Winning boats of Christmas parade named

Although Dave Skousen and his captain always enter Skousen’s 63-foot yacht, Scout, in the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, Skousen said Friday that he thinks of himself as more of a Grinch.

But that all changed in August when he decided he’d go all out for this year’s parade. Bob Metcalf, Skousen’s boat partner and captain, is a big fan of the Christmas season.

But Skousen and Metcalf’s boat isn’t decorated like many others with the sweet images Christmas conjures, like Santa, elves and presents. Instead, Skousen pulled his inspiration from film director Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

And after only hearing crickets from audiences last year, this year Skousen and Metcalf were awarded first prize in the parade’s Humor and Originality category.

On Friday, the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of the boat parade.

“It’s awesome; it was really, really cool,” Skousen said. “My captain, he’s a major Christmas fan, and I never really am, but thought, OK, I’ll do it this year. And now he finally won something, and he’s really stoked about it. And knowing he was really happy was really worth the work.”

And although they won one of the sought-after awards and despite months of hard work — Skousen made all the characters with wire mesh, papier-mache and hand-sewn costumes — the big winners of this year’s boat parade were Art and Joyce Smith, with their 50-foot motor yacht called On Location.

After years of winning second and third prizes in various categories, Huntington Harbour resident Joyce Smith was ecstatic to learn her boat was the sweepstakes winner at this year’s Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.

“We had no idea we were going to win the sweepstakes,” she said when she found out On Location, which she and her husband own, had won.

The couple entered the parade in 2003 and 2004 and after a one-year hiatus were back with their boat decked out with Santa, reindeer and snowmen to complement this year’s theme, “Holiday Magic Through the Eyes of a Child.”

“It takes about a good week to do the lights,” Joyce Smith said.

It took Joyce and her husband, along with seven or eight employees, to create the winning look. But Joyce Smith said the hard work is always worth it.

She said the real fun is to watch her guests wave and cheer at passing boaters and parade watchers. She and her husband have a night for everyone — one night is a family night, one for the employees, one for clients and other guests.

“You feel … not just like you’re watching the parade, but you feel like movie stars,” Joyce Smith said. “We’re waving and people are clapping and screaming and even yelling our number out…. It’s really a fun time.”

Skousen and Metcalf donate the boat to organizations such as New Directions for Women and the Ashland Recovery House but save a couple of nights for a friends-and-family shindig.

Some onlookers were more concerned with tallying scores for passing boats than waving to the passengers. The judging process is rather secretive, with entrants never knowing where and when judges will be rating the boats.

Sixteen judges critiqued the boats’ decorations on each night they were judged.

“This year the competition was extremely tough, much tougher than in years past,” said David Beek, who headed up the judging committee. “You can tell when someone put their heart and soul into it, and it jumps out at you.”

The judges all come from the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Future parade entrants beware — Joyce Smith said she and her husband plan to enter next year too.

On Location was also a winning boat at the Huntington Harbour Boat Parade in Huntington Beach this year.

This year’s winning boats are:

Sweepstakes

Best power boat

Best sailboat

Best boat under 30 feet

Lights and Animation

Humor and Originality

Best display of the theme

Best music

Best first-time entry

Best yacht club entry

Best electric boat

Best corporate entry