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Boat parade chooses best
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Islands of light decked out in holiday hues emerged from the inky darkness of Factory Bay last Saturday — one by one like brilliant birds floating out of a magician’s hat.
It was the Christmas Island Style Lighted Boat Parade’s fleet of fourteen vessels that followed the coastline then executed a three point turn in front of the Marco Island Yacht Club and continued along a path parallel to Bald Eagle.
One by one each boat glided past the judges stand perched on the second deck of the Snook Inn. The judges panel was staffed by a crew of upstanding, impartial individuals.
Nice guy and chairman of the Boat Parade Paul Freeman introduced the panel as Chairman of Judges Dick Shanahan — ably assisted by Sally Freeman — Vicki Williams, Debbie Mitchussen, Joe Hausauer, Debra Sanders, Zach Cecemski Linda Keutman, and Faye Biles.
The Snook Inn provided a bountiful and complimentary buffet of deep-fried oysters, chicken wings, fish nuggets and barbecued riblets as well as an assortment of dipping sauces for the judges and more than 25 VIP guests.
Some — such as this reporter — missed the first half of the boat parade because of the merry-go-round of automobiles that obligated drivers to navigate around the hundreds of cars parked in front of Snook Inn for well over a half hour.
The judges provided any missed information while they were making their individual decisions. Then, Chairman of Judges Dick Shanahan counted the show of hands to determine the winners in each category and shared the information directly from copies of the judging sheets.
This is the official numbered list of boat names, along with the type and length in the order that they appeared in the parade:
1 — Marco Princess: Power, 84 feet
2 — Barefoot Contessa: Sail, 47 feet
3 — Island Time: Power, 25 feet
4 — Time Flys: Power, 30 feet
5 — Gem: Power, 28 feet
6 — Kinship: Power, 42 feet
7 — Grand Pelican: Power, 37 feet
8 — Tony Disario (capt): Power, 33 feet
9 — Twin Eagles: Power, 21 feet
10 — Whatever: Power, 50 feet
11* — The Bobber: Power, 30 feet
12* — Marco Fox: Power, 54 feet
13* — Marco Mania III: Power, 48 feet
14* — Odekanobi: Power, 34 feet
*Boats to be judged individually and as a whole for best in parade — Marco bay Yacht Club.
The winners in the following categories, identified by number position in the parade followed by the name were:
Power Over 50 feet — 12* Marco Fox
Power 39-50 feet — 10 Whatever
Power 34-38 feet — 14* Odekanobi
Power 28-33 feet — 5 Gem
Power 23-27 feet — 3 Island Time
Power 22 and Under — 9 Twin Eagles
Best Sailboat — 2 Barefoot Contessa
Best Commercial — 1 Marco Princess
Most Entertaining — 13* Marco Mania III
Best In Parade — 11, 12, 13, 14 Marco Bay Yacht Club
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