THE HARBOR COLUMN:A toast to the parade winners

Ahoy.

Tonight is Newport’s annual Christmas party held every January, and I am looking forward to a great evening with about 350 of my closest friends at the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade awards dinner and auction. This annual bash is a salute to winning boats of the boat parade and to the winning homes in the Ring of Lights competition. The winners receive their awards at a pre-dinner champagne reception and then they will attend the dinner and auction.

Ed Arnold is the emcee for tonight, and he is a familiar face as KOCE-TV’s veteran news anchor and broadcaster for the public TV station. Ed will do a wonderful job behind the microphone. Importantly, the evening raises funds for next year’s parade by a live and silent auction consisting of hundreds of goodies — including fine dining, trips, hotel stays, jewelry and much more.

Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce staff and volunteers organize this creme de la creme event that entices even the boaters to dress up. I am certain the evening will go well, as the Balboa Bay Club did a great job at last year’s event.

I am planning to go ice skating on Newport Harbor today to take advantage of this recent cold blast from the north. The system is producing good winds for sailing but just watch out for the 25-knot gusts in the afternoons. The gusts should lessen this weekend.

Keep an eye on the eastbound and possibly northeast winds. How I wish for a hot Santa Ana to warm us up this weekend. The sea conditions should be good with 2-foot swells this weekend and daytime temperature rising into the upper 60s. Point Conception will be under 10 feet this weekend, so if you are planning to head north, this might be a winter window.

The cold spell makes one start to think about winterizing your boat, and I have heard of frozen and ruptured water lines on some boats with trailers that are stored inland. We are not accustomed to nor prepared for freezing conditions in Southern California harbors, and normally we only have to do a minimal amount of winterizing to our boats. Locally, you should wipe down any condensation dipping in your cabin, as the water will harbor mold and mildew waiting for the warmer temperatures.

Also, condensation is a concern for your fuel tanks, especially if you have ethanol fuel mixture. Your fuel-water separator is now your best friend, so check the drain bowl regularly on your next few trips. Most people will top off their fuel tanks to lessen the amount of water dripping into the fuel from condensation, but remember, the fuel will go bad over the next few months if the boat is idle. I have my yacht clients listen to the advice from Gary Hill of Hill’s Marine Service and Dave Beek of Island Marine Fuel for their recommendations about fuel treatment.

It is winter, so tell your boating guests to bring warm clothes, and layers are the best.

The tip of the week is from Capt. Chandler Bell, who is my radio show manager. He advises that you see his son Landon in a play, “Merrily We Roll Along,” at Costa Mesa High School Lyceum Theatre on Friday or Saturday night. This is presented by the Newport Harbor High School Theatre Art Department. OK, it’s got nothing to do with boating, but the high school has a swimming pool!

Tune in to the No. 1 boating radio talk show in the nation, “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” on our new flagship station at KLAA-AM (830), blasting 50,000 watts to Southern California from noon to 1 p.m. Saturdays. So join me with my motley crew, Chandler Bell and Eric Hovland, as we talk about all things boating, and listen to our new Southern California Diving Segment courtesy of Gordin Boivin, owner of Laguna Sea Sports.

Safe voyages.