Boat season officially kicks at Oceanside Yacht Club

OCEANSIDE — Boaters up and down the Southern California coast gathered at the Oceanside Yacht Club for the official opening of boating season April 3.
The commodore called out that the harbor is free of ice and a boat parade and awards ceremony opened this year’s boating season.
Although local weather is nice enough for year-round boating, the opening of boating season is steeped in tradition.
For 48 years the Oceanside Yacht Club has held opening ceremonies with a judged parade of motorboats and sailboats.
Judges look for the best-dressed boats that have signal flags displayed in the proper order, bow to stern, and crews wearing traditional blue blazers and white slacks.
Yacht clubs along the Southern California coast follow the opening day tradition of clubs on the East Coast that do need to look out for ice.
The Navy Yacht Club San Diego is always the first club to celebrate opening day and Coronado Cays Yacht Club is always last, Bill Edwards, of the San Diego Yacht Association, said.
“Oceanside Yacht Club shows the typical spirit of yacht clubs that invest in their communities,” Edwards said. Yacht club members enjoy boating, recreation and do a lot of philanthropic work, Edwards added.