yachts for tots

Intracoastal Christmas Regatta

Hosted by Yachts for Tots of NMB/Little River

Each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, locals flock to the waterfront to view this spectacular maritime parade. The flotilla starts at the Little River Inlet at 5 PM and travels south, arriving at Dock Holidays Marina at 7 PM. Gather your family and watch the parade as it passes various viewing areas along the waterway . There is no charge to watch the Intracoastal Christmas Regatta, but spectators are encourage to donate toys & more .

Intracoastal Christmas Regatta lights up holiday season in Little River

LITTLE RIVER, S.C. (WMBF) - While Thanksgiving may have come and gone, the holiday season is just getting started along the Grand Strand.

The annual Intracoastal Christmas Regatta set sail on Saturday night in Little River, as more than 30 boats were decorated with Christmas lights and decorations made participated in the parade.

The route traveled south from the Little River Inlet, ending at Dock Holidays Marina.

“It’s something fun and it brings back the tradition of Christmas just enjoying the community and enjoying each other,” said Cindy Stuart, who entered her boat in the regatta for the first time this year.

Like her, many others came out to decorate their boats with that holiday spirit in mind. Spending weeks or even months in decorating their boats. It also serves as a competition to see which boat is seen as the best decorated.

“It’s nerve-wracking and is exciting and cool. Is exciting and we don’t even what is going to look like we have no idea. Is going to be exciting to see,” said Stuart.

WMBF News got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at preparation for the parade, including a view inside the Hawaiian Christmas boat.

The Hawaiian crew took days to prepare the boat to take off to prepare, but it’s a tough competition out on the Intracoastal. While other boats had their boats covered with decorations from top to bottom, but it was the Hawaiian Christmas boat that won the award best overall display during a ceremony held Sunday.

In the end, it’s the spirit of the holiday that brought smiles to the community - including those who need it most. Parade organizers also hosted a toy drive, Yachts for Tots, and a supply drive for the Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach.

“Just knowing that they are going to have that Christmas feeling that I had as a little girl is well worth it,” said Susie Watson, founder of Intracoastal Christmas Regatta. “It’s personal. Is for us, the community. Is for the children and that is what makes this one so special.”

Copyright 2021 WMBF. All rights reserved.

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Intracoastal Christmas Regatta 2024

Every year, the Intracoastal Waterway from Little River to North Myrtle Beach comes alive with the shimmering lights, joyous laughter, and holiday spirit during the Intracoastal Christmas Regatta. This magical event has become a beloved tradition for locals and visitors alike, and it’s not hard to see why.

The Intracoastal Christmas Regatta, typically held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, is a spectacular boat parade that illuminates the waterway with a stunning display of lights, festive decorations, and the unmistakable Christmas cheer. It’s a dazzling sight, with boats of all sizes decked out in holiday finery, from twinkling fairy lights to towering inflatable snowmen. These watercraft transform into floating works of art, capturing the essence of the season.

Many of the local NMB businesses collect toys for Yachts for Tots, so plan to bring a toy and donate to this great cause.

Grand Strand Vacations is proud to be a sponsor of the Intracoastal Christmas Regatta

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Organizer name - Yachts for Tots

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In 1985, Yachts for Tots embarked on its journey with just three dedicated organizers. Over the years, our crew has grown to include a committed team of local residents who share a sincere passion for uniting the boating community to make a positive impact on the children of Horry County.

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You gotta regatta! 38th annual Intracoastal Christmas Regatta sets sail

by Alexx Altman-Devilbiss

LITTLE RIVER, S.C. (WPDE) — Spectators in our area took to the Intracoastal Waterway Saturday to see boats decked out with holiday lights as part of the 38th annual Intracoastal Waterway Regatta in Little River.

The tradition is always held the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Organizers suggested Grand Harbor Marina, the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club and Boardwalk Billy's as some of the best viewing spots for the annual holiday event.

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"It's a great opportunity for families to get together. It's a safe event...we really enjoyed having everybody that helped us get here to the actual pier so we can see it," one family said. "Because everybody comes together just to have a good time."

In addition to being a festive kickoff to the holiday season, the Intracoastal Christmas Regatta is also a fundraiser.

Toys and monetary donations were made to Yachts for Tot to provide Christmas presents and other needs for children in the area.

Cruisers Yachts Continues Tradition of Giving Back to Community With Toys For Tots

Toys for Tots is a program managed by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. It aims to deliver the magic of the holiday season to underprivileged children by providing them with new, unwrapped toys. Throughout the years, Cruisers Yachts has exemplified a strong sense of community responsibility by continuing to contribute to this initiative each year to give back to the community that has given them so much.

Mark Pedersen, President, comments, "At Cruisers Yachts, we believe in the power of community, and our commitment to Toys for Tots is an extension of our dedication to giving back. It's not just about toys; it's about making a lasting, positive impact on the lives of those in our community who may need some extra support during the holiday season."

Cruisers Yachts encourages its employees and community to join in the spirit of giving by supporting local charities, volunteering their time, and finding ways to make a positive impact on those in need. The company sees its involvement in Toys for Tots as a reflection of its broader mission to be a responsible corporate citizen and a source of positive change within the community.

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Cruisers Yachts Continues Tradition Of Giving Back To Community With Toys For Tots

Toys for Tots is a program managed by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. It aims to deliver the magic of the holiday season to underprivileged children by providing them with new, unwrapped toys. Throughout the years, Cruisers Yachts has exemplified a strong sense of community responsibility by continuing to contribute to this initiative each year to give back to the community that has given them so much.

Mark Pedersen, President, comments, “At Cruisers Yachts, we believe in the power of community, and our commitment to Toys for Tots is an extension of our dedication to giving back. It’s not just about toys; it’s about making a lasting, positive impact on the lives of those in our community who may need some extra support during the holiday season.”

