JAUNTS : Evening Cruises a Bright Idea for Viewing Christmas Lights : Operators offer tours of Channel Islands and Ventura harbors. Passengers are advised to dress warmly--even with gloves and hats.

They call it the season of lights--and Christmas lights certainly are on at both Ventura and Channel Islands harbors.

Many of the boats and pricey homes along the shore are decked out for the holidays with lighting displays and, in some cases, they are spectacular.

If you take an evening cruise around either harbor, you might see anything from red-nosed dolphins that seem to be leaping over the water to a glittering Mississippi riverboat, complete with paddle-wheel and trickling water.

At Ventura’s harbor, Bayqueen Harbor Cruises offers two nightly spins around the harbor’s nooks and crannies, at 6 and again at 8 p.m. The 90-minute open-air rides cost $8 for adults and $5 for children.

This is the 12th year that owner Tom Rush has been doing the holiday gig, which runs through New Year’s Day. He decorates the 40-foot boat with garlands and lights, and you might catch him in red sweats and a Santa hat.

He pilots his boat through the harbor at no more than 5 m.p.h., past docked boats that are gussied up with Christmas lights. Then he creeps up and down the fingers of the Keys for a close-up look at the decorated shoreline homes.

Over at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, the Harbor Hopper Ferry does hourlong rides that cruise past the lavish homes of Mandalay Bay and Leeward Estates. Here you’ll see the Mississippi River boat and a huge Nativity scene with camels that appear to be walking across the roof.

Cindy Lyon, owner of Harbor Hopper Ferry, has been ushering passengers around the harbor during the holidays for five years.

Lyon offers the evening harbor jaunts by reservation, any night, until about midnight. The smaller boats are licensed for six and the total cost is $45. The bigger boat carries up to 24, and that cost is $90.

She doesn’t offer refreshments, but passengers can bring food and drinks aboard. They board at Harbor Landing, on the west side of the harbor, and maintain a leisurely pace, 5 m.p.h. maximum. The boats are enclosed, providing some protection from the cold.

For rides at either harbor, though, passengers should dress warmly--even gloves and hats are a good idea. And, since it is the holiday season, expect a heavy dose of Christmas music.

Details

* CRUISES: Evening cruises to see Christmas lights are available at both harbors:

* BAYQUEEN HARBOR Cruises operates out of Ventura Harbor, at Ventura Harbor Village. Call 642-7753 for information. Reservations required.

* HARBOR HOPPER Ferry operates out of Channel Islands Harbor, at Harbor Landing. Call 985-4677 for information. Reservations required.