Back in the Day La Conner's first lighted boat parade

I think it was 45 years ago that La Conner’s first Christmas boat parade launched our annual local tradition.

At that time the Swinomish Yacht Club had only 27 members, including us, so we knew it was going to be a big undertaking, but the club decided to give a boat parade a try. We published a message in the paper for a meeting of anyone who was interested in participating. It seemed like an exciting adventure at the time and we were amazed when a group turned out for the meeting to get organized.

La Conner had plenty of work boats, but not so many yachts, so we’d have to make do with what we had.

I asked husband Don, who worked 39 years for Dunlap Towing, if he would get a small tug and lead the parade. He could navigate the Swinomish Channel with his eyes closed so he had no problem with that.

News about the parade reached the Dunlap Towing office and the girls working there decided that they would decorate the tug. There wasn’t much a person could do to make a dumpy looking tugboat look festive, but they were up for the challenge.

They couldn’t do anything about the space onboard though – there isn’t much of it in the pilot house, with no place to sit, so we’d have to use our enthusiasm to keep us going.

Once the colorful lights were strung over the boat it had a beautiful Christmas look. So by this time everyone wanted to join the voyage and it looked like the pilot house would be very crowded.

I have no idea how the few participants who actually rode with the boat were selected. Don, our son and I, and some Dunlap employees made up the group.

Other boats joining in included some gill netters, a few outboards, a seine boat, two yachts and several tag-alongs. Two girls were taking the control of one of the gill netters.

When parade day arrived everyone gathered by the yacht club, their boats wearing their Christmas finest.

What a sight the Christmas lights from the boats cast in the water! It was a beautiful sight to see, and people gathering on the shore started singing carols. A party had begun.

With the Dunlap Towing tug at the front, with Don at the stern, and a handful of people on board, including myself, the parade headed down the channel. The parade route stretched to Anacortes near the port and back.

It was quite a party, from where we were we could see all the Christmas lights on the houses and that was breathtaking. The weather was perfect that night. No wind stirred, stars shined in the sky and the Christmas light reflections in the water gently moved with the waves from the boats.

One special boat in our midst was the seine boat with Santa and Mrs. Claus waving and singing carols. Mrs. Claus was the bartender at the Lighthouse, and Santa was a pretty frequent visitor to the bar.

When we turned around at the Anacortes port, we made sure everyone else was turning and heading back. That’s when things started going wrong.

One of the yachts hit a channel marker and punched a hole in the side of their boat causing a little excitement. We went to help; it was taking on water, the pumps on their boat seemed to be taking care of it though, and the yacht was able to limp back to La Conner.

The girls in the gill netter ran into trouble when the engine caught fire. This could have been a catastrophe, but by the time we reached their boat they’d put their fire extinguisher to good use and the fire was out.

The boat was dead in the water but we put a tow rope on the boat to bring it the rest of the way down the parade route.

The girls climbed into the pilot house of our tug and it was really crowded by then. Just room enough to pass a drink around.

Our son asked if he could take the controls of the tug and he ended up running it the rest of the way home on the instructions, “Keep the red channel light on your right.”

By the time the parade came to an end the lights on the boats were looking pretty dilapidated – most had come loose along the way. Some of the people on board the boats were starting to get a little dilapidated by this time too – what with the partying and singing – but the Christmas joy was still alive. Everyone was still belting out carols.

We tied up the gill net boat at the yacht club and once secure, everyone left the boat there and headed to a party on the seine boat where Santa and Mrs. Claus were still singing. It looked like a great party, but we headed home.

We’ve done lots of boat parades since then but this one was the most memorable.

Barbara Sanford wrote this in 2014 as a participant in the La Conner Senior Center’s writing group led by Claire Swedberg. It was in the Dec. 10, 2014 Weekly News.

By Barbara Sanford