The Belmont Shore Christmas Parade once again got Long Beach in the holiday spirit on Saturday night, Dec. 6 — and local yacht clubs were well-represented among the entries.
But the Alamitos Bay, Long Beach and Shoreline yachts clubs weren’t the only boat-centric entries during the parade.
We also had our (figurative) boat shoes on.
The Press-Telegram and Grunion Gazette once again participated in the iconic Christmas parade, with our entry including editors and reporters from many of our sister papers from the Southern California News Group — as well as three columnists and a former editor on board a couple of electric vehicle WaterCars.
The orange Lamborghini WaterCar had Press-Telegram columnists Rich Archbold and Shirley Wild, while former Grunion Executive Editor and current columnist Harry Saltzgaver joined me in a gray WaterCar.
Riding on board felt like a spaceship: it had the comfort of a Barca lounger, the smooth ride of a limo and the cool factor of a science-fiction vehicle.
The company’s tagline says it all: “The WaterCar EV — The World’s First Boat That You Can Drive Home.”
Dave March, the company’s founder, has leveraged his more than 25 years of marine and automotive experience in designing and perfecting the WaterCar EV into a comfortable 19-foot boat that transforms into a street-legal cruiser at the push of a button.
It is almost like a Duffy Boat and a golf cart — two favorites for locals — had a baby.
The boats are designed and hand-built in Southern California, entirely from advanced aluminum alloys.
In “boat” mode, it is powered by a 115 HP Mercury Pro XS outboard, it cruises at 35 mph and rides on a 19-foot fully aluminum unibody hull. All the vehicles meet or exceed the highest standards for both marine and road-going safety — U.S. Coast Guard flotation and construction requirements, March said.
“Starting at $170,000, it’s built for those who truly appreciate exceptional design and true craftsmanship. said founder Michael March “The goal was simple: eliminate the hassle that keeps people from boating more often.”
Three generations of the March family joined us in the parade Dave, who has been in the auto body repair business since the 1970s, and his son, Michael, along with their wives Laurie and Tracy. Grandkids Monte, 5, and Miley, 7, were also on board.
Dave was always fascinated by the 1960s Amphicar. He had actually done some restorations on them and knew they could be improved. The original versions tended to leak and didn’t go fast or far.
The Amphicar (an portmanteau of amphibious and car) was designed by Hans Trippel, who sold Mercedes-Benz his patent for the gullwing door. The Amphicar was built in Germany in the early 1960s and aimed at the American market. Not many were made and fewer remain today. One sold at auction in 2019 for $71,680.
Former President Lyndon B. Johnson, known for his practical jokes, was said to enjoy frightening visitors at his Texas ranch by driving them downhill in his Amphicar directly into his lake while shouting that he had malfunctioning brakes.
The WaterCars, meanwhile, are in production and more information can be found at WaterCar.com. If you’re interested, kits are available for purchase, and you can add your own power.
Rowing
The Long Beach Rowing Association held its 58th annual Christmas regatta on Sunday, Dec. 8, drawing close to 3,200 rowers from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. (Courtesy photo by Hope Wilkinson/LBRA)
The Long Beach Rowing Association held its 58th annual Christmas regatta on Sunday, Dec. 8, drawing close to 3,200 rowers from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. (Courtesy photo by Hope Wilkinson/LBRA)
The Long Beach Rowing Association held its 58th annual Christmas regatta on Sunday, Dec. 8, drawing close to 3,200 rowers from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. (Courtesy photo by Hope Wilkinson/LBRA)
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The Long Beach Rowing Association held its 58th annual Christmas regatta on Sunday, Dec. 8, drawing close to 3,200 rowers from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. (Courtesy photo by Hope Wilkinson/LBRA)
The Long Beach Rowing Association held its 58th annual Christmas regatta on Sunday, Dec. 8. Drawing close to 3,200 rowers from throughout Southern California and as far away as Arizona and Nevada, the popular races were held in the Long Beach Marine Stadium in Alamitos Bay, the historic location where the rowing events for 1932 Olympics were staged and where rowing will be held during the 2028 Olympics.
“We had a record number of entries this year,” said LBRA President Hanne Chupik, who attributed the ongoing popularity of the regatta to the quality and efficiency of the competition but also to its festive atmosphere.
The regatta featured 63 races on the 850-meter course. Competitors ranged from junior and college athletes to masters. One category pitted rowers as young as 13 against one another, and some rowers in the masters categories were in their 80s. One race allowed a parent and a child to row against other parents and their children.
This year’s regatta also included a special competition on Saturday, Dec. 7, highlighting one of the new sports added to the 2028 Olympic games — Rowing Coastal Beach Sprints. The sprints featured one- and two-person crews sprinting across the sand to their boats, rowing 250 meters around two buoys and returning to the sand for a dash to the finish. It drew 50 entries and gave spectators a chance to see this new sport.
Representatives from the Austrian and Canadian rowing teams, as well an official from LA28 and U.S. Rowing, also attended the event.
Conditions were perfect. On Sunday, the first races started at 7:30a.m. and finished just before sundown.
This year’s regatta was sponsored by the Port of Long Beach and livestreamed, with commentators providing race results and color. Many of the rowers dressed for the occasion as elves, Santas and one crew as eight Olafs from “Frozen” with their coxswain as Anna, the younger sister of Elsa.
The volunteer-run regatta benefits LBRA’s community athletic programs, including adaptive rowing for those with disabilities and its annual Learn to Row summer event.
Sailing
The Long Beach Yacht Club held its annual Christmas Fun Run on Saturday, Dec. 6, with two classes of boats racing inside Alamitos Bay. There were 13 Cal 20s racing — with Keith Ives taking top honors. All eight of the club’s Solings raced, with Ken Mattfield finishing first.