The Secret Antique Boat Parade of 2020

Every July Mystic Seaport hosts the Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous, one of my favorite weekends of the year! It usually involves lots of cool boats going through the drawbridge all weekend, followed by a parade on Sunday with an announcer in the park telling us the history of each boat as they go by. It's so much fun!

This year, due to the pandemic, they shortened the rendezvous to just Sunday, with an unpublished parade at 3:00. There was no announcer in the park, to avoid crowds along the river. While keeping everyone safe, it did make for a sad parade.

I was fortunate enough to hear about it, and so lucky to know Sarah, who invited me along on the chase boat. Her job was to keep the kayakers  and paddle boarders out of the way, and make sure everyone made it down the river safely.

Normally I take pictures from the Mystic River Park, but this year I got a totally different view. I didn't get to see the whole parade, as we were clearing the way, but I got some fresh air and a different perspective on the parade.

We started at the Brant Point Replica Light House where all the bigger boats were milling around.

The Brant Point Replica Lighthouse

Some of my favorite boats were in attendance, such as Kamelot and Aphrodite. Unfortunately I didn't catch the names of all the boats.

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Aphrodite

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Cree

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Kamelot

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Unknown, but really cool boat

There were a bunch of runabouts, but I wasn't able to get many pictures of them, they zipped ahead while we where bringing up the rear.

How cute is this runabout?

Kamelot coming through the drawbridge

Heading down the river

There were some sailboats too, all dressed out in their flags. What a great day to be out on the water!

Unknown Sailboat heading down the river