Newport Beach : Refurbished SS Michigan Getting Back in the Swim

It has spent almost as much time beneath the surface of Newport Harbor as above; it looks kind of funny and its greatest feat to date was an abortive attempt to challenge a Russian trawler off the Orange County coast. But to the people of Newport Beach the SS Michigan is a revered and distinguished vessel.

The 24-foot former mackerel fishing boat, which has settled to the bottom of the ocean at least nine times, leads the city’s annual Character Boat Parade and is considered the city’s nautical mascot. Jim Dale, owner of the Villa Nova Restaurant and the latest in a long line of owners, decided to give the old tub a face lift so he directed the South Coast Boat Yard to refurbish her from stem to stern.

The Michigan, sporting among its improvements a flashy paint job, new planks, railings and ribs, will be relaunched at the yard at 1 p.m. today to the accompaniment of the Newport Harbor High marching band, the crack of a champagne bottle across the bow, the release of thousands of balloons and a U.S. Coast Guard escort. Among those on hand for the ceremonies will be actor Denver Pyle--a former owner.

Dale said he considered making the Michigan a permanent part of the harbor’s shoreline. “We had two choices--either put it up on the beach and make it a permanent display or rebuild her. We decided this was just too important,” he said, adding that the boat “takes its civic responsibility pretty seriously.”

The Michigan has been involved in many adventures in its time. Many years ago, Dale said, she led a flotilla of harbor boats in an attempt to frighten a Russian trawler away from the California coastline. “People around here were very conservative in those days and they didn’t like the idea of these Russians off the coast of Newport Beach,” he explained. But, the confrontation fizzled as a Coast Guard cutter intervened and sent the citizen navy packing.

Perhaps its most celebrated tussle was against the Pavilion Queen, a sightseeing ship which bears antlers on its bow as a symbol of prominence in the harbor. The Michigan tried to wrest the prized antlers away in a tug-o-war but ended up blowing its engines in the attempt.