We love hearing these stories here at Bayliner Boats. Bremerton native Mark Miller remembers being aboard a lighted "Santa Claus boat," way back in the 1950's, that chugged around Dyes Inlet on chilly December nights. Just a boy then, he recalls that Santa delivered holiday greetings from the deck via loudspeakers to folks who lived or gathered along the shoreline.
Miller believes the Santa boat he remembers from his youth was perhaps the first "lighted boat parade" in Kitsap County – and conceivably anywhere in the northwest – though it was solo.
Today, boat parades are an integral part and parcel of the fabric of holiday celebrations. People flock to waterfront parks and other public viewing spots to watch the slowly moving lighted processions and to listen for Santa's greeting or "Ho-ho-ho" amidst the carols and holiday music.
Many residents of waterfront homes plan their holiday parties to include viewing (and listening to) the steady stream of brightly lighted vessels as they pass by.
This year's boat parade season kicked off last night both in Kingston and in Gig Harbor. It continues tonight in Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island and will culminate this coming Friday and Saturday with events in Port Orchard, Bremerton, Brownsville and Poulsbo.
Hundreds of area water craft, adorned with holiday lights, decorations and musical enhancements, have been and are being transformed into spectacular lighted floats taking part in one or more of various Kitsap County boat parades.
This year's Bremerton Yacht Club event, Miller points out, will continue the "Santa Claus boat" tradition of spreading audio greetings (about 1,000 this year) along its routes. In contrast to the early years Mr. Claus' yacht, which includes reindeer and sleigh, will this time be followed by a flotilla of perhaps 30 lavishly garnished vessels. (??See sidebar for dates and times and routes, if known, of all known local boat parades)
Miller, 57, will be in the Bremerton parade, as usual, aboard "Rocky," his 38-foot-long Bayliner cruiser, so named because of his award-winning, animated light display he calls "Santa Rocks." He designed and built the entire display himself, based on an idea he saw on the internet.
His showmanship runs the entire length of the port (left) side of his boat and features a dancing Santa Claus, along with three elves in motion – playing a trumpet, a guitar and drums – all done with lights and accompanied by holiday rock and roll music (see photo). It is said to be the largest animated boat float in the County.
Miller, a former Commodore (nautical term for President) of the Bremerton Yacht Club, and his wife, Roxanne, have been boaters for all of their married life. Miller says he was "raised on a boat" and now follows in his father's wake.
His current vessel has two staterooms (bedrooms), two heads (bathrooms) with a shared shower over tub, and a full galley (kitchen) with a refrigerator, freezer, stove, oven and microwave. To say that it has every convenience of home would understate. He and Roxanne and other couples have cruised in it to points as far away as Port Hardy in the Canadian inland waterways.
To command the large, paneled animation display which houses his float, he built his own "sequence controller", a circuit timing device of sorts. He then had to meticulously coordinate each small circuit of lights to go on and off at just the right time, creating the illusion of movement.
Miller, a retired civil servant who began his career as an electrician apprentice in the Bremerton shipyards, figures he spent over 500 hours constructing the display, which is extensively strut-supported to withstand the winds and weather common to cold December nights in the Northwest. It takes him a bit more than 24 hours each year to assemble the display on his craft for the annual parade.
In recent years he's won the "People's Choice" award twice as well as the "Christmas Spirit" award. "Santa Rocks" first appeared in 2003, but the Millers have had a lighted boat in the Bremerton parade every year since 1989. (Note to Ric – night pics of his current "Santa Rocks" design and two of Miller's previous holiday boat designs are sent as attachments.)
Tonight at Waterfront Park in Winslow from 5:30 to 7:30, caroling and boat watching will take place. From 6 to 7 the Argosy Christmas Ships come into Eagle Harbor, followed by the 7th annual Eagle Harbor lighted boat parade. Call Cap'n Bob for details at 206-842-7245.
According to available information, all of the following boat parades take place Friday and Saturday, December 14 and 15, with the exception of Port Orchard's which is on December 15 only. All have "Santa greetings" enroute; call the respective number listed for information.
Bremerton's lighted boat parade begins and ends at the Bremerton Yacht Club both nights. Start time is shortly after 6pm; Friday the boats cruise under the Manette bridge up to Illahee and then return via the downtown waterfront. On Saturday, the boats follow all the nooks and crannies of Dyes Inlet and Oyster Bay
Thanks to Roger Koskela, Kitsap Sun
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Rick Ostler, Bayliner Boats.
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