Boat show offers quite a catch

June Casagrande

BACK BAY -- The West’s biggest boat show just got survivalistic.

As part of the 29th annual Newport In-Water Boat Show, 10 people will

compete for a chance to take home a 21-foot Triumph Center Console

fishing boat valued at about $25,000.

But the winner’s arms might be too tired to steer -- the person taking

home the prize will be the one who can remain standing the longest while

holding on to a rod and reel connected to the boat. Organizers are

calling this the “Catch-A-Boat Challenge.”

“We were looking for something that was different than your typical

raffle,” said Duncan McIntosh, promoter and organizer of the show. “This

will give people something to cheer for.”

For many, though, the boat show itself is plenty to cheer about. The

largest in-water show in the West, the event exhibits motor boats at

Newport Dunes and sailboats at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.

“The boats just look so much better in the water than they do in some

convention center,” McIntosh said. “This is where they belong.”

The show will begin at noon today with the Catch-A-Boat Challenge and

will showcase more than 550 boats, including 360 in the water -- a record

for the show. About 150 vessels are 40 feet or longer, including some

show-stopping multimillion-dollar yachts.

On Thursday, a presentation will take place on the Nordhavn 40, the

sister ship of a boat that left Dana Point last year on a 26-week,

26,000-mile trek around the world.

Jim Leishman, vice president of Pacific Asia Enterprises, will make a

presentation at noon about the boat’s global voyage.

A number of other events through the show’s close on Sunday are all

designed to complement the experience of viewing one of the most

impressive collections of boats on display in California or anywhere.

“The show keeps growing every year,” McIntosh said. “It keeps getting

better.”

FYI

WHAT: 29th annual Newport In-Water Boat Show

WHEN: Noon to 7 p.m. today; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 10

a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina, Corner of Jamboree

Road and Back Bay Drive.

COST: $10; children 12 and younger get in free

CALL: (949) 757-5959