From the Boathouse: Stop by Lido for a show

Ahoy, and time for a boat show and a ship celebration!

Are you still not ready to dry-dock your boating lifestyle for the season? Then you will want to visit the Lido Boat Show this weekend. This in-water show is known as the best boat show in the west, and the show is great to explore over 200 larger boats and yachts.

You will notice the temporary docks lined with boats that are floating in Newport Harbor from the Lido Marina Village. The village’s boardwalk is lined with vendors’ displays selling nautical accessories, insurance, towing packages and other marine-related items and services.

I recommend that you use the free off-site parking and shuttles that depart every 15 minutes. There are two locations for free parking. During the week, you can park at the Newport Harbor Lutheran Church at 798 Dover Drive, and parking for Saturday or Sunday will be at the Hoag Health Center on Superior Avenue. Unfortunately, you cannot visit the show by boat, as there are no tie-up spaces available.

You can surf to https://www.lidoyachtexpo.com to find out hours and ticket prices.

Shifting our bearings further to the south, the Maritime Institute in San Diego is sponsoring a special celestial navigation course that is designed for the cruiser. Hewitt Schlereth will kick off the class, which will include using the sextant outdoors and a couple of evening classroom lectures, on Sept. 27.

Schlereth is a recognized expert sailor who has blue water navigation experience, and he will kick off this special course on celestial navigation. Additionally, he has authored six books on celestial navigation, with his recent release titled “Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell.”

The course is designed to be enjoyable and practicable for the recreational cruiser, so Schlereth promises “no complicated theory; no math; just a little arithmetic. You’ll learn the simplest way to find latitude and longitude by our star, the sun.”

You can find out all the details and how to register by calling the Maritime Institute at (888) 262-8020 or cruising to maritimeinstitute.com.

Question of the week is, what famous ship turns 80 years old on Sept. 26? I will give you a few hints to help answer the question. She was launched across the pond in Scotland on Sept. 26, 1934, and has been berthed in Long Beach since 1967. This ship is 1,019 feet long and has transited the Atlantic Ocean over 1,000 times in her operational life. During World War II, the liner was converted to a troop transport vessel and then converted back to a luxury ocean liner.

I hope that you guessed the iconic RMS Queen Mary. You are invited to a free daylong celebration onboard her decks on the 26th. As a special treat, TV celebrity baker Jose Barajas is creating an anniversary cake that is an exact replica of the ship for the occasion.

As always, just keep an eye to the weather for any changes. Please be boat smart and boat safe. Lastly, please boat responsibly and look behind you before you turn the wheel at the helm.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating radio talk show in the nation, “Boathouse Radio Show,” broadcasting live coast-to-coast on syndicated network. See times at https://www.boathousetv.com, https://www.facebook.com/boathouseradio and https://www.twitter.com/boathouseradio.

Safe voyages!

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.