Bay Club breaks out

Paul Clinton

If the soulful sounds of R&B; legend James Brown had cued the grand

reopening of the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, one song might lead the

soundtrack: Papa’s got a brand new bag.

Instead, a chamber quartet bowed out elegant strains for longtime

Bay Club members, civic leaders and other leading lights in the

business community who celebrated the luxurious new resort and hotel.

Bay Club leaders, led by Chairwoman Beverly Ray, toasted champagne

and enjoyed a lush spread of sushi, beef, oysters, cheese and other

delectable foods at the resort’s three-hour premier.

About 2,000 invited guests were expected to show up to usher in a

new era for the 55-year-old club that was once a regular haunt for

such celebrities as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and Ronald Reagan.

Ray, club President Henry Schielein, Chief Executive David Wooten

and others welcomed the crowd to the new $65-million, 132-room hotel.

“At the risk of bragging a bit, I’d say we’ve done this grand old

place proud,” Ray said. “Thank all of you for being here to celebrate

with us.”

A 30-minute ceremony kicked off with two longtime Bay Club

employees raising the American flag at the club’s flagpole. After the

Bay Club brass spoke, Newport-Mesa auto dealer and lifetime club

member Theodore Robins presented Ray with a crystal sail-shaped

trophy made by Tiffany & Co.

Daily Pilot columnist B.W. Cook emceed the event.

After the speeches, a cannon shot boomed into the harbor, followed

by the Orange County Harbor Patrol’s fireboat shooting off its water

cannons outside the new resort.

Guests then convened to the hotel’s ballroom and meeting rooms for

meticulously presented platters of hors d’oeuvres and food.

Newport Beach Councilman Tod Ridgeway said the new resort would

provide an economic boost for the area and the city.

“It’s a nice addition to Mariner’s Mile,” Ridgeway said. “It will

provide that shot in the arm” the area needs.

Jim de Boom, longtime club member and a Daily Pilot columnist,

said he was impressed by the new club and resort.

“I’ve been to the Montage and the St. Regis, and this has a much

warmer and cozier feel,” de Boom said.