It’s not too early to register for the boat parade

Ahoy.

I might start a new trend by mentioning a Christmas event in a

column before Thanksgiving, but I have some great news. The Newport

Beach Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Simple Green is

this year’s new title sponsor for the 94th annual Newport Harbor

Christmas Boat Parade.

Doug Stuckey, the chamber’s public affairs director, said, “We are

extremely excited to have Simple Green with this year’s parade;

Simple Green is an outstanding, community-based company who sincerely

cares about the success of the boat parade.”

Many boaters know of Simple Green from using their environmentally

friendly products to clean boats. Plus, Huntington Harbour is the

hailing port of Simple Green’s headquarters.

“With their support and this year’s theme of ‘Celebrating America

with Lights,’ this year’s parade should be a magical experience for

all that view it,” Stuckey continued, “and now is the time to start

planning your decorations and for boaters to sign up.”

All boaters should sign up, whether they actually follow the

parade route, because the $25 fee helps offset the costs of

organizing this huge event, which the New York Times hailed as one of

“top 10 holiday happenings in the nation.”

I think, nationally, the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade is

the top outdoor holiday family event, touching annually more than 1

million people of all faiths. Now, I give Stuckey permission to quote

me so he doesn’t have to keep quoting an East Coast newspaper whose

readers ended their boating season a couple of months ago. Hey, it

was worth a try to get a little more press.

Remember that the parade includes the “Ring of Lights”

competition, a shoreside special category for all decorated bay front

homes, businesses and yacht clubs. The Ring of Lights is a

fast-growing segment of the parade that is being celebrated just like

the boats.

The parade will be five days, from Wednesday, Dec. 18, through

Sunday, Dec. 22, so you have more than a month to decorate. I will

tell you more about the parade in my December columns, and I will

give my annual boat parade boater’s tips to help make your voyage

safe. Surf on over to www.Christmas-

boatparade.com for additional parade details.

* * *

This month, I have spent many days on the ocean. It’s not over

yet. I left again for Mexico at 4:30 a.m. Friday at the helm of a new

Carver 374 from Bayport Yachts. These long trips to Ensenada do allow

me the opportunity to get a good feel for how a boat handles and the

comfort factor that, every year I age, becomes more important.

The 374 is a sport sedan model equipped with twin Cummins 330

diesel engines turning 22-by-22-inch props, so I am hoping to cruise

at 25 knots. The technological advancement in the new marine engines

is noticeable, and I have learned that now you can almost run at wide

open throttles for hours and not harm the electronically controlled

engines.

Now, the temperature gauge becomes the vital instrument to monitor

for any increases, and remember to sync the engines. During my recent

Ensenada delivery with a new Regal 4260, we could have sustained 31.5

knots, but we slowed to 29 knots for comfort in the swell conditions.

This month, I will head to Ensenada three to fours times. The

prior two trips have been relatively easy with the seas under 3 feet

with little wind. My trip in the morning might prove to be rougher

with 3-plus-foot swells, wind and rain in the forecast.

I have been lucky crossing the border back into the U.S. in the

early afternoons. I take a wild cab ride from Ensenada to “la linea,”

the line, and then walk through the checkpoint that usually takes

between one to three hours, but lately the wait has been a

surprisingly 15 to 20 minutes. Ah, the savings in hours mean that I

can then catch an earlier train back to the Irvine station; I

recommend the business class section for the extra few dollars.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist.

Contact him via e-mail at Mike@BoathouseTV.com or BoathouseTV.com.