The Boat Parade is back and bigger than ever

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9: The Boat Parade is back with a vengeance this year. With the exception of the first ever boat parade in 1998, there is a record number of entries — 77 boats are set to light up Hamilton Harbour with Christmas cheer on Saturday. The parade begins at 6:30pm sharp and will do two rounds of the Harbour starting from the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

The Boat Parade was first introduced to the island by Guatemalan Norma Thomson, who longed for the boat parades she enjoyed at Newport Beach when she lived in California. Thomson was one of a group of people who helped to organize the boat parade in Bermuda including Steve Thompson, Ian Coles, Jim Butterfield, Brian Billing, Kirk Davis and Chris Heslop.

Thomson told the Bermuda Sun: “It took me 10 years to get it going after moving here. When I worked at the Bank of Bermuda I used to sit at Albuoy’s Point and think ‘why don’t we have our own parade?’ It was a dream for me when we got it started and every year it is the most awesome sight.”

The first event in Bermuda attracted 92 participants but each year the numbers dropped. That was until the organizers got sponsors involved to offer incentives to participants. This year the incentive was a $500 Lindo’s voucher for the first 50 boats to enter. Going forward, Thomson has decided to run the boat parade once every two years.