Here they come: yachts, schooners, electric boats, even kayaks, most lit brighter than the Eiffel Tower, many crowded with animated flying reindeer and ho-ho-hoing Santa Clauses.
It's Southern California's Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. Now in its 96th year, the parade was launched in 1908 when an Italian gondolier led a modest flotilla of eight canoes around the harbor. Over the course of five nights this month, more than 1 million people are expected to crowd 14 miles of Newport Beach shoreline to view the spectacle. If travels take you to Orange County over the holidays, the parade will supply high-wattage spirit.Boat owners from all over California and the Southwest participate in the parade, some spending tens of thousands of dollars decorating their million-dollar yachts. But you don't have to be Thurston Howell III to be part of the action. Any Gilligan with a seaworthy craft can join in, and dozens do.
"Folks who don't know the first thing about sailing come down and rent our electric boats and decorate them any way they want and then have a party on the water," says Gary Crane of Duffy Electric Boat Co., which rents the silent crafts that drive like a golf cart.
Others are content to stay on the shore and let the parade pass by. The waterside Villa Nova Restaurant closes its boat dock during the 2 1/2-hour parades so diners have unobstructed views of the festive boats as they stream by. Another prized view spot is the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, where you enjoy a beach barbecue before the first boats file by. The parade can also be viewed for free from a number of public beaches around the harbor.
See the boats
The Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade begins at 6:30 p.m. Dec 15–19. For a map of viewing sites, contact the Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau (949/719-6100). To join the parade in your own boat ($25 fee), contact the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce (www.christmasboatparade.com or 949/729-4400).
PARADE-VIEW DINING
Balboa Bay Club & Resort. Casual fare, waterside. Beach barbecue Dec 15–19 ($5–$8). 1221 W. Coast Hwy.; 949/645-5000.
Villa Nova Restaurant. Four-course Italian dinner 6:30 p.m. Dec 15–19 ($60, reservations required). 3131 W. Coast Hwy.; 949/642-7880.
WATCHING FROM THE WATER
Duffy Electric Boat Co. Rents 6- to 10-person boats for four hours ($425, reservations recommended). 2001 W. Coast Hwy.; 949/645-6812.
Watts on the Harbor Cruises. Three-hour boat-parade cruise includes snacks, desserts, and wine ($89, reservations required). 1048 Irvine Ave., Ste. 322; 949/291-1953.
