ShowBoats International — May 2017

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Cruising

for kicks in

California

With its characterful islands, Hollywood

heritage and stretches of pristine coastline,

Newport Beach in Southern California is the

perfect playground for discerning yachties.

Caroline White gets duly distracted

I

n the experience of John Wayne’s long-time

captain Bert Minshall, film stars tend to revert

to type – or even typecasting – when they step on

board a yacht. “Now wait just a minute,” cowboy

Wayne counseled the naval architect refitting

his 135 foot converted minesweeper Wild Goose,

who was measuring up for decorative beams

and reeling out red velvet. “I don’t want this

place looking like a French whorehouse.” When Dean

Martin visited? “They were all gun freaks but we had no

skeet, so my brother and I were throwing paper plates off

the stern so they had something

to shoot at. Dino had an Army 45

automatic pistol.” Minshall later

had a rather more sedate tenure

aboard Julie Andrews’ yacht

Mariah: “She was a sweetheart. We

were always putting the kettle on

for a cup of tea.”

The waters off Newport Beach,

a swatch of coast just south of Los

Angeles, are a soup of Hollywood

legends. A short drive from the

hustle of the city, with a stock

of colorful cottages and miles

of protected harbor, it has been

Tinseltown’s oceanside escape for more than a century.

Wayne, Andrews and many others kept their boats here.

Charlie Chaplin met his wife and collaborator Paulette

Goddard on the 160 foot schooner Invader, which was

owned by studio boss Joseph M Schenck, on a cruise

from here to Santa Catalina Island. Humphrey Bogart

and Lauren Bacall used Newport

Beach as a base for exploring the

Southern California coast on their

beloved sailer Santana, the actress’s

only true rival for Bogie’s affections.

Today, it’s a smart Orange County

address and even a few Hollywood

heavyweights have chosen its

chocolate box-pretty homes on the

waterside over (or as well as) the

neo-classical mansions of Beverly

Hills. The meandering stretch

of coast is strewn with islands,

creating a Venetian style seascape of

distinct neighborhoods. Members

moor up at Newport Beach Yacht Club (one of the oldest

in the country) and wander over a bridge to stroll across

Balboa Island, with its sweet houses and white picket

fences, saltwater taffy shops, clapboard ice cream stores

and nostalgic funfair. Lido Isle, just west, is made up

of smart residential homes, while Balboa Peninsula

sweeps from the west, protecting the two islands with

a broad beach.

Newport Beach offers free anchorages to large yachts,

often in the center of town – visitors should contact

A short drive

from the city,

it has been

Tinseltown’s

escape for more

than a century

VOYAGE

John Wayne’s

Wild Goose.

Right: Newport

Beach harbor.

Below: Bacall

and Bogart

Newport Beach

regulars Humphrey

Bogart, left, and

John Wayne, above.

Far right: the town

in the 1940s

PHOTOGRAPHS: ALAMY; GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK

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