Shunning the usual chimney, Kris Kringle made his traditional arrival by boat at Scarborough harbour on Saturday, with knots per hour taking the place of reindeer power.

Hundreds of festive fans packed Sandside ready to greet the man in red and accompany him on his traditional trek to the town's Boyes store – and were entertained by the Hunmanby Brass Band and singers from the YMCA as they waited.

Finally, he pulled into the harbour to whoops and cheers. Santa greeted the crowd with roars of "Have all the boys and girls been good? Have all the mums and dads been good?" as he came ashore.

Lisa Brown, of Maple Avenue, brought her son Cameron, eight, and niece Lexie, who is just 18 months, to see the festive season get off to a sailing start. She said: "We come every year – we wouldn't miss it. It's the official start of Christmas. It's just really nice to see such a big turnout."

Neil Halbert who lives in Osgodby, was with children Chloe, 13, Verity, 11 and Becky, nine. He told the Evening News: "We've been coming every year since Chloe was five. It's a really big day and we always look forward to it. I know he's supposed to come down the chimney but in Scarborough he always arrives by boat – that's just how it is."

For one reveller a traditional Yorkshire coast Christmas is a world away from the festivities he experienced as a boy. Steve Mummert moved to Scarborough from Los Angeles 12 years ago. "It's a lot colder over here, though I'm used to the cold now," he laughed. "I think this is a really great tradition – I've been coming down here since I had my first child so that'll be about seven years now – my three lads are all Scarborough born and bred."

Caroline Pearson, from Filey Road, brought son Joseph, 10, to join in the fun. "It's nice to see Christmas get off to a start, though to be honest, it's a bit early for me," she said. "We're going to follow Santa up the road to Boyes – it's just a nice way of spending the day."

Boyes general manager Ernie Gee told the Evening News: "Today's gone really well – it's great to see such a big crowd. Santa's told me he's thrilled to be back in Scarborough and we're delighted to have him. We had a queue for visits to his grotto before he even got here."