Deck the boat. We'll drive it.
Your boat, our captain, flat rate. Event dates are the first to fill — request yours early.
Every December the Christmas Ship leads a lighted parade of private boats to waterfront communities around the lake and Sound. It's Seattle's best-kept winter boating tradition — and it happens in the dark, in the cold, in December water.
Winter night running is the most demanding recreational boating there is. We drive your decorated boat in the parade fleet while your family does hot cocoa and carols on deck.
How the day runs
Pick your parade night
The fleet visits a different community most evenings for a month — Kirkland, Leschi, Carillon Point, Mercer Island, Edmonds and more. We match a night to your home water.
Lights on, lines off
You decorate; we do a daylight systems check, then run the boat from dock to parade formation and back.
Winter-safe
Layered navigation lights, radar-eyes-on watch, and a captain who isn't wearing mittens on the wheel. Kids stay warm; boat stays found.
Christmas Ship Parade questions
Can private boats join the Christmas Ship parade?
Yes — Argosy runs an official Parade of Boats registration for private vessels that follow the Christmas Ship. Decorate, register, and fall in line with the fleet.
Isn't December boating miserable?
On deck with cocoa and a heater, no. At the helm in the dark and rain — that part's our job.