From the Boathouse: A holiday harbor poem

Ahoy!

Ah, Christmas arrives Tuesday, and I cannot wait to see what Santa Claus has left under our tree.

Once again, my updated my annual Christmas poem as I weigh anchor for Christmas:

‘Twas the Day Before Christmas Upon Orange County’s Harbor

‘Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the Harbor,

You could see a few boats sailing on the water.

And sea lions were hauled out on Harbor’s entrance buoy,

With the bell clanging with each passing swell.

The fish were happy as no hooks were around,

And the sea birds were eating, being fed by a shore crowd.

When all of sudden there arose such a clatter,

The Mermaids swam up to see what was the matter.

The sea lions dove into the water and the boats sailed away from all the splatter.

When shore crowd looked out to see such a sight,

But the birds just continued eating their supper.

All of a sudden but what should appear,

The King of the Sea bringing his own Christmas cheer.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

As King Neptune held up his scepter for all to see.

And out of the scepter came a lightning bolt so grand,

It made a loud bang when it hit the land.

And to everyone’s amazement as you looked around,

Disappearing were all the storm drains that drained into his sea from the land.

His gift for Christmas was no more pollution into the water.

But I heard him exclaim, when he swam out of sight,

What starts at the drain, feeds the harbor when it rains.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a safe voyage.

And don’t forget: Tune in to the No. 1 boating radio talk show in the nation, Capt. Mike Whitehead’s “Boathouse Radio Show,” broadcasting coast-to-coast on the CRN Digital Talk Radio syndicated network at noon Saturdays and replayed throughout the weekend.

MIKE WHITEHEAD is a boating columnist for the Daily Pilot. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to https://www.boathousetv.com.