Anacortes' Lighted Boat Parade Gives You Two Shorelines and 45 Minutes Between Them

The Anacortes Museum's digital archive has a black-and-white photo of a boat called the Roxie R from 1975. It is identified as one of the first decorated boats in a Christmas parade "started by Ray Robinson Jr." The museum also has records of a "Parade of Ships" on December 14, 1996, which drew about 20 boats, including the Westward, the police boat Aqua Beat, the Loki and the Zig Zag. The Skagit Valley Herald described it as "a tradition that has flickered over the decades and is now being deliberately rekindled."

On Saturday, December 5, the parade returns to Cap Sante Marina for its second year under the Port of Anacortes. The schedule matters more than the history for planning the evening. The boats pass the Guemes Channel shore around 6:30 p.m. and the Cap Sante waterfront around 7:15 p.m. That gives you two chances to see the same lights from two different shores, with about 45 minutes in between.

A parade that kept stopping now has an owner

For most of its history, the parade depended on whoever was willing to organize it in a given year. The 1975 and 1996 parades are the documented ones. There are stories of parades in the 1960s, but the archive doesn't have proof of them. After the COVID-era disruptions, a group of local boaters brought it back around 2022.

In 2025 the Port of Anacortes took over the event. Captain Corey Joyce coordinated last year's parade. He owns San Juan Marine Freight & Services, fishes for crab and has been working these waters for more than 30 years. The 2025 sponsors were the Old Anacortes Rowing and Sailing Society, Anacortes Community Boating, the Port and San Juan Marine Freight & Services.

The 2025 turnout gives a baseline for this year. Twenty boats registered and 23 showed up. That is about the size of the 1996 Parade of Ships. Organizers have said they want 40 or more boats in future years and plan to start promoting as early as October to bring in boaters from marinas and yacht clubs around the Salish Sea. The more boats that join, the longer each shoreline gets to watch the parade go by.

The evening, by the clock

The Anacortes Chamber's listing has the most detailed schedule:

• 4:30 p.m. Captains' meeting at Seafarers' Memorial Park for participating boats
• 6 p.m. Parade starts
• 6:30 p.m. Viewing on the Guemes Channel side
• 7:15 p.m. Viewing on the Anacortes waterfront side, at Seafarers' Memorial Park and C-Dock at Cap Sante Marina

The Port of Anacortes event page lists the event from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The Chamber lists it from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Plan around the 6 p.m. start and check the Port's page that afternoon. Admission is free.

Last year the boats gathered just outside Cap Sante Marina in Fidalgo Bay and moved east along the Cap Sante peninsula. They then turned west through Guemes Channel, went as far as the old Lovric Shipyard, turned around and passed along the Guemes Island waterfront. That was the 2025 route. For 2026, plan around the 6:30 and 7:15 viewing times.

First pass: the Guemes Channel shore

The city's Kiwanis Waterfront Park is the best-documented public place to watch from the north shore. It is a 2-acre park with parking, paths, an overlook and beach access. The city lists boats and ferries in its views of Guemes Channel and Guemes Island.

The Guemes Channel Trail runs along the water. From the Edwards Way access, it heads east toward town for about a mile. The city lists two places to park for the trail. The Edwards Way cul-de-sac is ADA-accessible. Roadside Park, at Jackson Street and Oakes Avenue, reaches the trail by stairs and is not ADA-accessible. The trail is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., which leaves plenty of time after a 6:30 viewing. These are trails and beaches on a December night, so bring a headlamp or flashlight and dress warmly.

Second pass: Seafarers' and C-Dock

The boats are scheduled back along the Anacortes waterfront around 7:15. Most of the shoreside events are there, too. The Port served cookies, candy, cocoa and coffee at Seafarers' Memorial Park last year. This year's listing again promises cookies and cocoa at Seafarers'. Santa arrives on the Salish Sea School's 48-foot boat Quinonia, and families can take photos at the Crab Pot Tree.

Seafarers' Memorial Park is a public Port park next to Cap Sante Marina, overlooking Fidalgo Bay, and it is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The other official viewing spot is C-Dock at Cap Sante Marina. If you want to watch away from the crowd near the cocoa table, try Rotary Park. It sits on the north and east edge of Cap Sante Boat Haven, and a paved path runs from its parking area out to the Cap Sante breakwater.

You can catch both passes. Watch the first from Kiwanis Waterfront Park or the Guemes Channel Trail, then head to Seafarers' for the second. On the schedule, you have about 45 minutes to make the move. Many people will be heading the same way, so leave a few minutes early.

For anyone with a boat and a string of lights

The 40-boat goal depends on boat owners, and the process to join is simple. The Chamber listing asks boats to register with Corey Joyce at (360) 661-5745. Skippers meet at 4:30 p.m. at Seafarers'. At last year's meeting, 16 skippers went over the route, how to communicate by radio and how far apart to keep their boats. The Port also gave registered boats free moorage last year. When you call to register, ask what this year's participants receive.

The rest of the Coastal Christmas weekend

The boat parade closes a full weekend downtown. Here is what is on the calendar:

The Chamber's December 5 calendar also lists live music at Rockfish Grill and Shrek The Musical at ACT that evening. Both are options for after the boats pass Seafarers'.

If you watch the parade from a waterfront deck, or you're thinking about owning one with a clear view of Guemes Channel, Rob knows which shorelines get the best view of nights like this. Reach out to Rob Skelton for a free home valuation or consultation, and he'll tell you how the views from different parts of the Anacortes shoreline compare.