THE HARBOR COLUMN:

Ahoy,

Next week is Thanksgiving, which means it is time once again to bring out the holiday decorations for your boat. Also, next weekend is usually a great time to go boating, and I regularly see families out cruising the harbor with their visiting relatives.

You can use this weekend as a shakedown cruise in preparation for the rapidly approaching Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.

Shakedown cruises are essentially voyages where you test the boat, equipment and supplies, and hone the skills of the skipper and crew.

This is the perfect opportunity to practice the parade route to learn the turns and where the buoys and mooring cans are.

Also, you can practice stopping in a narrow channel and maintaining your exact position, as you would during the parade.

Also, you should prepare for emergencies such as “man overboard,” and learn where the closest ring buoy, floating cushion or life jacket is stored. Remember, during the parade most people will be wearing heavy warm clothes that will pull someone under the water quickly.

Now, imagine your motorboat’s engines surge then die thus, steerage is zip, the electrical power goes out, and you are floating uncontrollably along in the harbor.

You see that the boat is drifting toward the moorings filled with boats. So, what do you do?

Well, it is time to learn how to manually drop your anchor in the dark and without using the windlass.

Tip of week is go cruising on the harbor for a couple of nights before the boat parade to become familiar with cruising at night. Always keep a flashlight at the helm as you will notice that finding all the buttons and switches can be a challenge in the dark. Careful cruising at night as the harbor’s channel marker lights can get lost in the array of lights from the shore reflecting on the water. You think you know where those mooring cans are, but your day landmarks are not visible at night.

Lastly, I do have a temporary change for my radio show this weekend, as I will be broadcasting at 1 p.m. Sunday and returning to my usual schedule next week at 11 a.m. Saturdays. So tune in to “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show” on KLAA-AM (830).

Safe voyages.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating columnist. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to www.boathousetv.com.