Light, Water, Action

The sky threatened to flood it with rain and many thought it was all wet for shortening its course, but Newport Beach’s venerable, electrified Christmas Boat Parade churned on triumphantly Saturday night.

“Extremely impressive,” said Todd Schafer of Costa Mesa as he watched the progression of yachts bedecked in colored lights, red-nosed dolphins, inflatable snowmen and water-skiing Santas. “They’re very creative.”

A 94-year tradition, the parade has been called one of the top holiday spectacles in the nation, and features scores of brilliantly illuminated boats blasting music and cheer in a 5-mph convoy. The event, which has run nightly for much of the past week, is a logistical and nautical challenge for organizers and authorities.

“I’d liken it to Labor Day in the dark,” said Sgt. Kurt Vasentine of the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol. “It has the potential to get very hectic. The boat traffic is extremely heavy.”

All week, hundreds of watercraft, from rowboats to giant yachts churned their way around the harbor before an estimated total of 1 million spectators. Despite chilly weather and the chance of rain, viewers filled homes, docks and harborside restaurants to watch.

“It’s very cool, so it feels like Christmas,” said Jan Cobb of Newport Beach, who watched the procession with his wife, Brigette, from the back of the Chart House restaurant.

The flotilla sailed into controversy last year when its admirals decided the event was too long and that enthusiasm was ebbing. A survey found that most of the participating boat owners were having trouble filling their vessels with passengers and crew for seven nights, and those they could recruit did not like being out on the chilly water in closed quarters for so long.

So the seven nights have become five, with Lido Isle and Peninsula Point now bypassed on three of those nights. One parade official resigned in frustration, and residents along the excised route are still fuming.

“We feel cheated,” said Wendy Webb of Lido Isle, whose home overlooks the island’s western shore. “Everybody here is holding a party tonight, because it’s the only night we’re going to be able to see anything.”

Tonight, starting at 6:30, is the season’s final parade. For online details about the event, which is sponsored by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, go to www.christmas boatparade.com.