Lighted boat parade off again

The completion this year of the long awaited Petaluma River dredging project brought hope for the return of a cherished Petaluma tradition: the annual Lighted Boat Parade.

It has been three years since bundled up families flocked to the downtown turning basin at dusk to watch the flotilla of yachts decked in colorful lights proceed up river from the Petaluma Marina. Some of the skippers dressed as Santa Clause as sailors sang Christmas carols.

A river choked with silt forced organizers to cancel the parade the past two years, and this year, even though the waterway has been cleared for recreational boaters, the coronavirus pandemic has altered plans for the parade’s return.

“After talking to the Petaluma Downtown Association, we decided that to have a huge event would be irresponsible. It could be a super-spreader event,” said Bruce Stender, commodore of the Petaluma Yacht Club, which organizes the event. “There is plenty of water. We were poised and ready to go, but COVID had hit us hard as of late.”

The Lighted Boat Parade is another in a long list of upended local events in a year ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. It is especially vexing for tourism officials and water sports enthusiasts who hoped the $9.7 million dredging project completed in October would attract people to downtown Petaluma.

“The river is our heritage, it’s what puts us on the map and sets us apart,” Marie McCusker, executive director of the Petaluma Downtown Association and Visitors Program, said at a ceremony marking the dredging project’s completion. “We are delighted to welcome river tourism back.”

The Yacht Club is still planning to light up the turning basin with festive holiday lights, just not in an event that would attract a large crowd, Stender said. Starting Saturday, Dec. 5, several boats from across the Bay Area plan to sail into downtown Petaluma for the weekend and dock in the turning basin. Once in port, they will turn on their holiday lights for a static display that passersby can see from Water Street.

“We thought that would be a safe option,” Stender said. “People can enjoy them from the waterfront.”

Mayor Teresa Barrett, a staunch advocate for the river dredging program, said she understands the disappointment in not having a parade this year. But she said the lighted display in the turning basin would provide some holiday ambiance for evening shoppers.

“It’s the prudent thing to do,” she said. “A family can take a walk downtown and be socially distant and see it.”

Once the pandemic subsides, the Yacht Club hopes to return to hosting sail-in events. In the past, its Memorial Day sail in has attracted up to 50 boats to Petaluma. Stender hopes the Memorial Day event as well as the Lighted Boat Parade can come back next year.

“It’s tough being the commodore of a social club when you can’t socialize,” he said.

The hope is to have about 10 lighted boats in the turning basin this weekend, Stender said.

“At least it will bring a little light,” he said. “It’s better than nothing.”

The following weekend, on Dec. 12, paddling enthusiasts plan on holding a floating lighted parade of their own. Kayakers, canoers and stand up paddle boarders will gather at the Petaluma Marina at 5:30 p.m., deck their crafts with strings of battery powered lights, and paddle into the turning basin.

It is the human-powered part of the Lighted Boat Parade that usually co-mingled with the bigger yachts in normal years, said Eve O’Rourke, the organizer of the event this year dubbed the Petaluma Lighted Small Boat Paddle.

“It’s pretty exciting,” she said. “We don’t have to be afraid of the big boats running us over.”

Paddlers will still be required to wear masks and keep a distance between other boats. O’Rourke said anyone with a small craft is welcome. The loose-knit group of paddlers has a lot of fun, she said.

“It’s a jolly good time,” she said. “There will be singing. It’s so much fun.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)