A parade years in the making

Decorated boats of all types will cruise through Newport Harbor in annual Christmas event.The sight of illuminated boats cruising around Newport Harbor is a sure sign that Christmas is around the corner.

Set to begin its 97th run Wednesday, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is a tradition in which local mariners form a flotilla of decorated vessels. This time around, the parade is three years short of its theme, “Centennial Celebration of Lights,” which ties into Newport Beach’s 100th anniversary.

Newport Beach’s official 100th birthday is Sept. 1, 2006, and the city has been celebrating since October. One of the boats set to make an appearance at the parade, the tall ship Argus, also has just reached an age that can be counted in three digits.

“This is just tying in with the city’s 100th birthday, the [Balboa] Pavilion’s 100th birthday, and practically my 100th birthday,” said Ralph Whitford, chairman of the Argus’ centennial celebration.

The Argus, owned by the Boy Scouts of America’s Orange County Council, is docked at the Newport Sea Base. Whitford managed the base from 1956 to 1969.

The ship is a topsail ketch built in 1905 in Denmark, and Whitford said the commercial vessel was likely similar to some of the tall ships that found their way to Newport before the city was incorporated, back when it was a small fishing and boatbuilding town.

“It’s very much like the ships that were moored at McFadden’s wharf,” Whitford said.

Newport Beach has grown by leaps and bounds since the city’s founding, and this year some changes are in store for the boat parade.

For one thing, the parade’s name is a little different. “Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade” is a slight change from the previous “Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade.” More significant changes for boaters and spectators are the inclusion of lead and finishing boats and requirements for participants to register for the event.

The lead boat will be decorated with a large inflatable reindeer, and Santa Claus is scheduled to be aboard the final vessel, boat parade chairman Ralph Rodheim said.

To enter the parade, boaters are now required to contact parade sponsors at the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce to reserve a spot. Late entrants can register at the Island Marine Fuel dock at Balboa Island.

“In years past, boaters could just cut in. This year they won’t be able to do it,” Rodheim said.

The boat parade is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. each night Wednesday through Sunday at Collins Island. From the launching point, boaters will follow a course that will take them east along the north side of Balboa Island before coming about at the Balboa Island bridge and cruising west to the Newport Boulevard bridge.

Boaters will then cruise around Lido Isle before navigating eastward along the Balboa Peninsula’s shore. Friday through Sunday, the course is extended to take mariners through the channel between Lido Isle and Lido Peninsula and out to the harbor’s mouth.

For information on the parade, visit www.christmas boatparade.com.

To register, call the Chamber of Commerce at (949) 729-4400.