The winners of the Parade of Lights boat competition were boat 8, Sea Spirit, for the large boat category, and boat 11, Lil Blue, for the small boat category. They each won $2,000 dollars for their Red Sail and Crazy Crab themes.

“We get excited about it. It’s a once a year thing,” said Tricia Thompson, one of the participants of the large boat competition.

While Thompson and her family usually just watching from ashore, “this year we are actually in it. That’s why I’m looking all Christmassy.” she said.

Thompson and her husband own boat 9, Ausum, and they found inspiration by throwing Christmas themes together, like Santa and chimneys and The Grinch. She said she thinks the festival helps bring the Christmas spirit to the island.

“We just did it for fun, not seriously competing,” Thompson said.

Alex and Katie Varney attended their first Parade of Lights as a newlywed couple, to bring in the Christmas spirit.

“We are both quite excited by it, we came to the [Christmas tree] light switching a couple of weeks ago, and it was really good,” Alex Varney said. “We have been saying how nice it is to be on the island. It is making it feel a lot more Christmassy, being on a tropical island, than being back in London.”