NEWPORT BEACH : Harbor Glows for 81st Year of Boat Parade

He has taken top honors for eight of the last nine years. And Bobby Cornelius of Lido Island admits that, when it comes to the array of lights and decorations that mark the Newport Harbor Christmas Boat parade, he is “the bad guy everyone else wants to beat.”

Cornelius, a 59-year-old developer, was so intent this year on keeping his dynasty intact that he spent about $5,000 to adorn his 120-foot yacht, and even kept his boat hidden in Huntington Harbour for a while to discourage spies.

But finally on Sunday night, he cruised down the harbor as the parade opened its seven-night run for the 81st consecutive year.

“It’s spectacular,” Cornelius said of the holiday event. “The parade is such a fun thing to do. All the kids get such a big kick out of it.”

Thousands of children and adults, fighting the traffic and parking crunch that come with the event, got a glimpse of the parade Sunday night.

“This is what the holiday is all about around here,” said Jill Moss of Balboa, as she watched the cavalcade of more than 100 boats with her children and other family members. “It’s a great chance to get into the Christmas spirit and all that, and to see who can do outdo who in the decorations.”

Others seemed less pleased, however.

After years of cajoling, Sylvia Miller of Mission Viejo finally persuaded her husband to make the trek to the parade. But once there, neither thought it was worth the effort.

“I’m not really impressed at all,” Jack Miller said as the boats began to pass by at the outset of the parade. “I love boats and all, but I don’t see anything so far to make it worth driving through all this traffic.”

Law enforcement officials could give no immediate estimate of the turnout. But in past years, organizers say, the event has drawn up to 250,000 spectators nightly, and longtime harbor observers said this year’s parade seemed off to a favorable start.

Among those enjoying the festivities were local merchants. As the event has grown in recent years into a major tourist attraction, thousands of people and millions of dollars are drawn into waterfront stores, restaurants and hotels.

At Newport Landing Sportfishing, for instance, office manager Pam Watts was kept busy Sunday night readying chartered boats for some 400 people who wanted an on-the-water view of the parade.

“This is an extremely important time for us,” Watts said. “Having the Christmas parade rush gets us through the rest of the winter.”

The event, launched on July 4, 1908, has become no less important for the boating enthusiasts who participate.

The procession of yachts cruising around Newport Harbor, adorned with thousands of lights, giant balloons and animated features, has drawn parade-watchers from as far away as Japan.

Winners of the boat-decoration competition have only plaques to take home with them. But the lure of the big prize has nonetheless reportedly driven boat owners to spend thousands of dollars in preparing their vessels, which will be judged later in the week, according to Richard R. Luehrs, president of the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce, the parade sponsor.

“There are engineers and draft people to design the boat decorations. There are the materials and the generators to buy,” Luehrs pointed out.

Perennial winner Cornelius, for instance, this year extended his 120-foot Crystal Kona Hawaii into a 300-foot, floating extravaganza by adding a sleigh and reindeer, a manger scene, and three skiffs carrying a trio of wise men and camels. The boat is lighted by more than 5,000 lights and adorned with a 22-foot-high Santa Claus and two giant snowmen.

Last year, he took home top honors when he cruised into the harbor with a Santa Claus atop a propane-fired rocket that shot out real flames.

“There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world,” Luehrs boasts of the annual parade. “Where else could you watch million-dollar yachts cruise by John Wayne’s house, decked out in thousands of dollars worth of lights?”