A trail of lights on the water never even got out of the dock. The Lake Austin boat parade planned this week got cancelled amid safety concerns and no permit.

"This is Austin. This is gorgeous right now," said Cameron Reid of Keep Austin Wet.

A mild December day is what Reid calls perfect boating weather.

"The boat parade was going to give us a good little boost because you don't really expect that in the middle of December," said Reid.

They had one boat rental cancel after Lake Austin's Boat Trail of Lights got cancelled this year due to no permit and safety concerns after a large crowd was expected to come.

"It's like saying we have too many people on 6th Street and we're going to kick you off 6th Street," said Reid.

Some boaters want to look at lights from the lake, others planned to decorate their own boats. But after sunset, the only lights allowed on a boat are the navigation lights. Christmas lights could cause an accident.

"Obscuring someone's navigation. If someone's lights are too bright and it's reflecting off the water it might be blinding coming off another boat coming toward your boat," said Austin Police Department Lake Patrol Senior Police Officer John O'Donnell Jr.

Austin Police Department's Lake Patrol says having a safety plan for an event, can save lives.

"We want everyone to come out here and have a good time and bring their family but at the same time you have to be safe because when something does happen on the water, it is usually a big incident," said Senior Police Officer O'Donnell.

Some boaters plan to head out on the water anyway and hope next year the plans won't sink.

"It's kind of a bummer because people want to just go out and see some Christmas lights," said Reid.

Some people bought tickets for a party barge to be able to see the boat trail of lights. They are being refunded but it may take several days from the time they initiate the refund. The organizer is going to apply for a permit for next year and start the paperwork.