By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
The nonprofit Downtown Washington on the Waterfront announced awards for the Washington Christmas Flotilla.
The winners follow:
• Best in Show: Cold Duck, owned by Bill and Mia Ramsden.
• Most Festive: N.C. Estuarium River Rover.
• Best in Flotilla, Sailboat: Tribute of Carolina Wind, owned by David and Nancey Norwood.
• Best in Power: Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS-Inspections. Department, with Josh Ingram and Brad Johnston aboard.
• Power, Honorable Mention: Little Boy Blue, owned by Alan and Carrie Blue.
Late Saturday afternoon, Ramsden was one of several boaters making final adjustments to his craft at The Marina at Moss Landing, where the boats gathered before the flotilla.
Prompted by a volunteer who was getting the craft organized, Ramsden acknowledged that the Cold Duck had placed well in past flotillas.
Ramsden said that last year his boat won top honors overall and best in the powerboat category.
“Every year is different,” he said.
Ramsden added that, last year, the Cold Duck sported an oversized crab and the year before, it towed a fake shark.
On Monday, Ramsden said that, this year, his boat tugged a dinghy sporting a 10-foot snowman brightened by 1,000 to 1,200 lights. A Christmas tree on the roof of the boat had about 1,200 lights attached to it, he said.
“I’m very gratified,” Ramsden said of the award. “It’s a lot of work, and it’s nice to be rewarded for that effort.”
Also reached for comment on Monday, David Norwood said the Tribute boasted a 40-foot candle that was illuminated by 1,200 bulbs.
He said the boat was decorated by his son, Jules, and other volunteers.
The Tribute also hosted people singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” he said.
Asked for his response to the boat’s placement in the judging, Norwood replied, “We’re excited about that. We felt like we had a pretty nice entry this year.”
He added, “The weather wasn’t all that great, but it was doable.”
The event, held Saturday evening, was organized by DWOW, an organization tasked with helping to revitalize the city’s downtown.
“It was cold,” said Beth Byrd, DWOW administrator.
Byrd noted that participating boaters struggled with the wind.
“I think the emphasis has to go toward congratulating all those captains for showing up and navigating in that kind of weather,” Byrd added. “It sure did turn nasty about the time the boats showed up.”
Because of the weather, DWOW received a cancellation notice from kayakers who were scheduled to row out on behalf of the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation.
“It’s a whole different ball game when you’re out there in a kayak as opposed to a boat,” Byrd said.
Among the pieces of news to emerge from the flotilla was word that longtime emcee Roger Tuttle did not plan to return for an eighth year at the helm of the happening.
Tuttle was one of the original organizers of the flotilla.
On Monday, Tuttle told the Daily News that he plans to focus on being chairman of the Miracle Mile Committee, which was formed to beautify the stretch of land bordering U.S. Highway 17 between Chocowinity and Washington.
“You can always change your mind, but right now it looks like, yes, this is going to be my last year,” Tuttle said.
Tuttle gave a grateful nod to Rich Moran and Terry Smithwick, who, he said, helped him along the way. He also congratulated co-emcee Jim Howard, a meteorologist with WITN-TV and Tuttle’s partner on the platform for two years.
“We had a good reaction,” Tuttle said. “Evidently, from what people have said, it went well.”