Cruisers Yachts encourages its employees and community to join in the spirit of giving by supporting local charities, volunteering their time, and finding ways to make a positive impact on those in need. The company sees its involvement in Toys for Tots as a reflection of its broader mission to be a responsible corporate citizen and a source of positive change within the community.

Cruisers Yachts continues tradition of giving back this holiday season by participating in the annual Toys for Tots campaign.

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​​Intracoastal Christmas Regatta

Presented by yachts for tots north myrtle beach/little river.

Yachts for Tots started out with three organizers in 1985.  The crew now includes a core group of local residents who have a genuine interest in helping bring the boating community together to make a difference in the lives of children in Horry County.

Through fundraising activities and toy drives, the Yachts for Tots volunteers strive to meet the needs of children in Horry County who, for one reason or another, might be falling through the cracks of traditional agencies that provide assistance.

Recommended: History of the Intracoastal Christmas Regatta

6 presumed dead after cargo ship rams into Baltimore bridge’s support column, causing collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — A cargo ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, destroying the span in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the river in a terrifying collapse that could disrupt a vital shipping port for months. Six people were missing and presumed dead.

The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the  Francis Scott Key  Bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor said.

The ship  struck one of the bridge’s supports , causing the structure to collapse like a toy. A section of the span came to rest on the bow of the vessel, which caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

With the ship barreling toward the bridge at “a very, very rapid speed,” authorities had just enough time to stop cars from coming over the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”

The crash happened in the middle of the night, long before the busy morning commute on the bridge that stretches 1.6 miles (2.6 km) and was used by 12 million vehicles last year.

The six people still unaccounted for were part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, said Paul Wiedefeld, the state’s transportation secretary.

A senior executive at the company that employed the workers said Tuesday afternoon that they were presumed dead, given the water’s depth and the length of time since the crash.

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders, said the crew was working in the middle of the bridge when it came down. No bodies have been recovered, and rescue crews continued the search into the late afternoon.

“This was so completely unforeseen,” Pritzker said. “We don’t know what else to say. We take such great pride in safety, and we have cones and signs and lights and barriers and flaggers. But we never foresaw that the bridge would collapse.”

Jesus Campos, who has worked on the bridge for Brawner Builders and knows members of the crew, said he was told they were on a break and some were sitting in their trucks when the bridge went down.

“I know that a month ago, I was there, and I know what it feels like when the trailers pass,” Campos said. “Imagine knowing that is falling. It is so hard, one would not know what to do.”

Rescuers pulled two people out of the water. One person was treated at a hospital and discharged hours later. Multiple vehicles also went into the river, although authorities did not believe anyone was inside.

“It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

A police dispatcher put out a call just before the collapse saying a ship had lost its steering and asked officers to stop all traffic, according to Maryland Transportation Authority first responder radio traffic obtained from the  Broadcastify.com  archive.

One officer who stopped traffic radioed that he was going to drive onto the bridge to alert the construction crew. But seconds later, a frantic officer said: “The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start whoever, everybody ... the whole bridge just collapsed.”

On a separate radio channel for maintenance and construction workers, someone said officers were stopping traffic because a ship had lost steering. There was no follow-up order to evacuate, and 30 seconds later the bridge fell and the channel went silent.

From 1960 to 2015, there were 35  major bridge collapses  worldwide due to ship or barge collision, according to the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.

The collapse  is sure to create a logistical nightmare for months, if not years, along the East Coast, shutting down ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping hub. The accident will also snarl cargo and commuter traffic.

“Losing this bridge will devastate the entire area, as well as the entire East Coast,” Maryland state Sen. Johnny Ray Salling said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaking at a news conference near the site, said it was too soon to estimate how long it will take to clear the channel, which is about 50 feet (15 meters) deep.

“I do not know of a bridge that has been constructed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel of this size,” he said.

Synergy Marine Group — which manages the ship, called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while in control of one or more pilots, who are local specialists who help guide vessels safely into ports. The ship is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd.

Synergy said all crew members and the two pilots on board were accounted for, and there were no reports of any injuries.

The ship was moving at 8 knots, roughly 9 mph (14.8 kph), the governor said.

Jagged remnants of the bridge could be seen jutting up from the water’s surface. The on-ramp ended abruptly where the span once began.

Donald Heinbuch, a retired chief with Baltimore’s fire department, said he was startled awake by a deep rumbling that shook his house for several seconds. “It felt like an earthquake,” he said.

He drove to the river’s edge and couldn’t believe what he saw.

“The ship was there, and the bridge was in the water, like it was blown up,” he said.

The bridge spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to a busy harbor, which leads to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for  the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Wiedefeld said all vessel traffic into and out of the port would be suspended until further notice, though the facility was still open to trucks.

President Joe Biden said he planned to travel to Baltimore and intends for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of rebuilding.

“This is going to take some time,” Biden said. “The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”

The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to the website.

Inspectors found a problem with the Dali’s machinery in June, but a more recent examination did not identify any deficiencies, according to the shipping information system Equasis.

Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel.

Last year, the Port of Baltimore handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion, according to the state.

The head of a supply chain management company said Americans should expect shortages of goods from the effect of the collapse on ocean container shipping and East Coast trucking.

“It’s not just the port of Baltimore that’s going to be impacted,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport.

The collapse, though, is not likely to hurt worldwide trade because Baltimore is not a major port for container vessels, but its facilities are more important when it comes to goods such as farm equipment and autos, said Judah Levine, head of research for global freight booking platform Freightos.

Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report, including Sarah Brumfield, Jake Offenhartz, Joshua Goodman, Ben Finley, Claudia Lauer, Brian Witte, Juliet Linderman, David McHugh, John Seewer, Michael Kunzelman and Mike Catalini.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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