Welcome. These are instructions for vessel participation in the 2008 Seattle Yacht Club Opening Day Parade.

If you want to participate in the Opening Day Parade, follow these instructions. You will find the following sections below: General Guidelines, Registration, Boat Numbers, Dates and Times, Day of the Parade, Awards, and Safety Considerations. Print these instructions. Read them well before the day of the parade and bring them with you to Opening Day.

1. General Guidelines.

a. Opening Day Parade activities begin at the Seattle Yacht Club before sunrise and end late Saturday evening, May 3, 2008. The Boat Parade itself begins at noon in Portage Bay at the West end of the Montlake Cut and ends at approximately 1500 h at Webster Point. A more detailed time line is set forth below.

b. A vessel may not participate in the Opening Day Parade unless it registers using the SYC Opening Day Registration website. All vessels must register no later than Thursday, April 24, 2008. Vessels not successfully registered will not be allowed to participate in the parade. Prior to registering, review the definitions of classes on the SYC Web page. As part of the registration process, you will be asked to select a "class", i.e. the group or section of parade within which you will participate.

c. Receiving a parade invitation does not constitute registration. You must register even if you have received a verbal or written invitation from SYC. Parade registration does not include moorage. You may also request moorage on the SYC website registration page.

d. Every vessel in the parade must display a 2008 Opening Day Boat Number. Vessels without 2008 Opening Day Boat Numbers will not be allowed to participate in the parade. See below for more information on boat numbers, how to get one, and where it must be displayed.

e. All participating boat owners must agree to decorate or exhibit their boat in accordance with class definitions. The Parade Director has the authority to hold back any vessels not in accordance with the class definitions.

f. No religious or political signs of any sort are permitted.

g. Entrants are responsible for removal of litter or decorations left in water.

h. Limited Commercial signs are allowed only in the Decorated Commercial class. Please contact the Parade Director for signage approval if you intend on displaying a commercial sign on a vessel registered in this class.

2. Registration Procedure

a. Registration Closes: 1700, Thursday, April 24, 2008
b. Go to: www.seattleyachtclub.org/
c. On the left side of the web page, within the “site menu”, select the “Opening Day” folder
d. Select “Parade Info”. (Remember to review the "Definitions of Classes" prior to registering)
e. Select “Registration Form”
f. Select either “Single Boat” or “Fleet”
g. Fill in the blanks.
YOU ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO PROVIDE THE SKIPPER'S CELL PHONE NUMBER.
h. Print your “Confirmation”
If you don’t see a “Confirmation” page, you are not registered!
i. If you have difficulty with online registration, call Parade Director, Paul Walchenbach, 206.948.7095.

3. Boat Numbers

a. Boat Numbers are preprinted and consist of a letter and number, e.g. B 12, C 04.

b. Every vessel in the parade must display a 2008 Opening Day Boat Number. Vessels without 2008 Opening Day Boat Numbers, including those attempting to reuse a previous year’s boat number, will not be allowed to participate in the parade.

c. The skipper, or other designated representative, must pick their vessel’s boat numbers up from the Seattle Yacht Club prior to the day of the parade. For registered vessels, boat numbers are available to be picked up at the Seattle Yacht Club on the following dates and times:

Thursday, May 1: 1000 – 1800
Friday, May 2: 1000 – 1800

d. Each vessel will receive two boat numbers. One must be displayed on the starboard bow as close to the stem as possible. The second must be displayed on the stern, facing aft. If you have a dinghy on your transom, display the boat number on the bottom of your dinghy facing aft.

e. Each boat number issued by the Seattle Yacht Club will be assigned to only one vessel. You must display the boat number assigned to your vessel; do not switch boat numbers with other vessels or neither vessel will be allowed to participate in the parade.

4. Dates and Times

a. January 2, 2008 Registration opens
b. April 24, 2008 Registration closes at 1700
c. May 3, 2008 Boat numbers available at SYC, 1000 – 1800
d. May 4, 2008 Boat numbers available at SYC, 1000 – 1800
e. May 5, 2008 Seattle Yacht Club Opening Day Parade

0800 Vessels begin to gather in Portage Bay
0940 SE Portage Bay and Parade route (Montlake Cut) closed
1010 Dragon Boat race (East to West)
1020 First crew race (East to West)
1130 Last crew race
1145 Crew shells transit West to East
1200 Montlake Bridge raises/firing of noon cannon
1200 Opening Day Parade begins
1445 Last parade vessel enters Montlake Cut
1530 Vessels permitted to transit East to West
1600 Vessels permitted to transit West to East
1800 Award and Trophy presentation at SYC

