A chance to float to the boat show

June Casagrande

Float, don’t run, to this year’s Newport Boat Show.

For the first time, the annual big-boat expo is adding a “guest

dock” that will allow people to get to the show by boat, as well as

by car, foot and shuttle when the show takes place April 14 through

18, the producer announced this week.

“It’s just a way to allow more people to get to the show without

adding to traffic and parking,” said Duncan McIntosh, producer of the

annual show formerly called the Newport Harbor In-Water Boat Show.

Only boats smaller than 26 feet will be able to dock there, he

said, but that will still help a lot of people who live on the water

in Newport Beach or who are coming from any of the yacht clubs.

The show specializes in yachts 26 feet and bigger. Billed as the

West’s “Ultimate Big Boat Show,” the show looks like it will be

bigger than ever this year. McIntosh said he’s in the process of

signing up exhibitors. And among them are some of the biggest boats

ever. La Charchesa, a Hargrave 100, will be on exhibit for the first

time on the West Coast. A 100-foot Westport is also lined up for the

show, and McIntosh expects about a half-dozen yachts more than 100

feet to be on display, he said.

“Normally, if they have three decks on them, you could have 10,000

square feet of space,” McIntosh said. “So they’re really something to

see.”

Every year, McIntosh said, the Lido Marina show adds more docks

and floating features to maximize space for exciting exhibits. This

year, the show will add two floating “accessory booths,”

50-foot-by-100-foot tents on the water, one of which will contain a

Caterpillar Series 60 diesel engine weighing more than 60 tons.

“A lot of the larger yachts have this engine, so this gives people

a chance to see what’s powering some of these big boats,” McIntosh

said.

The annual show is a perfect fit for Newport Beach that brings in

a lot of first-time visitors, said Marta Hayden, executive director

of the Conference and Visitors Bureau.

“People come for the show, they stay in the local hotels and

restaurants, see everything that Newport has to offer, then they

start coming back,” Hayden said. “We think it’s great.”