Boat

One of the best features of writing this column is meeting people. I had the opportunity last week to interview one of the most colorful people in our harbor, Marshall "Duffy" Duffield. I use the word colorful because I always felt that Duffy stood out from the crowd. He launched his first electric boat in 1968. I first noticed Duffy at the 1991 Transpac awards banquet in Honolulu, when he received the Don Vaughn award for the most outstanding crew member aboard the Chance, the overall winner.

The Newport Beach City Council reworked the budget for special event financial support at its recent meeting, deciding the Newport Beach Film Festival and Christmas Boat Parade were iconic events that deserved the most support and generally deciding that the entire process needs to be reworked, possibly in a future study session. The Corona del Mar Christmas Walk sought $10,000, but staff suggested it receive $3,000. In the end, the council voted to award the event $6,000. This was the second year that city staff and a Special Events Advisory Committee sought applications from special events organizers, then conducted public interviews, in order to decide which groups would get fee waivers or other financial assistance from the city.

Place the finishing touches on your boat, go for a sail, put your favorite shirt on, break out the band, your red Solo cup, and head down to the yacht club. That was the order of business within our harbor last week as we celebrated the opening days of the 2012 season. The events started on May 9, with 38 boats sailing in Newport Harbor Yacht Club's Opening Day race from Long Beach to Newport. The weather was clear with a southwesterly breeze that provided us with a close reach down the course.

I have to assume you have read the Daily Pilot's reports regarding the sinking of the yacht Aegean, which claimed the lives of four crew members. I first noticed the boat and crew on April 26, the night of the send-off party before the annual Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. I had volunteered as a gangway attendant that allowed boat owners and crews access to their boats while keeping the general public off the docks. The crew of the Aegean was easily spotted with its blue shirts that read, "I am on a boat," and their blue hats.

The 2012 Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade will celebrate the beach. The 104th annual event's theme "Surf, Sand and Santa" was submitted by local Adam Gafke and was chosen out of more than 100 submissions. Gafke won two VIP spots on the official Santa Boat, which leads the parade. Newport Harbor residents decorate their homes, yachts, kayaks and boats with Christmas lights based on the theme every year for the five-night event hosted by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Organizers of the famed Newport Beach-to-Ensenada sailing regatta were stunned by the mysterious loss of four crew members aboard a 37-foot boat that disappeared in mid-race, marking the first fatalities in the event's 65-year history. While the U.S. Coast Guard was still investigating the accident, regatta organizers said they believed the boat was hit and demolished by a much larger ship - perhaps a freighter or tanker - passing in the dark early Saturday. The boat disappeared from the online tracking system around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

For the second time in a month, sailboat crew members have died while racing off the California coast. Two weeks ago, five died when their 38-foot boat was swamped by two waves near the Farallon Islands, 27 miles from San Francisco. And now, four crew members are believed to have been killed when their 37-foot-boat disappeared Saturday on a race between Newport Beach and Ensenada, Mexico. The regatta sponsors believe the sailboat collided with a "much larger vessel" although theU.S.

The 39th annual Newport Beach Boat Show returns to Lido Marina Village from Thursday to April 22 with more than 300 vessels and no maximum set size. The yearly show, self-described as the "premier yacht show in the West," features both big boats and trawlers, according to newportinthewaterboatshow.com . The show is from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 and can be bought through the event website. Children 12 and under are free.

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce announced last week the start of its annual contest to choose a theme for the Christmas Boat Parade. Participants can submit holiday-related themes for the 104th annual event by email to entries@christmasboatparade.com by noon April 15. The contest winner will win a ride for two on the official Santa boat during one night of the five-night parade, which takes place this year from Dec. 19 to 23....