Whiskey makes an appearance and writes this one!
We are members of the New England Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society. At our spring membership meeting we discussed having meetups on the lake to cruise together. Since that meeting we have had nothing but rain.
The first meetup was planned last minute because the weather has been so unpredictable. In a few hours four boats teamed up to meet at a member's home. From there the boats would ride together with a destination at a place for breakfast.
A bit of back story:
Years ago, Mark Mason created a group that would participate in spontaneous boat runs to breakfast somewhere on the lake. Email contacts were assembled, and the only rule was it couldn’t be planned too many days in advance, because you know what they say about New England weather. This year, Steve Pelizza thought it would be a great idea for the Antique & Classic Boat Society – New England Chapter members to resurrect the idea and expand on it, call them Group Runs, and see how it goes. After all, we LOVE our wooden boats, and we love using them. A link to the web page: Group Runs for 2023! – New England Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society (necacbs.org) Well, Mark took the bull by the horns and Tony Coco suggested the date and they organized the first Speedboat Breakfast Run for July 20, 2023. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and a flatter, calmer lake than what we got. Tony and his granddaughter came in Shamrock, Steve Perkins came over & brought his dad and Vince Bober in Miss Mary, a Miss APBA design, and Roger Hatch and I came over by convertible and motorcycle, respectively, because our boats are trapped in back bay by high water and a low bridge. Mark ran his 30’ Hacker Dolphin runabout Sultana and brought Bonnie & Roger, and Vince piloted Impshi, one of Mark’s race boats based on the George Crouch design and took Tom aboard. What a ride! I was holding on tight when I screenshotted my iBoating navigation app showing 48.42 knots – that’s 55MPH kids, and only 3,500 RPM! The red line is the route we took. Photos of the screenshots below.
Here is a video of the ride.
If you are in NH you can see some of these and many more boats at the Annual Boat Show Saturday, July 29 at Wolfeboro's Town Docks 9am - 2pm.
Cell phone screenshots.
Resources
This gave me such a thrill! Growing up in Melvin Village my Dad had a laker. The memories evoked so many memories! The sound and smell of the engine, the dials, the shiny wood, the seats.......everything solid and safe. (I was about 7-13yrs old). The day couldn't have been better as you say and I'll bet 47+ knots was fun!!! Thanks for sharing this! I'm going to watch the video again!
Hahha those hot rodders in Impshi, I was dyin'!😅