Festival to boast wooden boats

Like people who enjoy looking at hot rods but aren’t really into cars, Saturday’s first-ever Old Wooden Boat Festival in Newport Beach appeals to everyone — including people not really into boats but who appreciate artwork and smooth, classic lines.

“These are fantastic boats lovingly restored by wooden boat aficionados. The classic old boats are going away fast, and people who have kept ‘em, restored ‘em and loved ‘em, have kept them going,” said Jim O’Connor, board member of the American Legion Yacht Club Post No. 291. “‘Pretty’ really applies to these boats. The woodwork is amazing.”

It’s not only the woodwork that’s amazing about many of these hand-crafted masterpieces. It’s the stories behind them.

Take the festival’s chairman and self-proclaimed “official wood boat junkie,” Mark Kovaletz.

Kovaletz is featuring two of his vessels Saturday, one of them dedicated to a moment in history that changed our country forever.

There’s a word in the Solomon Islands for when great beings with strong “mana,” or power, die and their presence lives on: Tendalo.

For Kovaletz, there was no better name for the canoe he carved out of 100-year-old Sequoia wood than Tendalo, which he modeled after the boat that saved John F. Kennedy in the South Pacific during World War II. In August 1943, Kennedy’s boat and crew sank when a Japanese destroyer rammed them on a moonless night. Marooned on a nearby island, Kennedy and his crew were eventually rescued thanks to Solomon Island natives rowing nearby on a canoe.

For Kovaletz, the generations-old Sequoia wood was perfect for his dedication to the momentous rescue. He gave the canoe to his wife as a gift.

“I think a part of it is, it’s not trendy. Wood boats are things like old cars. They’re never going out of style,” Kovaletz said.

“You’re investing something that’s time and effort that will be worth looking back at.”

Organizers said there will be about 30 to 40 boats in the yacht club’s parking lot on display in trailers, and at least 15 in the water to be admired. The local Wooden Hull Yacht Club chapter and the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum are also participating, along with a local knot-tyers guild.

Boats up to 25 feet will be on display, and organizers hope to make this an annual event.

If You Go

WHAT: Inaugural Old Wooden Boat Festival

WHERE: American Legion Yacht Club Post No. 291, 215 E. 15th St., Newport Beach

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

COST: Entry is $5. Permits to park in nearby lots, if needed, are $15.

INFORMATION: Call (949) 673-5070.