The 1999 St. Patrick's Day Raftout

On Saturday, the 13th of March, 1999, several fine boats belonging to the
Coral Ridge Clan, gathered together at Lake Santa Barbara
in County Broward. It was to be a fine evening, with almost more boats
than could fit in that wee lake...

It was a fine evening, and several boats arrived early

to tie off from Hey Mon III, the anchor boat.

Ray and Ellen Ramey in Spare Key, help get all the boats rafted together safely.

Concerning bagpipes: The Irish invented them and gave them to the Scots
as a joke, and the Scots haven't seen the joke yet.

By the time evening came, there were 15 boats rafted together!

The first Irish National Steeplechase was finally abandoned.
Not one horse could get a decent footing on the cathedral roof.

My heavens! What a fine group we are! All decked out in our green finery!

A drunken Irishman staggers in to a Catholic church
and sits down in a confession box and says nothing.
The bewildered priest coughs to attract his attention,
but still the Irishman says nothing.
The priest then knocks on the wall three times
in a final attempt to get the man to speak.
Finally, the drunk replies: "No use knockin' me boy,
there's no paper in this one either."

Commander Don O'Barnes, gets ready to hop to another boat..

You can tell an Irishman
But you can’t tell him much

Joe Billera's houseboat Fun House is properly identified for the day..

There was a party going on the upper deck, and the lower deck!

An Irish priest and a Rabbi found themselves sharing a compartment on a
train. After a while, the priest opened a conversation by saying "I know that,
in your religion, you're not supposed to eat pork...Have you actually ever tasted it?
The Rabbi said, "I must tell the truth. Yes, I have, on the odd occasion."
Then the Rabbi had his turn at interrogation.
He asked, "Your religion, too...I know you're supposed to be celibate. But...."
The priest replied, "Yes, I know what you're going to ask. I have succumbed once or twice."
There was silence for a while.
Then the Rabbi peeped around the newspaper he was reading and said, "Better than pork, isn't it?"

...and of course there was a fine crowd enjoying themselves
on P/C Dean Jackson's Boat Stormy Weather..

A grand evening was enjoyed by all. It does look though like next year, we might
be looking for a bigger lake!!