In December 1966, a group from Channel Islands Yacht Club and the Channel Islands Harbor Association met at the Channel Clipper restaurant to plan a holiday boat parade for the new harbor. They set it for December 18. The mayor and other officials rode in an 85-foot yacht called the Dry Martini. According to the club's CURRENTS newsletter history, it had to drop out after one lap of the harbor because it ran out of fuel. That first parade had about 30 entries and drew close to 4,000 spectators. The next year about 10,000 people came out in what the newsletter calls "bone-chilling temperatures," and the Dry Martini made it all the way around and won the first-place trophy.
Sixty parades later, the harbor's December looks different from how it started. The evening that draws the crowds is still the parade. But the season's holiday-lights boat rides now start at Seabridge Marina, at 1299 S Victoria Ave. The boats leaving from there cruise past Seabridge's own decorated homes and boats. If you live in Seabridge, a lot of December's scenery is your block.
A Hawaiian Christmas, Then and Now
The harbor has set the theme for the 60th Annual Parade of Lights as "Aloha Afloat." It runs Saturday, December 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. The harbor's listing asks boaters for "island-inspired displays" and "plenty of aloha spirit."
That theme already has a history here. The yacht club's account of the 1966 parade lists the first entries as a boat lit up as a sleigh, a barge made up as Santa's workshop, and this one:
"a Hawaiian Christmas complete with dancing girls"
So the 60th parade's tropical theme matches one of the very first entries. Boat owners decorating for December 12 are working in a style the harbor saw in its first year.
The same history shows something else that matters for anyone living along the docks. By the fourth parade, the newsletter says, "decorated houses in the Oxnard Beach area were also being judged on their decorations." Waterfront homes have been part of the harbor's holiday show from the start. Today, the trips built around that idea leave from Seabridge.
Seabridge Marina E Dock, 5 p.m.
Channel Islands Marine Safari Adventures runs a Holiday Lights Harbor Tour that meets at Seabridge Marina E Dock, 1299 S Victoria Ave. The operator describes it as a 45-minute trip "viewing Holiday Lighted boats and homes in the Seabridge area of Channel Islands Harbor," and says to allow up to an hour. Here are the details from the booking page:
- Listed departure: Friday, December 4, 2026, at 5 p.m.
- Price for that date, fees included: $21.20 for adults and $10.60 for children 12 and under
- Group size: six passengers, ages 4 and up
- Aboard: a certified captain and holiday music. If you charter all six seats, you can play your own music on the boat's sound system.
The operator's website advertises the December season as Seabridge Holiday Lights Home Tours, running five nights a week for 17 nights starting in early December, with advance prices of $20 for adults and $10 for children. The same site posted an August 2026 update saying its boat, the North Sea, was out of service for transmission work and would return once repairs were done. Before you plan an evening around a departure, call 805-663-2152 to confirm your date.
With six seats, one household or two couples fill the boat. That makes it a good fit for showing visiting family the neighborhood from the water. It also works for a Seabridge resident who has never seen their own street the way a passing boat does.
The second December ride from the same address is Gondola Paradiso's Candy Cane Cruise, a 25-minute gondola ride with Santa. The company lists 1299 S Victoria Ave as its address. It suggests bringing a jacket because the rides "can get chilly," and takes same-day bookings by phone at 805-612-4475.
The December Calendar, in Order
The Seabridge tours, the paddle and the parade fall across two back-to-back weekends:
- Friday, December 4, 5 p.m. A listed departure of the Holiday Lights Harbor Tour from Seabridge Marina E Dock.
- Sunday, December 6, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The 2nd Annual Reindeer Paddle, open to kayakers and paddleboarders in festive gear.
- Saturday, December 12, 7 to 9 p.m. The 60th Annual Parade of Lights, "Aloha Afloat."
The harbor's events page has calendar-subscription links for Google, Outlook and iCal. That's the easiest way to have the paddle and parade show up on your phone.
The Paddle Moves to Its Own Weekend
Last year's inaugural Reindeer Paddle ran on Saturday, December 13, 2025, the same day as the parade. The harbor pitched it as the start of a full day that ended with the 7 p.m. Parade of Lights. This year it has its own date, Sunday, December 6, the weekend before the parade.
The 2025 paddle launched from the East Bank Day Dock, "between Fisherman's Wharf and the public launch ramp." Paddlers went at their own pace to the Channel Islands Blvd. Bridge and back, with Harbor Patrol on the water for safety. That launch area has changed since then. The harbor's project updates page says demolition of Fisherman's Wharf began in August 2026 to make way for a Karls village-style waterfront development, with a grand opening targeted for Spring 2028. The harbor's event page for the paddle is the place to check for this year's starting point.
Last year, the harbor pointed paddlers without their own boards or kayaks to Hopper Boat Rentals or the Channel Islands Kayak Center, both inside the harbor. The harbor's directory lists Hopper at Channel Islands Blvd. and S Victoria Ave, a short trip from Seabridge. The 2025 paddle also handed out reindeer antlers to registered paddlers and held a prize drawing for festive costumes, with prizes donated by Sea Fresh Channel Islands, Harbor Market and Island Packers.
Parade Night From a Restaurant Table
The harbor says the parade can be seen from almost anywhere around the water. For a table with a view, the harbor's 2025 viewing guide listed five restaurants and advised booking early. The same five appear on the harbor's parade listings back to 2017:
- Topper's Pizza Place
- Sea Fresh Channel Islands
- The Lookout Bar & Grill
- Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine
- The Waterside Restaurant and Wine Bar
The 2025 guide also called the second floor of the Channel Islands Maritime Museum "probably one of the best places" to watch, for those who booked the museum's ticketed viewing party.
If you boat, the parade's entry structure may matter more to you than the menus. In 2025, the harbor's entry form split boats into individual and yacht-club classes over and under 30 feet. It also had an electric-boat class with a 14-foot minimum and a commercial, nonprofit and government class. Boats were judged on theme, originality, and visual and sound effects. Awards included Best Dressed Crew and Most Humorous Display, plus a Sweepstakes award and perpetual trophy for the highest overall score. The perpetual trophy goes back to the parade's early years. The yacht club's history lists Island Packers and a Boy Scout crew among its early winners.
If you live along the Seabridge channels and want to talk through what owning a dock home here involves, from the holiday-lights season to everyday boating, reach out to Eric Swartz at Navigating You Home. You can also request a free home valuation and neighborhood guide.
