After an unwelcomed respite of 4 years, the OACBS was proud to once again present an annual classic boat show, albeit with some significant changes from past events. After being held in several locations in Kelowna and ultimately at Penticton, the loss of dockage subsequent to the 2007 show forced a suspension of the boat show until a new host venue could be found. In the wake of a successful on-water club event on Shuswap Lake in 2010, and effort was undertaken to find a new home for the flagship event of the OACBS.
The town of Sicamous was approached and with a most enthusiastic response from town officials, the decision was taken to once again present a classic boat show. The inaugural event was held on August 5-7 2010 at the Main Street Landing Public Dock in the Sicamous Channel between Shuswap and Mara Lakes. With the complete support of the town, a great public facility and wonderful access for both boat show participants and spectators, the stage was set.
A welcoming cocktail party with a lovely meal provided by club members and guests was held at the writer’s home on Friday night, as participants were shuttled back and forth from Sicamous to the party on a rather comfortable pontoon boat. The fabulous food, cold beer and nice wines were enjoyed by all, and Club Pres. Bruce Wilson even broke out a guitar and engaged in an impromptu jam session with one of the guests! The stage was certainly set for a great show.
Perfect weather greeted all participants on Saturday, with sunny skies, smooth water and temperatures in the upper 20’s. We significantly exceeded our modest initial expectations for around 20 boats, and once the dust was settled, we had 33 boats in the water and three on land display – a very satisfactory result for our first show in a brand new venue. Of particular note was the incredible diversity of craft represented – a very important element in any boat show. We had everything from a 1900 launch to a 2005 neo-classic built by Chris Casparis of Oyama. We had cruisers, classic glass; we even had a fellow stumble upon the show and rush home to bring his classic canoe out for display.
The docks, the use of which was donated by the town and by a very generous neighboring private dock owner, were perfectly set up for ease of moorage and spectator access. We welcomed several ACBS members from neighboring chapters in the PNW of the US and in Idaho, and many OACBS members from distant points also brought their boats to help ensure the success of this event. The docking arrangements, totally protected from passing boat wakes and rough water contributed to the carefree sense of fun which was shared by all exhibitors - no one needed to be concerned about watching out for boats being damaged by water condition or other typical hazards encountered at boat shows.
The docks were jammed all day long with spectators, our club attracted several new members, and numerous town officials visited the show and were extremely pleased by what they encountered. The show concluded late in the afternoon and we all prepared for our dinner banquet, held at the spectacularly scenic Hyde Mountain Gold Club, perched high on the flank of Hyde Mountain, overlooking Mara Lake. A superb dinner was served at a very reasonable cost on the large outside deck, and the beautiful surroundings provided a fitting conclusion to a very busy day! Awards were presented, stories were shared and many memories were made.
Sunday dawned sunny and beautiful once again, and approximately 20 boats gathered in Bastion Bay before a lovely and scenic run up Shuswap Lake, where we enjoyed a great pub-style lunch at the Shark Shack floating restaurant. Following a very laid back and enjoyable lunch, participants were free to explore the lake or begin the long journey home. Those who were able to spend some time out on the lake were treated to superb boating conditions, and some folk even reported encountering a mother bear and her cubs coming down to the lake for a drink! It was a wonderful way to conclude our first boat show in 4 years.
As Boat Show Co-chairperson, I can report that the support received from the District of Sicamous, local merchants and the towns people in general was absolutely incredible. The answer to our requests was invariably “yes”, during the show we were approached with offers of sponsorship for next year’s show and at every turn people were enthusiastically stating that was a tremendous event, just the type of thing Sicamous needs and they unanimously hoped that we would return. The venue is great, the town’s infrastructure is top notch and reasonable accommodations are plentiful. One could not ask for a better location and more supportive environment for a boat show than what we encountered at Sicamous this year.
Given our experience at Sicamous, and at the invitation of many it is a natural and exceedingly easy decision to schedule our annual show at Sicamous in 2012, on the weekend of August 10-12. Our intention once again is to hold a pleasant, relaxed event with ample opportunity for participants to actually get out and use their boats, as well as display them to the public. We already have a number of ideas for the 2012 show, including more dock space in order to allow for greater participation. Please stay tuned to our brand new OACBS website for announcements and information concerning next year’s show, as we will soon be entering the planning phase.
Here it is September, (ooops, now November so just a little late), and we have just had a great summer. Since my last writing, we have completed our 1st annual Sicamous boat show, I have attended the very successful regional show in Couer d’Alene, Paul and Karen have been to Lake Tahoe for the show there and they are currently in Wisconsin at the Annual Meeting of the ACBS where they are showing their lovely Sedan, “Barnwood”. Our club is active again and we are looking forward to making it even better as we move forward with a new web site, new members, and new enthusiasm from our current members.
The boat show at Sicamous was held on the weekend of August 6th and 7th. It was a perfect weather weekend with sunshine and warm temperatures. It all started on the Friday evening with a cocktail party at Paul & Karen’s cottage on Bastion Bay. There were lots of nibblies and plenty of liquid so the evening was a lot fun. It was also a chance to use the boats, or get a ride on the pontoon boat as we all went by water from Sicamous.
We had 30 boats in the water and 3 on dry land so for our first show in 5 years, we were very pleased. It was through the efforts of Paul and Karen (our co-chairs) and Skip Langell, our “do it all handyman and promoter”, that everything went as well and smoothly as it did. On behalf of the club, I extend my sincere thank you to these three folk. It would not have happened with-out their commitment.
The following are some photos from that weekend.[Picture]
On page 6 of the Summer, 2011 issue of The Rudder, is an article about ACBS Symposiums by Dick Werner. Your directors have been talking about hosting a Symposium in our area and it would appear that we may be able to do this in May of next year. Bruce Middleton and Chris Casparis have indicated that they would be pleased to open their shops and give workshops on the care and preservation of our types of boats. I had a chance to talk to Dick about the timing of this while I was in Coeur d’ Alene. He is very keen on it and would like to see it happen. We will keep you posted on the development of this event.
I hope you have some more time to put hours on the clock before we get the ski gear out for the winter. Keep safe.
Bruce W.
PS: Just received an email from Paul & Karen. “Barnwood” won best preserved at the ACBS show this past weekend. As Paul says; it was the “big one” and they are very pleased. We pass on our congratulations to Paul & Karen.
PPS: It really is November and we are having our AGM on December 3rd , 5:00PM at the Shannon Lake Golf Club. This will be our Christmas party as well so we do hope that all can attend. More details will follow either by email or on our new web site at: www.oacbs.ca
