San Juan has wonderful events during the holiday season – concerts, tree lightings, visits from Santa. The annual parade of yachts from the marina and around the harbor is a major part of the season. Families crowd into Old San Juan for the event, Many stay for food and drink and make an evening of it.

The yachts start leaving the marina just before dark, and travel down the channel in single file, led by a Coast Guard ship. They pass two cruise ships getting ready for their weekly departure. The passengers must have a great view of the armada as it passes by.

The parade of yachts begins just as it is getting dark. They travel by two cruise ships as the move down the channel to the bay.

The yachts are led by a Coast Guard vessel.

The parade route takes the single file of yachts into the main bay, where they turn back towards the marina. One their return, they pass close – 20 to 30 feet – to the shore of the Urban Bahia, San Juan’s waterfront park. This is the best viewing location. Families come with folding chair and coolers and stake out a place along the railing. The thousands of viewers are in a festive mood; I heard several spontaneous renditions of Feliz Naviad, in both Spanish and English.

The yachts are elaborately decorated and they make for an impressive sight. Here are a few of the 75 or so yachts in the parade.

As you can see, the yacht owners invest a good deal of time and thought into their decorative schemes.

All in all, a fun night. I’ll describe other aspects of Christmas in San Juan in a subsequent post. In the meantime, happy holidays to all!