The tenth annual Boat Parade drew 44 entrants and thousands of spectators who lined Front Street and around Hamilton Harbour on Saturday night.

Organisers say this year saw an increase in terms of entrants from last year and doubled support from sponsors.

President of sponsor The Market Place Ltd., John Carr, took the Best Boat Overall prize for his Pirate entry, landing him four round trip tickets to the US or Mexico, donated by American Airlines. He was also last year's winner.

Tim's Barge, entered by Linda Down, won Most Original Design; Spirit of Bermuda, entered by Bacardi Ltd. took Best Boat Message; with Sylvester, entered by Bill Pitman, winning Best Boat Under 30 Feet.

The major sponsors for this year's event were Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, XL Capital, Ace Ltd. and Bacardi Ltd.

"There were a few favourites in this year's contest; Anthony and Miranda Mello had a boat named AJ's Wings, it had a horse on it that was really beautiful," said Norma Thomson, one of the organisers.

"Leon Raynor's Sally Bum Bum was also really beautiful too – it had a Tweety Bird – we had 12 judges and eight of them choose the Pirate, entered by John Carr, he really won by far."

Saturday night's fine weather conditions brought out more spectators than last year Mrs. Thomson added, saying the fireworks display was the highlight of the night.

Asked what helped with turnout and participation, she stated: "This year we did a lot of advertising, the weather really cooperated, the fireworks display was absolutely awesome."

She also encouraged more people to enter their boats in next year's contest, citing its importance as a yearly Bermudian tradition.