National Day Celebrations

We left RSYC late on 9th Aug and headed straight for Marina Bay, for our yearly pilgrimage to join the the National Day celebrations at sea. When we were a mile away, I spotted Quincy's 51 foot Rivera (see picture) & several cabin cruisers steaming the other way. Something was wrong, why were they going in the opposite direction. We found out soon enough. Two Police Coast Guard boats were chasing the pleasure crafts away. They shouted instructions for us to stay 3 km away from shore, right where the ships were anchored at the Eastern anchorage. What a put off. So much for having the Hart System onboard for authentication of identity. There were 10 or us onboard, my family & Ngak Hoe's family of 5. Going home was not an option; the kids would be disappointed. We decided to stick around and very quickly found refuge at the sheltered harbour launch mooring off Clifford pier. Thanks to Ngak Hoe's quick thinking, we had a ball of a time watching the celebrations from the boat. Good thing I brought the 14" TV along, it showed us the events we could not see past the tall trees along Marina Bay. I must say there's nothing quite like watching the parachutists, the helicopters & the F16s screaming past live, from a boat at sea. The fireworks at the end of the celebrations is always a fitting grand finale, especially when we were so close. We'll come back again next year for sure, hopefully they won't chase us away again.