Wooden Boat Festival issues a call for entries

NEWPORT BEACH – Do you have a classic wooden boat?

That’s the question directors of the first annual Wooden Boat Festival are asking boat owners up and down the Southern California coastline as they begin to cull vessels to be displayed at the show.

Scheduled to be held June 7 at Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, the free show is a time for show-class wooden boat owners to showcase their pride and joy.

“We are anticipating 50 wooden boats but we need more,” said Ralph Rodheim, organizer of the Wooden Boat Festival. “Whether it’s a canoe, a kayak or a 60-foot sail or powerboat, we want them all.”

The American Legion Yacht Club organized a wooden boat show for close to two years before making the decision to no longer host the show.

“We’re trying to keep the heritage of sailing alive,” Rodheim said. “This is not just a Newport Beach event.”

Vessels are coming from as far as Ventura and San Diego, with several boats from Newport Beach and Los Angeles.

The Wooden Boat Festival will showcase exceptional wooden boats of various makes, models and sizes in the water and on land at Balboa YC. The event is free and open to the public.

Boat exhibitors will receive a swag bag, enjoy a cocktail reception June 6, a continental breakfast and lunch the day of the show and entry into the Peoples’ Choice awards competition. They will also be listed in the commemorative program.

To date, several vessels have committed to the sure, including Cheerio II; Sally, a 10-meter boat from San Diego; Painted Lady, Euphrates, No Corkage, and Anteres.

Humble, an English Victorian gentlemen’s launch built in Kensington, England in 1902, is also scheduled to be at the show. The 52-foot long vessel is believed to be the largest surviving electric boat of its era. Humble served as a fireboat at the London docks during WWII and has undergone several restorations.

Please contact Ralph Rodheim at (714) 557-5100, ext. 101 or download an entry application at bycwoodenboatfestival.com