Krewe of Wrecks royalty sparkled! Captain Dan Smith and First Mate Carleen Wheeler assisted by Deckahnds Sarah Dority and Alex Ritchie. Ships Officers are Judy and Harry Purcell and Trish Tenuto and Neil Talbot. They steered the Wrecks ship along a parade route packed with adoring fans. The new King and Queen of Coma Gary and Gail Rick were crowned at the Sandshaker on Fat Tuesday. Royal kudus to all.

How Many People Were There?

The research people who hail from north of the I-10 report 6,000 people attended the Krewe of Wrecks Mardi Gras parade. That was an early estimate and may be changed.

Buck Lee, SRIA executive director, told the Associated Press that there were 20,000 additional spectators this year..approx. 60,000 total. He uses the Bob Sikes Toll Stats; and he is on the island when the parade is taking place.

Nereids Queen Marilyn LeNormand estimated twice as many were on the parade route as last year. She rode high atop the krewe's float with a bird's eye view.

The Pensacola Beach RV Resort was full. The hotels had very few rooms available. The restaurants and bars had billowing cash registers. All this on a Sunday in March.

Blessings upon all the volunteers, krewes, party-minded revelers, families and officials who made this year's Krewe of Wrecks parade a huge success.