The best part of being in the annual Christmas Ships parade is wishing onlookers a Merry Christmas — at least according to a couple of sailors who have been at it for over a decade.

Since 2010, Doug and Colleen Vandecoevering of Scappoose have been part of the brightly lit fleet of ships that makes its way down the Columbia and Willamette rivers each holiday season. Now in its 70th year, the parade draws people to the riverbanks eager to see the festively decorated boats sail by.

“The thing we like most about it is getting together with the fellow boaters and really seeing the expression on people’s face(s), the crowd participation (and) the people we perform for,” Doug Vandecoevering said.

The couple’s boat, a 1980 Ocean Alexander sedan named Out to Launch, appears bedazzled in blue and red lights, with two big antennae sticking out the top that they changed from white to red this year.

“Last night, I was out there just wishing everybody a Merry Christmas, and everybody was screaming it back to me,” Colleen Vandecoevering said. “It was really fun.”

Drafted to deck the halls

The Vandecoeverings didn’t exactly seek out the parades as much as they were drafted to join. Doug Vandecoevering recounts attending a marina-sponsored celebration together when one of the former leaders of the parade approached them.

“(He) said, ‘You’ve got Christmas lights on your boat. You’re coming with us,’” Doug Vandecoevering said. “That’s how we got involved. We went out with them for one night that first year.”

Their new vantage point in the thick of the action gleaned them a new perspective.

“Being on the water, involved within the parade is so much different than watching it from the shore,” Colleen Vandecoevering said.

Christmas camaraderie

While being part of the parade is a lot of fun, there’s also a lot more going on that captains need to be aware of.

“A lot of attention has to be paid to where you’re at in the group,” Doug Vandecoevering said. “You’re watching your radar to see where there might be obstructions in the river, and trying to follow the course and pay attention to what everyone else is doing at the same time. There’s kind of a lot to it that people don’t think about.”

However, the challenge presents an opportunity for growth.

“You learn a lot about how to operate your boat,” Doug Vandecoevering said. “We probably learned as much in the first week of doing Christmas ships than we had learned in a year of boating.”

All of the ships in the parade are privately owned and operated by their owners on a volunteer basis. They are responsible for their own expenses, such as fuel and the lights they decorate their boats with.

But part of what makes the parade special is the connection with other boaters.

“We all work together as a big group,” Doug Vandecoevering said. “This time of year when the river starts flowing harder, there’s a lot of debris floating down the river, so we work together to spotlight logs when they’re coming down the river and just make sure that everybody’s safe out there.”

At the end of the parade, the ship captains are mooring in the dark, and it’s an unwritten rule to help anyone coming in after you.

“You’re mooring your boat at night and you’re getting assistance from anybody that comes in before you. They come over to help you with your lines,” Colleen Vandecoevering said. “We all help one another.”

The first Christmas ship

The first Christmas ships — or ship, at the time — set sail in 1954 when a lone sailboat from the Portland Yacht Club paraded down the rivers sporting green bows and ribbons.

“We’ve been looking, (but) we haven’t been able to find a picture of the first Christmas ship,” Doug Vandecoevering said. “I’ve asked everybody in the fleet, and nobody’s been able to come up with one.”

These days, the annual rite is much bigger, with two fleets that parade down the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Some ships have participated for decades.

“It’s nice to see the other boaters and all their themed decorations that they do,” Colleen Vandecoevering said. “It’s just beautiful this year.”

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Think you’ve got a shot of the ship that started it all? Share it with us by emailing kcassidy@pamplinmedia.org.