TMCA wins Best Overall in
Christmas Boat Parade
Reporter:
Ed Herndon
The Jack Campbell Memorial Award for Most Outstanding boat in the 2004
Christmas Boat Lane was won by TMCA. This is the third year in a
row that we have captured this, the highest award, in the annual parade.
The Toy Soldier had been hiding in Blaine
Goeckler's RV shed since 1996. He was happy to get out. We knocked off
a few dirt dauber nests, freed up his kicking leg, replaced a dozen
strings of lights and declared him fit to compete. Twenty
eight feet tall with 5,400 lights.
To celebrate his return Bert Oliveri
designed a new Guard House of PVC reinforced with plywood corners and
covered with Poultry Netting (aka chicken wire). Also twenty
eight feet tall, It carried 5,700 lights.
Philip Kropf brought back the six foot
diameter star and it was flown 10 feet above the guard house without
its comet tail of lights.
Lifelines carried Bert's TMCA sign and 800
red and white lights.
Presentation Featured Music from the
Nutcracker and a Dozen Toy soldiers saluting to the music. During the
action on deck the Nutcracker Prince slays the Rat King and
saves
beautiful Clara.
Before the Parade
At Portofino stuck in the Mud.
Cindy, Pete, Pam, Randy, Henry, Lee, Claire, and JJ
|
Stan, Andy, Mark, Paula
Devouring Paula's Chicken and Marion's Chili
|
After changing into costumes and being towed free.
Top: Andy Upchurch,
Claire and JJ Wallace
Mid: Stan Clark,
Philip Kropf, Cindy and Pete Kegg
Front: Paula and Randy
DiValerio, Henry Gibbs, Mark(rat) and Pam DiValerio, Marion and Ed
Herndon, Lee Mixon
Underway at Last
Photo By Doc Mulloy
Ed on Watch
|
Marion on the helm
|
Awards Ceremony
Marion Herndon, Paula DiValerio, Henry Gibbs, Presenter, Ed Herndon.
Philip Kropf, Lillian and Bert Oliveri
Andy Upchurch, Mark(rat) and Pam DiValerio, Lee Mixon
Boat Parade Story by Andy
Kemah, Texas (AP) TEXAS
MARINER'S CRUISING ASSOCIATION AWARDED TOP HONORS IN THE 2004 CLEAR
LAKE CHRISTMAS BOAT LANE PARADE
IT IS TRUE - Every word. Against all odds, the mighty and
majestic Texas Mariner's Cruising Association took the boat parade top
honors once again, for the third year in a row. Here's the
dirt:
The week before the parade began with the Grand Erection. There
then ensued all sorts of malfunctions and structural failures due to
the weather. These were followed by workarounds and repairs,
variously labeled with such names as Erectile Dysfunctions, Viagras,
and the like. All Junior High humor, all very bad.
By Friday everything was ready. We looked good. But then a
Northern blew through, which started draining Clear Lake. Many
boats, including ours, settled deeply into the mud. The day of
the parade, the Skipper attempted to get out of the mud and go
someplace deeper. With wide-open throttle, they were able to
motor about 1 mph through the mud, and even stopped dead a time or two
at that. But they prevailed, the keel broke free of the mud, and
they headed for Portofino Harbor.
But I'm afraid they went from the frying pan into the fire. They
dragged and ploughed even worse to get into the only available slip in
Portofino. When I got to the boat, there was 1 foot of boot
stripe showing (above the waterline) and my heart sank. It looked
very much like we were going to miss the parade entirely, after all our
hard work. I began mentally planning a formal Board of Inquiry.
By 4:00 that afternoon, the water had not come up and we considered our
options. My favorite idea was for everyone at Portofino to turn
on their hoses full blast and stick them into the water to try and
float us! Instead, I called Towboat US, who came out and slowly,
laboriously and painfully dragged us through the mud into deep (and I
use that term loosely) water. Back In Business!
Immediately we headed for the parade start at South Shore Harbor, but
it was not To Be. We ran aground, in the middle of the channel,
on the way. Therefore, we motored a holding pattern in Clear
Lake, waiting for the parade to begin and catch up to us. When it
did, we picked a place (not behind a boat that was more brightly lit
than ours) and swooped in.
The lights were all blazing. The generators were all
generating. The faint-hearted had all begun drinking. The
old, familiar Nutcracker music started, loudly. The crew, dressed
as Nutcracker characters, manned the rail and started their precise,
military style drill as the Rat King dueled for his life and the girl
in her nightgown watched.
The skipper, cool calm and collected, navigated us through
rampant pandemonium - spectator boats gone mad, dragging anchors,
vast crowds on the shore, other boat entries run amuck ahead, more
behind breathing down our necks - all accompanied by a wild cacophony
of Nutcracker, generators and singing … Boater's Hell!
We had made the parade! Everything held together for the whole
thing. We went past the judges in full bloom, and then returned
to Portofino where parties were springing up as if by spontaneous
eruption everywhere.
