OCC Yacht to Lead Harbor Boat Parade; Start Is Tonight
For the first time in the history of the Newport Harbor Boat Parade, a boat from the Orange Coast College Sailing Center will lead the procession of lighted vessels.
The organizer of the pageant, the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce, chose Wide Waters, a 69-foot motor yacht, to lead the parade that begins tonight and continues nightly through Dec. 23.
Doug Bennett, executive director of the Orange Coast College Foundation, said the school wasthrilled to be chosen to lead the annual parade of lighted ships. “It is an opportunity for us to show it off to the community,” he said.
Wide Waters is the most recent addition to the college’s fleet. It was bequeathed to the sailing center this year by the estate of Richard Steele, an avid yachtsman who died last spring and former director of the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation. The foundation has been a major donor to the college over the years.
Wide Waters will be outfitted with decorative lights and will tow a floating Santa Claus.
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