Going, going by gondola

Elia Powers

Jim Mahoney has never been to Venice, Italy. He has Irish roots and a

Connecticut upbringing.

Yet Mahoney is perfectly at ease with his role as owner and

operator of Gondola Co. of Newport Beach.

He grew up on an island with a boat almost always at his disposal.

He first drove a powerboat at age 10 and has fished throughout his

life.

Though he spent much of his career in the music industry, Mahoney

said he never gave up his on-the-water hobbies.

“I’m comfortable out here,” he said. “It’s a good time.”

Mahoney, a 40-year Newport Beach resident, received a call in 1995

from a friend who asked him to take over the gondola tour business.

He accepted, taking the reigns of the now 21-year-old company.

What Mahoney lacks in Italian lineage he makes up for in attire

and decor. He dons a striped shirt and a straw hat when he takes

customers out on the water in his 30-foot-long gondolas.

Bottles of wine are stacked near the front door of his office.

Model gondolas sit in the windowsill. A tapestry depicting life near

a Venetian canal hangs from a wall.

The building is located on a quaint, brick street in the Lido

Marina Village section of the Balboa Peninsula.

Mahoney’s company is hardly hidden, especially as Valentine’s Day

nears. Numerous reality television shows have used his gondola tours

as the backdrop for dates.

He said 90% of his customers are couples, though his boats can

accommodate large groups. Mahoney has picked customers up at their

waterfront properties and conducts surprise kidnappings that are

arranged by one member of a couple.

For rides on the Newport Harbor, the two options are the

traditional paddle-powered boats or the newer canopy-covered

motorized gondolas. For a couple, prices range from $60 to $100,

including food and beverage.

Mahoney said he enjoys driving the motorized gondolas.

“They don’t handle like any other boat you’ve seen,” he said. “It

doesn’t take much effort to move them.”

Balboa Bay Club and Resort head concierge Linda Beach rode the

motorized gondola this past fall to celebrate a friend’s anniversary.

She said she has since recommended the tour to her clients.

“We had a wonderful time,” Beach said. “It was a delightful,

early-evening celebration.”

For more information, call (949) 675-1212.