Spectators lined the shores of the Oakland-Alameda Estuary on Saturday evening, December 7, in anticipation of the 48th Annual Lighted Yacht Parade. At 5:30 p.m., a San Francisco Bay Ferry boat pulsating with multi-colored holiday lights and packed with celebrating passengers came out of the darkness and glided through the water to kick off the parade.
Unlike the previous two years, the skies were clear without any rain in sight, and 34 boats soon appeared on the water, all of them lit up and reflecting this year’s theme, “Merry Estuary.” People cheered from the shores and boat crews waved back while blasting holiday tunes.
Organized by the Oakland Yacht Club and the Encinal Yacht Club, the parade is a community event as well as a fundraiser. The two clubs, both of which are located in Alameda and overlook the Oakland-Alameda Estuary, partner with the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Oakland Firefighters Random acts. On the night of the event, the clubs collected donations of food, toys, and money from their members. Passengers on the San Francisco Bay Ferry boat were also encouraged to bring toy donations in exchange for a future free ferry ride.
At the Encinal Yacht Club, members enjoyed drinks and a buffet dinner before heading outside to the balcony and fire pits near the dock to watch the parade. The judges for the parade were on a boat docked outside the club.
Oakland Yacht Club Commodore Tracy Reigelman, who was one of the judges this year, spoke to the Alameda Post about the race. When asked about the criteria for a winning boat, he laughed and said. “Oh, I can’t give you my secrets, but suffice it to say they have a score sheet.” Then he smiled and added, “Light, music, and engagement of the crew on the boats. One year we had a guy and all of his crew was out dancing and singing Christmas carols on the bow of the boat. It was fun and very festive.”
Despite being called the Lighted Yacht Parade, all vessels are invited to participate. “Anything that will float on the water,” confirmed Susan Nork, who is on the Board of Directors of Encinal Yacht Club. This year’s entries included kayaks, a dragon boat, something that looked like a neon alligator, tugboats, and small kid-sized sailboats with brightly lit neon monkeys—Encinal Yacht Club’s Junior Sailing entry themed Barrel of Monkeys. In past years, even paddle boarders have participated.
The categories in the parade are Sailing, Power, and Other. John and Carolyn Ciarelli of the Oakland Yacht Club entered their sailboat in the Sailing category for the fourth year in a row. John described their boat as “modestly but nicely decorated.” Both of the Ciarellis agreed that the parade was “really fun… everybody’s just relaxing and having a good time.” Carolyn said, “It’s just a nice feeling out here.” It took about a half-hour to decorate their sailboat, they told the Post. When asked if they needed an extremely long ladder to reach the top of the mast, they explained, “You tie a line to it and attach the lights, and then pull it up gradually.”
Taryn and Jason Loger, who won third place in the Power category, entered their 65-foot former Coast Guard tugboat. The boat has been converted into a home where they live with their three-year-old child, a dog, and a cat in Benicia. They started decorating after Thanksgiving and worked on it three to five hours every day. “We decorate every inch of the tugboat from the helm to the aft area,” they said. “We have a bunch of inflatables on it as well.”
Jack and Kim Woo of Oakland’s KP Dragons entered their dragon boat in the Other category and won third place. “Other” usually refers to human-powered boats. The Woos described their vessel as a “20-person canoe inspired by how boating used to be in China centuries ago—wooden boats with heavy oars.” They decorated the dragon boat with snowflakes and illuminated the dragon head and tail of the boat, as well as the oars.
The Woos laugh when they recount how they won first place two years ago. “There was extreme rain, everybody was miserable. The inclement weather frightened all the other competitors and it was just our dragon boat plus this brave single kayaker. It was just us two. So we ended up winning first place.”
Luckily, the weather cooperated this year and all 35 boats in the parade were able to make it up and back down the estuary while exuding holiday vibes.
Visit the Lighted Yacht Parade website to see the full list of winners and sponsors of the parade.
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen.
