66 boats set record for boat parade as holiday spirit takes over Palm Coast

Palm Coast Observer
Your Town

by: Sarah Ulis

An unprecedented 66 boats will participate in the 2021 Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade on Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Presented by the Palm Coast Yacht Club, the Parade is recognized as the largest boat parade of any kind in Central Florida. Organizers believe it to be the largest community boat parade in the entire state.

Dec. 18 will be named Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade Day in a Proclamation issued by present mayor of Palm Coast, the Honorable David Alfin. This year the Parade will be dedicated to the memory of The Honorable Jon Netts, who died in 2021. Netts served as the city’s second mayor for two terms. Netts is remembered not only for his leadership during a critical time in the growth of Palm Coast, but also for his passionate stewardship and encyclopedic knowledge of the Intracoastal and the city’s waterways, as well as his active support of the Parade, now in its 38th year.

For the third year, the Parade will be broadcast live by KOOL-FM, 100.9, starting at 6 p.m. The broadcast, from Canopy Walk Park, will be co-hosted by Palm Coast’s own Priscilla Netts, “The Queen of Jazz” Linda Cole, and Flagler Broadcasting General Manager David Ayers. Sponsors for the broadcast are Greg Lynn Jewelers, Coastal Cloud, and Blinds by Jason.

Parking is available at Waterfront Park which will be open for spectators and near European Village for viewing along St. Joe’s Walkway and Canopy Walk.

The Parade will be escorted by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, TowBoat US, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Departing from the Cimmaron Basin, the Parade will pass the Tidelands, Marina Cove, the Hammock, Yacht Harbor Village, and the Palm Coast Legacy Vacation Resort. It will then proceed under the Hammock Dunes Bridge along St. Joe’s Walkway and Canopy Walk, pass by Island Estates, Waterfront Park, and Grand Haven before dispersing at the Clubhouse Waterway.

Required registration for boaters is free. Registration forms and details about the Parade are also available at the Palm Coast Yacht Club website at www.palmcoastyachtclub.com and on Facebook. Rain Date is Dec. 19. Official notice of any change to the Parade status will be posted on the Palm Coast Yacht Club website by 4 p.m. on Dec. 18.

The Palm Coast Yacht Club inaugurated the popular city tradition in 1985 and has sponsored the official Parade every year since except 2020. The Club offers a wide variety of social activities for boaters and non-boaters alike. The Club was established in 1979 and welcomes new members every month.