Wake up boats and boat lovers! Spring
is here. After a dreary winter both North and South, we are
ready for the renewal that each boating season brings us. We
had the earliest ice-out ever on Lake Winnipesaukee and boy,
are we ready to go!
For the first time, we visited the Sunnyland Chapter's
Antique Boat Festival
on Lake Dora in Tavares, Florida in
March of this year. After many years of making excuses about
not going, we finally made the drive. Despite a very cold
winter season (cold for Florida, that is) we arrived for
beautiful, warm, sunny weather. The gathering of antique
boats and boat dealers was a sight! The tour of the Dora
Canal was truly one of the best waterways for tropical
wildlife viewing in America. The Dora Canal is a mile long
connector between Lakes Dora and Eustis. The four day
festival brought over 30,000 visitors. We learned a lot and
will incorporate some new best practices in our Annual Boat
Show.
Our Chapter's first event is the
Spring Romp,
Saturday, June 12th. The Spring Romp includes a boat tour
and social gathering. In addition, this year, we are
offering the original art work from last year's Boat Show
Poster at auction. Our goal to raise money to assist us in
our charitable outreach. The boat tour of of Lake
Winnipesaukee will leave from the Wolfeboro Town Docks,
weather permitting, at 1:00 P.M. Get there early with your
boat or to join us as a guest in a member's boat. Charley
and Ilona Train have again graciously permitted the use of
their home on Winter Harbor for our social gathering, rain
or shine. The New England Chapter provides a subsidy for
members and guests to attend this fun event. This is a great
opportunity to greet friends, new and old, after a wet and
cold winter. The
Wolfecatch Fish Market will
cater a traditional barbeque with seafood, chicken and ribs.
Registration for the event is due to be returned by the end
of this month. If you cannot attend and would like to place
a bid on the artwork, please contact me.
Plans are also underway for our Chapter's 37th Annual
Lake Winnipesaukee Boat Show at the Meredith town docks on
Saturday, July 23-24th.
For this year's show, don’t miss our Friday evening
reception. Also, plan on arriving early, as we are expecting
another large turnout of antique and classic boats. This
year our featured marque is Chris-Craft boats. Early
registration is welcome. We already have several unique
Chris-Crafts signed up. You can keep track of all registered
boats on our Website,
remember that all models
of boat are welcomed.
Chris Johnson will be our chief judge this year and
will be hosting our Judging Clinic on Friday afternoon. Tony
Mollica, author of
Chris
Craft Boats will also be our
special guest at the Awards Dinner on Saturday night, and
will give a talk on Chris Smith and his very special boats.
He will also be available at the Boat Show to autograph
copies of his several books. If you have one, bring it
along. If you wish to buy one of his books, copies will be
available for purchase.
Our list of volunteers to help out at the Show has
also started to take shape, but we always need more help.
Please let our Boat Show Chair, Bill John, know of your
interest. Our boat show registration form is printed in this
Cutwater issue, and a special
mailing to all chapter members will soon be sent. Please
register early to help us plan for a gala event!
Our Chapter continues to support the
New Hampshire
Boat Museum as part of our community outreach. We provide
two scholarships to the Museum's youth boat building
program. We are also a "Friend of the Museum" and make an
annual contribution for their support. Later this month on
May 28th, the Museum is hosting a 10th Season Celebration at
the Museum. Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres, entertainment and a
special preview of 2010 exhibits will take place. Call the
Museum for information [603-569-4554].
As the boating season proceeds, keep in touch with our
Chapter Officers and Chairs, They are all looking for
volunteers to join the fun in keeping our activities
relevant to our common interest in the history and
preservation of antique boats. We can all gain from the
experience of others and exchange ideas about how to improve
our Chapter.
I look forward to hearing from you
!!!!
Gerri Prusko
603-569-0030
gprusko@vintagebookworm.com
Click
here for our 2010 Calendar
