Crew prepares large vessel for boat parade

HIALEAH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Crews are preparing one of the largest boats to set sail in the Winterfest Boat Parade.

A six-man crew has been diligently working for over a month to deck out the Lady Windridge Yacht, which will lead the 40th annual Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade in a few weeks.

The crew is laying out thousands of sequins, row by row, on the massive vessel. The crew has also laid out long American flags, which will flank the side of the yacht for the parade. "We went with a patriotic feel," one woman said.

"We wanted to combine the holiday season here in Florida, along with the United States theme: Christmas across America," said John Brant, the lead boat sponsor of Patriotic National Insurance.

The Lady Windridge Yacht is now sitting in a warehouse, but in a matter of weeks, the vessel will lead the parade down the Intercoastal. Brant said, "We brought back one of largest yachts on the East Coast. They had to work very hard with the port authorities to make sure that it could fit and navigate along the river, and so it's a great way to lead off the 40th anniversary with 500 people that will be on the vessel."

The vessel's aim is to bring the traditional South Florida holiday season to life. "To do so, we do so with a celebration of what's Florida. That's water, so in having a Winterfest Boat Parade, we combine the best of South Florida: our life, our recreation, along with the holiday season," Brant said.

A 16-foot nutcracker replica and a 32-foot sign, along with an entire room full of decorations will be loaded onto a truck at the warehouse and taken to the yacht at the parade site. It will take a full day to load all the decorations onto the boat. "We wanted to do something different. What's completely different about it is it's all LED lights, and we've actually never done that before," a woman said. "We've always worked with regular rope lighting, but the LED is really going to make this boat shine and stand out."

The Winterfest Boat Parade will take place on Saturday Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Those interested in purchasing tickets to the parade should visit www.winterfestparade.com.

If you miss the show, you can see it on WSVN on the following dates and times:

- Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.

- Sunday, Dec. 25 at 4 p.m.

- Saturday, Dec. 31 at 4 p.m.

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