Winterfest Boat Parade

Saturday night was the annual Winterfest Boat Parade in Broward County.

This is actually the first time that I have gone since they moved the start to downtown FTL. I have to admit I was surprised by the number of people and the atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Even the condos in downtown had a lot of people out on the balconies - maybe there are more people living in them than I thought.)

I do not care to see boats advertising "American Idol", "House of Rock", or the sponsor the "Hard Rock Casino". Fortunately, those were confined for the most part to the big boats at the beginning of the parade.

The smaller boats seemed to have a better spirit of the season and more originally as well. The best one in my opinion was the Nutcracker themed sailboat with toy soldiers. They fired a cannon (which you could probably hear in the Weston!) and all of the soldiers fell down in unison.

The start itself was interesting to watch. It was around the 3rd street bride with all of the mega yachts tied up there. Tow boats had to maneuver them out of the tight quarters with a east wind and strong incoming tide. Some of the smaller sailboats had to be towed just to make it against the tide and wind.

The Nutcracker sailboat almost was almost swept away by it. When they let go of the dock, the tide caught them and spun them around. Fortunately the captain got the righted before they got to the bridge.

This is an event that the community definitely enjoys and I think should continue - just with a little less blatant advertising.