A, B and C — 48-hour shifts.
On hand at all times are a boat captain and a fire-rescue boat specialist. The harbor master works from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Aside from the water, the Station covers Harbor Drive south to Pacific Ave., and north to Herondo Street at the edge of Hermosa Beach. ER
