Expect silent nights in Naples’ channels this holiday season. The Naples Improvement Assn. announced Saturday that this year’s Naples Island Holiday Boat Parade, a Long Beach tradition since 1946, has been canceled because of expected high tides and heavy surf that organizers said would make the event too unsafe for visitors and participants. It’s the first time in six years — since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — that the parade has been canceled.
What began as a small procession of decorated barges filled with singing church choirs has grown into an institution in Long Beach with more than 100 entries, from Duffys to dragon boats, and 60,000 spectators. Ben Fisher, the association president, said the decision came after weeks of deliberations and a 600-respondent poll that found most wanted the parade — and all holiday events in Naples — to be canceled this year.
It’s in response to tides expected to reach 7.5 to 8.5 feet during the week of Christmas — 6 to 18 inches above typical levels due to a powerful El Niño season. This is paired with a series of slow, very wide swells of warm water known as Kelvin waves expected to frequent Long Beach’s south-facing coast this winter. Devin Black, a forecaster with the NWS, said the current tide predictions are “the floor,” adding that “there’s a decent chance reality could be worse than that.” Residents have also called off the neighborhood decorating contest to deter the crowds that usually stroll through to see the island’s decked-out homes.
High tides are a perennial issue
High tides are a perennial issue on the island, Fisher said, but calls to cancel the parade compounded earlier this month when an El Niño-charged tide threatened to flood homes. Fisher said there was “total chaos” as residents rushed to protect their homes. “People were literally running back and forth with hand saws and sump pumps and sandbags,” Fisher said. “It was just like a total disaster on the waterways.” With even higher tides looming during Thanksgiving and Christmas, it reached a point where 75 to 100 people were texting Fisher each day asking him to cancel the parade, he said.
The money normally spent on it will instead go toward pumps, hoses, plugs and generators — “re. In a statement Saturday, Councilmember Kristina Duggan, whose district includes Naples, said she respected the decision and added that the focus this winter should be on preparing the island for the upcoming weather
The seawalls are stable under high tidal pressure, she said, but maintenance work will “start next week to seal cold joints and help reduce water seepage.” “We are encouraging everyone to prepare, and we look forward to seeing the Naples Boat Parade return next year,” Duggan wrote. When high tides arrive, water already spills over the seawalls in some spots, reaching nearly 2 feet deep, flooding sidewalks and threatening homes.
Residents and officials disagree over whether to prioritize coastal protection or recreational amenities. Whether residents decorate their homes this year, Fisher said, is up to them. Donegan writes for the LA Local.
