BOATS continued from page 64
Research into the regatta and its
supporters became the basis of The Regatta Book by Val Hudson. It’s in its second printing. “It became a mission to bring the regatta back to the forefront,” says Cameron. At 76, Carman Keyes, the
commodore of the Manotick club, has had woodies as part of his genetics since he was four. He was taken to Lake Huron for a boat ride by his dad. “I liked the appearance and sound
of that boat,” he recalls. “By the time I was 18, I bought my first inboard, a 1936 Johnson built in Port Carling. Of course it’s a woody: Miss Jane. You can’t get anything better than a wood finish.” He ferries the spotless boat around
to regattas as far away as Florida. He’s also accumulated a Hacker, Grampa’s Dream, and when he retired at 74, his sons gave him a 1960 Chris Craft 26-footer just to keep him busy. It’s a lapstrake skiff. The name was painted on its transom: Retirement Package. He’s already started work on it. Carman’s sons and grandson are also hooked. The Manotick club will spread the
woody message during the All Ships Festival in Brockville June 19-21 and in Arnprior on June 27. Wykes Boat and Repairs in
Harlem, near Portland; Millar-Potter Boat Restoration in Manotick; and Gess Freniere of Gesscraft Custom
www.bounder.ca
You want to do it again.” Norm’s dad took him to the
Boat Works in Fitchbay, Que., repair and build woodies. Gess Freniere and his wife,
Tina, also race small runabouts. They’ve been at the Rideau Ferry Regatta since its resurrection with their children, Jeffrey and Alex. “The boats I repair are timeless
and never out of fashion,” says Gess. “They’re made of a live material. It’s impossible not to be touched by them, especially the gloss of their finishes. It’s our duty to keep them alive. They are our history.” Norm Woods is a highly
decorated boat racer in Canada and the U.S. He now drives Miss Canada IV, the first woody to hit the 200 mph mark at Picton in 1950. Its refurbishing is said to have cost millionaire owner, Bobby Genovese of Gravenhurst, upwards of $300,000. It’ll be the most expensive boat at the regatta and it will be accompanied by its sister, Miss Canada III. Norm has so many wins in flat-
bottom racing he’s been inducted into the Canadian Motorsports and the Canadian Boating Federation’s halls of fame. When he talks about the risk of flat-bottom boat racing you can’t figure out whether he’s humble or arrogant. “I’ve been fortunate enough
to cut my own lane,” he explains. “That made driving a lot easier. There’s a certain task in a victory.
Canadian National Exhibition in 1955 to watch the inboard hydroplane championship. “I was hooked,” he says. Chris and Mike Kollar, and
childhood friend Brett Fee of Ottawa, are Long Reach rats. They roamed that 26-mile stretch of the Rideau between Burritt’s Rapids and Manotick since their parents could turn their backs on them. They stuck together for 40 years. They built sea fleas first. Mike worked for Millar-Potter for 10 years. At the opening of the regatta
Chris, Mike and Brett will be circling the course in their self- built Hacker, a historic 26-foot runabout racer. An elongated version – 40 feet – was built by them for Bill Thomlinson, owner of Thomlinson Construction. The process of building the two took up five years of their lives. As in previous years, the regatta
promises to be a family affair with children building and painting toy boats, groups of teens building canoes and even a mini-put. The action on the water will be visible from the beach and the water. For more information on the regatta, visit
www.rfyc.ca.
John Kessler owns a woody that his wife calls HMS Kindling. Another project, The Peterborough Venus, isn’t quite finished.
BOUNDER MAGAZINE 73
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