Gardening and boating don't usually go hand in hand. However, on the 90th annual Opening Day on the Bay celebration, it was gardening that got me an invitation on board the Pacific Inter Club Yacht Association committee boat.

I produce a local garden show for KRON TV called "Henry's Garden." My boating friends know that I have a television connection, so they put the squeeze on me to bring along a camera and take some footage of the Decorated Boat Parade. Doug McConnell, host of another KRON 4 production called "Bay Area Backroads," was Grand Marshall for Opening Day on the Bay this year. He and I worked out an arrangement to borrow one of he stations' expensive video cameras. Neither Doug nor I knew anything about videography. He usually stands in front of the camera, and I stand behind it. Together we figured out the basics, but not until after we had boarded the boat.

The weather was spectacular. After months of rain, the weather gods finally smiled on the boating community. Opening Day on the Bay marks the official beginning of the new yachting season and is a big deal in the boating community. The tradition began in 1906 to bless the local fishing fleet. Yacht clubs from as far away as Tahoe gather for the annual blessing of the fleet in Raccoon Straight, then parade in formation across the Golden Gate and up the City Front.

This year the string of boats was continuous all the way from the blessing ship anchored in front of Tiburon all the way to the committee boat. I don't know the total number of participants, but it must have been in the hundreds.

The committee boat left Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda at 9 a.m. After a leisurely cruise down the Estuary and under the Bay Bridge, we anchored in front of St. Francis Yacht Club. It took me at least that long to figure out the "˜go' buttons on that darned camera.

The parade began at noon. Every boat in the formation passed our starboard side for consideration by a panel of judges. As always, a fireboat leads the fanfare with all pumps gushing water 50 feet into the air. It's an impressive sight and one you don't want to be too close to.

The classic yachts are next, making you feel as if you have stepped back in time. Immediately following the classics are boats decorated for the annual theme, which this year was "Mardi Gras." Following the colorful decorated yachts are boats with flags and streamers looking gay in the wind. Finally, all of the participating yacht clubs file past, each with their club burgee flying proudly.

There is a prize for the yacht club with the most participants and another for the club that travels the farthest. Being invited on board the committee boat is like being invited to the Inauguration at the White House. Ray Tsuneyoshi, Director of Boating and Waterways was on board, as was Richard Schwartz and his wife Beth, founder of Boat US. During the parade, Doug and I stayed on the bow, me with the camera pressed to my eyeball and Doug schmoozing with the judges. I confess only now to finding the zoom feature by a lucky mistake. As I was shooting and trying to hold my balance on the rolling deck, I heard from afar, "KIMMIE, KIMMIE!!!" It was my friend, Intrepid Ina, on board a Sea Ray that was parading past. She had the skipper stop, then BACK UP, right in the middle of the line up of boats, so that she could say a proper hello.

And that, my dears, is why I love boating. Opening Day on the Bay is held the last Sunday in April. There is no charge to watch the parade from the city front. Please join us next year, if you aren't busy in the garden.