Southport Holiday Flotilla

The Southport Holiday Flotilla has been a tradition in Robert Creech’s family for more than a decade.

“It is a lot of fun and I put a lot of hours and effort into it, but its as much fun for me as it is the children,” said Creech, owner of the Breeze III.

For weeks, Creech strings up his sailboat, tying on bows, fastening wire dolphins covered in blue LED lights, and hanging lighted candy canes.

When all is said and done, a generator will pump about 2000 watts of power to light up Southport’s night sky. “It draws a large crowd, and people riding the streets just like riding and seeing the houses lighted, seeing the boats on the water. It tells you that Christmas is here,” added Creech.

A time when it’s said: it’s better to give than to receive. But Creech said it was nice to get first place in his division last year. He is hoping for a repeat. “It’s for fun really, but winning makes it pretty good too, no doubt about it,” he said.

There are three divisions: motor power, person power and sailboat. This year there are about a dozen entries.