5. Day of the Parade

a. Skipper should monitor and be alert for instructions from the Parade Director over VHF Ch. 68, or the public address system aboard the PORTAGE BAY. The Parade Director's official vessel is the PORTAGE BAY. It will be anchored at the West entrance to Montlake Cut, just north of SYC Dock 4.

b. Seattle Yacht Club Parade Marshals will patrol Portage Bay and the parade route. Each skipper will immediately follow all instructions from the Parade Marshals and law enforcement officers. The Parade Director has the authority to use official action if any skipper fails to follow the instructions of the parade marshals.

c. The Southeast end of Portage Bay and the parade route (Montlake Cut) will be closed to all but official parade boats from 0940 until approximately 1530. Boats wishing to transit the operation area may do so until 0940. This means that you will not be allowed to transit Montlake Cut to Webster Point in either direction between 0940 and 1530.

d. At 0940 the Parade Director will halt all traffic in Portage Bay between the University Bridge and Webster Point. No entry to, or exiting from, the North log boom will be allowed between 1000 - 1200, as crew races will be in progress. If you are participating in the parade and coming from Lake Washington, you must be completely through Montlake Cut and into Portage Bay prior to 0940. If you do not make it, you will not be allowed to participate in the parade.

e. The parade will start on orders from the Parade Director. The lead boats may include vessels from the United States Coast Guard, United States Navy, King County Sheriff, and Seattle Police Department.

f. Thereafter the parade will continue alphabetically by class, i.e. Class A, Class B, Class C, etc. Vessels are not required to transit by number within their class, i.e. B 06 may transit before B 04. Skippers must continue to monitor VHF Ch.68 at all times for directions from the Parade Director on staging, spacing, special maneuvers, and other information relevant to the parade. Be ready, but do not move to the area near the entrance to the cut until the Parade Director calls your group.

g. Steer a straight course, with the bow going in a forward direction. Keep parade tight, one to two boat lengths between boats. Maintain not less than five knots and NO turns off course until clear of Webster Point. Special maneuvering will be allowed only for the Wilson Seamanship Fleet or as granted by the Parade Director. If you wish to obtain permission for special maneuvering, please contact the Parade Director well before Opening Day to discuss your plans. Obey the instructions of the Parade Director and the official marshal patrol boats.

h. The last boat in the parade, the City of Seattle Fire Boat, will enter the east end of the Montlake Cut at approximately 1430, transit to the east end of the parade route, turn, and transit back to Portage Bay. No vessels will be allowed though the cut until the after the Seattle Fire Boat has transited back west through the Montlake Cut.

i. After the parade ends, boats will be allowed to travel the cut East to West only for approximately 1/2 to 1 hour, then will change to both directions. The Seattle Police Harbor Patrol will be running the traffic control, please stay on the right side of the cut in your travel direction. The Montlake Bridge will be opening only on the 1/2 and full hour for sailboats and larger vessels.

6. Awards

a. All boats competing for awards must pass through Montlake Cut (West to East), and within view of the judges. Judges will be anchored in the reviewing line, and will be clearly identified.

b. Each skipper will execute a Right Hand Salute upon arriving at the first reviewing boat (Old Man IV, Admiral of the Day) holding salute until past the third review boat (SYC Commodore). Do not salute with the American Flag (don't dip the flag).

7. Safety Considerations

a. HOMELAND SECURITY: Please help us honor and respect the security forces that will be working to support this event. All vessels in the parade must pre-register with the Seattle Yacht Club and display a valid boat number. Do not exchange boat numbers, try to use numbers from previous years, etc. Any boat not displaying a valid 2007 boat number that matches the boat name as registered will be considered a security threat, and will be removed from the parade by security forces.

b. All emergency communication should be transmitted on VHF Ch. 16 or via cell phone 911. Non-emergency communication with the parade director should be conducted on VHF Ch. 68.

c. Boating Safety: SYC encourages parade participants to model good boating safety by following the U.S.C.G. Federal PFD Regulation for Children: THE REGULATIONS ESTABLISH A FEDERAL REQUIREMENT FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13 YEARS OLD ABOARD RECREATIONAL VESSELS TO WEAR COAST GUARD-APPROVED PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICES (PFDS), WHILE THE VESSEL IS UNDER WAY, UNLESS THE CHILDREN ARE BELOW DECK OR IN AN ENCLOSED CABIN.

d. A $2,500 fine and/or jail sentence could result from throwing water balloons or any other objects from your boat.

e. In keeping with the Seattle Yacht Club's strict policy of protecting our environment, please be ecologically minded by refraining from using overboard discharge heads, releasing balloons, using plastic streamers, or in any way polluting our waterways.


The Seattle Yacht Club looks forward to your participation in the 2008 Opening Day Parade.