36th Annual

Lake Winnipesaukee

Antique & Classic Boat Show

July 25th - Meredith Public Docks

 

2009 Recap & Photos !!!

This year's 36th Annual Lake Winnipesaukee Antique & Classic Boat Show at the Meredith public docks was a huge gathering of beautiful antique and classic wooden boats, with large crowds and over 80 vintage wooden boats on display all day in a judged competition. This was quite a sight to behold, and for a special treat the crowds arrived early at the docks early on Saturday morning to watch and listen as the vintage boats arrived under their own power. There was also a large static display of vintage race boats. The sights and sounds were magnificent, and to get an idea of the magnitude of this annual gathering of wooden boats, please take a moment to view our photo album from this year's Lake Winnipesaukee Antique & Classic Boat Show.

 

This year's 36th Annual Boat Show featured a very large showing of Gar Wood antique and classic boats, and Tony Mollica, author of Gar Wood Boats: Classics of a Golden Era, was our special guest at the Awards Dinner on Saturday evening. He gave a talk on Gar Wood and his very special boats. Tony was also at the boat show to autograph copies of his several books. The sales were brisk, as spectators bought his books and had Tony personally sign each copy. He was very busy.

 

For participants, the fun started with a judging clinic on Friday afternoon, followed by registration and social reception, complete with live music. The boat show was held on Saturday at the Meredith public docks with over 80 vintage wooden boats on display all day in a judged competition. The show was open to the public and as usual, the weather was sunny and hot, as we fill the Meredith public docks and the grassy park area with beautiful antique & classic boats.

 

The 36th annual boat show was presented by the New England Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, a very active local group of over 300 members. Gerri Prusko is the president of our local chapter, Bill John was the boat show chairman, and Bo Muller was the chief judge this year. We had a very full show, with 82 registered antique & classic boats !!!

 

Click here for all the award winners !!!

What a great boat show and what fun we had ???!!!

The setting for our 36th Annual Lake Winnipesaukee Antique & Classic Boat Show, at the Meredith public docks.

       

 

The first boat arrived on Friday afternoon - Bo & Kathy Muller.

 

         

Then the first barge arrived, a welcomed sight for the show chairman. Many thanks to Jim Nagile at Lakes Region Barge 293-7272

         

 

The second boat arrived - Bob Bannister in his 40 foot Gar Wood runabout!!!

 

       

 

The Judging Clinic on Friday afternoon - many thanks to Bo Muller.

 

     

     

Then the second barge arrived, another welcomed sight for the show chairman. Many thanks to Watermark Marine Construction 293-4000

       

 

And then the fun stuff began at the Registration & Cocktail Reception on Friday evening.

 

         

         

         

         

     

   

But it did not look good at 4 AM on Saturday morning, as the monsoon rains continued and it was pouring so hard that it looked like our 36th annual show would be washed out for the first time in our history. But around 6 AM the downpour ceased and the volunteers started to arrive. Our first job was to setup the judges tent, not an easy task ???!!!

 

      

 

The next job was to set the two spring lines, from the main dock to the two barges. This is perhaps the most critical task of the show, for we use these spring lines to tie the boat stern lines to the pier and bow lines to the spring lines. This setup was developed by Dave Whitcher and allows us to stage over 80 beautiful vintage boats at the Meredith docks. But these spring lines MUST be set properly, and is done with two jet skis. We had the same Wolfeboro docking crew that we use at our Wolfeboro Vintage Race Boat Regatta. These guys are the true heroes of the show, as the process of staging the boats takes several hours, with no breaks, because we have to stage each boat as they arrive under their own power. So for three hours the docking crew worked non-stop and had all boats staged by 9  AM - a job well done.

         

So - a special thank you to our docking crew ???!!! 

Jet ski drivers - Dennis Schauer & Lynn Miller

Jet ski riders/line handlers - Rick Kourian, Donnie McLean, Anthony Antico

Dock Crew - Ken Sandhage, Roger Burgess, Joe Williams, Bill John

         

Thanks also to Rick Fileau, Kevin Buttermore, Anthony Antico and Howard Pennock, who manned the launching ramp all day long. They helped launching boats in the early morning, starting at 6AM and retrieving the boats in the late afternoon. A very long day and another job well done. Thank you also to John Burk for supplying the two jet skis, and to Amy Burk and her friend Matt who also helped with the docking. Our all-volunteer crew is the best, and again this year, not a boat was scratched !!

         

And at 6 AM the boats started to arrive, with the non-judged, static display boats on the grassy park area and the judged antique & classic boats staged at the docks. We had a very full show, with 82 registered antique & classic boats !!!

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

       

   

 

We filled the docks with our antique & classic boats.

 

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

     

   

 

At 3 PM, is was time to release the boats and breakup camp !!!

 

         

         

         

And finally, the Saturday evening cocktail party, Tony Mollica's presentation and the awards ceremonies, wrapping up our 36th annual Lake Winnipesaukee Antique & Classic Boat Show.

       

         

         

        

 

Wow - what a great boat show and what fun we had ???!!!

Click here for all the award winners !!!

Many thanks again to all the many volunteers who made our 36th Annual Lake Winnipesaukee Antique & Classic Boat Show a huge success. We have already started planning for next year's 37th annual boat show, when the featured marque with be Chris Craft boats. Tony Mollica and Terry Fiest wull be our featured speakers and we will also be expanding into the grassy park area with more vintage race boats and a field of "classic glass' 1950s/60s fiberglass boats. So please mark your calendars for our 37th annual boat show on July 23-24, 2010 - don't miss it !!!

 

On a personal note, this year's boat show was very special for me, for it was my 30th show, having participated in every show since 1979, when I bought my beloved Gar Wood speedster Obsession. I welcome your thoughts on this year's 36th annual boat show and your suggestions for next year's 37th annual show.

And please consider joining our Saturday Morning Gatherings at the Vintage Race Boat Shop in Wolfeboro. The coffee is usually ready by 9 AM, please bring donuts. And check out all the fun at our recent Wolfeboro Vintage Race Boat Regatta !!!

Bill John - Show Chairman

John1948@metrocast.net

603-569-5824

    

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