THE HARBOR COLUMN:Magic of the boat parade

Ahoy.

Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday, and I remember the cellphone call nine years ago when I was the captain aboard the Cannery Restaurant’s Isla Mujeres charter boat. I was out in the Christmas Boat Parade with a boatload of excited passengers when I received the call that my wife was on her way to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. No problem, I thought, as she will be in labor for hours, and then came the second call that I better not wait. What a wonderful present to receive Michelle a few days before Christmas, and I did skipper the next night, which was the last night of the parade, with a huge smile.

Well, the Commodore’s Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce continues to bring to you a miraculous holiday event that attracts spectators not only from Newport Beach but from all over the world. I want to thank all the sponsors and especially KLAA-AM (830) for providing 90 minutes of live radio coverage of the parade.

This year’s parade was spectacular, and my captain’s hat is tipped to the hundreds of boat owners who did a fantastic job of decorating their boats that ranged from under 12 feet to over 100 feet.

The boaters showed tremendous imagination this year. Did you see the recreation of the fun zone’s Ferris wheel and the “Nightmare Before Christmas”-themed boat?

I noticed that many of the registered boats participated in the parade every night, and the rain on Saturday evening did not stop the parade or spirit. Only Saturday night was rainy, and the other nights had perfect weather, but with a little holiday chill in the air.

While on the topic of weather, the outlook for boating this weekend is good. The seas should be 3 feet with a chance of building to 5 feet with a 15-knot afternoon breeze, but I think the Channel Islands will block the swells off Newport. Larger swells from the big swells north of us might surface on Christmas Day. Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County is experiencing 24-foot plus swells, and those swells are southbound. Cape Mendocino is the westernmost point in California.

The tip of the week is my annual Christmas poem, and as I weigh anchor for Christmas, I wanted to leave you a slightly modified version from last year.

‘Twas the Day Before Christmas Upon Ocean‘Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the oceanRemember to tune in to the No. 1 boating talk show in the nation at noon every Saturday. “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” is moving on Dec. 30 to our new home station on KLAA-AM (830) with 50,000 watts blasting to Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside counties and beyond.

You could see a few boats sailing on the water

And sea lions were resting on top of their buoys

And the bell was clanging with each passing swell.

The fish were happy as no hooks were around

And the sea birds were eating, being fed by a shore crowd.

When all of sudden there arose such a clatter

The Mermaids swam up to see what was the matter.

The sea lions dove into the water and the boats sailed away from the splatter.

When the shore crowd looked out to see such a sight

But the birds just continued eating their supper.

All of a sudden but what should appear

the King of the Sea bringing his own Christmas cheer.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

As King Neptune held up his scepter for all to see,

And out of the scepter came a lightning bolt so grand

It made a clap when it hit the land

And to everyone’s amazement as you looked around

Disappearing were all the storm drains that drained into his sea from the land.

His gift for Christmas was no more polluted water

But I heard him exclaim, ere he swam out of sight

What starts at the drain, feeds the harbor when it rains

And Merry Christmas to all and to all a safe voyage.

Safe voyages.