The next day, at the Awards brunch, we got the news. We had won
Not First Place, Not Second Place, Not Third Place, Not Most Beautiful
- but BEST OVERALL; the Top Honor! In the largest boat parade in
the country! What a thrill! And fulfilling indeed!
Recognition is in order for the original designers of the soldier and
the guardhouse (I know not exactly who they are but Wayne Christopher
and the LeGrands' names keep popping up), Our current Lead Designers
Bert and Lil Olivari, Engineer/Skipper Ed Herndon, Marion Herndon;
Wardrobe & Choreography, and Star Engineer and Consultant Philip
Kropf. And a huge thank you to all who helped with the boat,
whether you helped for five minutes or five days. A special
thanks to Towboats US. And Last but not least, thanks are in
order for all of TMCA for your support!
Andy Upchurch,
Most humble chairman you ever met.
The Blow by Blow
Day 1 Construction Saturday Dec 4
While the roof is being built
The soldier is erected
We go to Hooters
Then complete the soldier
put the Roof up and light it up.
Day 2 Construction Sunday Dec 5
The walls are built and lighted
Then erect the upper sections
Add Lower sections
The Erection Is Complete
Shortly after, the wind came up and the Roof Gaff slipped out of the
mast Groove
We took down the soldier to get the Spinnaker Halyard
And sent Waldo up for the first repair
We left the soldiers legs off for the time being.
Day 3 Monday Dec 6
Guard house Gaff partially jumps track.
Day 4 Tuesday Dec 7
Resting on Radar reflector needs repair.
Andy, JJ, Marion and Pete assist. Ed does
repair,
Repair Holds
Day 5 Wed Dec 8
Ed tries Genset to run the
whole Shebang..
Picture with blank red
section
Day 6 Thurs. Dec 9
Late afternoon ... The wind pipes up and is coming from the South west
at around 20 Kts
This is on the Starboard Quarter... the Roof is flexing with each gust.
Guard House looks like a mainsail on a downwind run.
Last time I was out the roof Gaff tab had popped out of the mast
slot... The port side brace split the underlying Plywood away from the
roof boom.
All that's holding is the triple
lash around the Mast...
Miraculously the roof is still standing.....
The forecast does not look good. The winds with a north
component will probably blow
the water out of Clear Lake.
Day 7 Friday Dec 10
.Friday...NORTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. BAY WATERS CHOPPY.
.TONIGHT...NORTH WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS EARLY IN THE EVENING BECOMING
NORTHWEST IN THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. BAY WATERS CHOPPY.
.SATURDAY...NORTH WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS. BAY WATERS SMOOTH TO
SLIGHTLY CHOPPY.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...NORTH WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS EARLY IN THE EVENING
BECOMING EAST LATE IN THE EVENING...THEN BECOMING SOUTH AFTER
MIDNIGHT. BAY WATERS SMOOTH.
And the tides
12/10/2004 Fri 01:32AM LST 1.0 L 06:37AM LST 1.1 H 01:27PM LST -0.4 L 11:37PM LST 1.3 H
12/11/2004 Sat 02:40AM LST 1.1 L 06:42AM LST 1.2 H 02:14PM LST -0.7 L
12/12/2004 Sun 12:38AM LST 1.3 H 03:05PM LST -0.7 L
Day 8 Saturday Dec 11
Rise at 5 AM pack boat for 6:42 High tide departure.
Call Philip to meet us at Portofino
Here is the Actual data for the event. The Tide began to come in at 3pm when it was
at 2 feet below Mean Low Low Water (MLLW) Note that at parade start the water was 1.5
feet below MLLW
Credits and Thanks
to All who helped
Guard House Design and Engineering: Ed Herndon and Bert
Oliveri
Project Management: Andy Upchurch
Costumes, Food, and constant help and support : Marion Herndon and
Paula DiValerio
Original Toy Soldier: Wayne Christopher
Large Star: Philip Kropf
TMCA Sign: Bert and Lillian Oliveri
Soldier Refurbishment and Erection:
Randy DiValerio, J J Wallace, Stan Clark, Lee Mixon,
Pete Kegg, Philip Kropf, Andy Upchurch, Mark DiValerio, Ed Herndon,
Robert Reeves, Dawn Lambert, Tom Curran, Steve Gasper
Guard House Construction
Bert Oliveri, Lillian Olivetti, Ed Herndon, Marion
Herndon.
Guard House Lighting and Erection;
Andy Upchurch (supervisor), Stan Clark, Lee
Mixon, Tom Curran, J J Wallace, Pete Kegg, Steve Gasper,
Wayne(Doc) Mulloy, Chris and Rachel Durham.
Generators: Luke Sterling
Choreography and Music:
Mark, Pam and Karen DiValerio, Henry
Gibbs.
High Altitude Rigging:
Ed Herndon and Waldo Walden
For a Great presentation of the whole parade Click
Here for a collection by Linda Woodward
