Wooden Boat Festival well received by boaters

NEWPORT BEACH – More than 1,200 wooden boat aficionados spent their weekend boarding and admiring the classic vessels on display at the inaugural Wooden Boat Festival in Newport Beach, Calif. Held on June 7 at Balboa Yacht Club, the event proved to be a success with festival organizers having to turn boats away. “We are very excited,” said Jan Kingarrd, who handled the festival’s marketing. “There were 46 boats on display.” Organized by Ralph Rodheim, the Wooden Boat Festival is meant to help revive the heritage of sailing and to help keep it alive. 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. Vessels and visitors came from as far as Ventura and San Diego, with several boats from Newport to Los Angeles, to partake in the event that included live music by the Legacy Buccaneers who sang sea shanties and donned pirate garb. A visitor also brought along a pot bellied pig to enjoy the day. Artists were on site working on paintings as guests watched and “the knot guy,” Lindsey Philpott demonstrated his knot tying abilities. Model boat builders were also in attendance. A buffet was also provided. Prior...