Appalachian Spring
by Denis
Hartnett, ACBS Rudder
“Every show has a theme...and Lake Chatuge Show is Blue Ridge’s party for
itself,” said Jerry Winter. With that phrase, the Boat Show Chairman concisely
captured the spirit of this weekend in May. And what a well deserved party for
this active chapter it is. Perhaps the athletically adventurous may come to
Hiawassee, Georgia, to hike the southern reaches of the famous Appalachian
Trail, but classic boat fans have pulled their woodies to the northern corner of
this state for just one reason. For them the attraction is located up the road
at the Fieldstone Resort on lovely Lake Chatuge, site of Blue Ridge Chapter’s
sixteenth annual boat show.
Along
the roads to the Resort, spring mists filter the lush green meadows and rolling
mountains through an Impressionist lens, and coffee-colored creeks lace the
countryside surrounding Lake Chatuge. Created in the 1930’s as part of the vast
Tennessee Valley Authority rural electrification project, Chatuge is a fairytale
lake: not too large...not too small...but just right. Like any good fairy tale,
she’s changed the lives of those she has touched.
When Bob and Carl Cloer were just
boys, their family farm was lost to the rising waters of the TVA. But Bob’s
boyhood dream of building a first-class resort arose on the edge of the Lake not
far from where they both grew up. Forty years later he took this vision, and
with over 450 tons of Tennessee fieldstone built his dream. Today, the Resort’s
shoreline is protected by “ancient” cannons, movie props left from The Last of
the Mohicans filmed nearby, as if to guard against any future incursion by man
or nature.
In 1987 Randy and Linda Cunningham
were driving by the newly opened Inn and its marina when the idea of holding a
boat show there occurred to them. Blue Ridge Chapter had recently formed itself
from the membership of the sprawling Dixieland Chapter, who’s seven state domain
was becoming unwieldy. As Blue Ridge’s first presidents, they were looking for a
site to hold a late spring event. A more perfect pairing could not have been
found.
Any
description of a week-end at the Fieldstone Resort would not include the words
“roughing it.” Indeed, the accommodations are one of the attractions of the Lake
Chatuge Boat Show. The lodgings extend to all the boats, as well. By having a
portion of the 300 covered slips reserved for the Show, participants are assured
of having only one concern – enjoying themselves. Which is never a problem with
pool, hot tub and comfortable hotel a few steps in one direction, and jet skis,
pontoon boats and restaurants a few steps the other way.
But the real attraction of a small
show like this is enjoying the people and their boats in an intimate setting.
The members of the Blue Ridge Chapter are as gregarious a group of folks as can
be found in the ACBS. With a broad range of accents and occupations, their
passion for boats and boat collecting forms a bond that has lasted through the
years and which regularly gets renewed at these extended family gatherings.
Larger events form the rest of this chapter’s calendar. Coming second in a four
show season, Chatuge is between Lake Hartwell in April, Lake Norman (Charlotte)
in September, and Lake Burton in October. The Charlotte Show, now in its sixth
year, has grown to over 100 boats and is rightly starting to attract national
attention.
Just
about the only thing that’s not assured at Lake Chatuge is the weather
conditions. Previously, the Show took place in the benign days of early June.
But, due to scheduling conflicts at the Fieldstone Inn, it now falls on the
first weekend in May – a decidedly unpredictable time. This year was no
exception. The unsettled conditions filled the television news and the
apocalyptic weatherman was sounding the alarm like a town crier in Pompeii.
Though it did reduce attendance a bit, the predictions proved false and those
who came enjoyed two fine days of boating among the countless mountain coves
engraving the lake’s 130 miles of shoreline. A late Saturday night cruise even
offered a spectacular view of the infinite stars in a moonless and cloudless
southern sky.
In keeping with the convivial nature
of this low key event, there’s only one award given out at the Lake Chatuge
show: Skippers’ Choice. Voted on by fellow boat owners, this year’s award went
to Victor
Fabricius
for his 24 ft., 1924 Hacker Dolphin, Lucky Penny. This exceptional boat has the
earliest number – number 6 – of any Hacker triple-cockpit planing hull. Formerly
in the possession of Les Rue, past ACBS president, Victor’s association with
Penny goes back to 1993, when he drove to Connecticut to acquire it for Les. The
Hacker had started out on Lake Erie but spent 40 years in a barn after changing
hands to settle its previous owner’s debts. Following two years of intensive
restoration, Lucky Penny emerged resplendent once again with its original style
Scripps F-6 engine and authentic-color blue spring-cushioned seats.
Also
gracing the Show were Earl Balkom’s 20 ft., 1947 Gar Wood, Remember When,
produced in that company’s final year; Hal Crawford’s Beaut, Too, a fine 22’,
1953 Shepherd Utility; Polinater, Steve Blanchard’s Texas built, 14 ft., 1956
Yellow Jacket inboard; and Lawton and Nell Cowart’s impressive 26 ft., 1929
Chris-Craft runabout, Paper Lady.
If there was a “no-good deeds-go-unrewarded” category in this world, Jim Templeton surely would have won for his reproduction 1948 Ventnor – a gift from his very appreciative nephew, whose life Jim influenced for the better – and as exciting a boat to view at rest as it is carving a wake on the water.
In her opening remarks at the
banquet, Blue Ridge co-president Gail Turner stated with conviction, “I firmly
believe the heart of ACBS lies in the individual chapters. And from what I can
see here, the heart is doing just fine!” To carry the image even further...the
continued health of this heart lies in the children
of the
ACBS. By always involving the whole family, especially kids, and by having
events these young members will enjoy at each of their outings, Blue Ridge is
showing us a way around the impending problem of an aging boating population.
They even have the distinction of having a youth coordinator, Kelsey Fabricius,
who’s a kid herself. At the Lake Chatuge Show most of the members seemed to be
second or third generation boat lovers who’ve passed the gene along to their
children.
The results are immediately apparent
and so the highlight of this weekend has become the Kids’ Cardboard Boat Race.
Take two 4 x 8 sheets of cardboard
and one roll of duct tape, add kids and dads and two hours later you’ll see an
amazing variety of improbable boats of all shapes and sizes. The catch is ...
the kids have to race their creations under their own power, round-trip between
two docks.
The boatbuilding began at 10 am as
the eager teams assembled at the lake edge. Mayhem sprawled across the picnic
tables as pencils and utility knives sketched and slashed. Some came armed with
drawings, some only with vague dreams. A few were seeking to perfect last year’s
version that would have won if only... Several kids wanted no help from any
adults whatsoever while other parents toiled under strict instructions from
their pint-sized supervisors. Co-president Bill Turner moved among them offering
tips and encouragement and occasionally preventing an impending disaster. The
cardboard creations took shape amid a constant banter of good-natured taunting.
“Why, it looks like you’re building the next H S Hunley over there” was
typical
of the remarks from these totally non-competetive dads who only had family honor
and a place in posterity on the line.
At noon the hopeful boaters assembled
for a parade down to the water. There was everything from a “party barge” to a
“Gar Cardbord” to a paper “Hacker” with extravagant fins and each bearing names
like “The Rock”, “Duck Tape Dingy”, and “Cardboard Titanic.” Some would soon
live up to their names when these sailors learned that Hope Floats is just the
name of a sappy movie.
The motley crew trooped out of the
paddock and onto the dock with clumsy steeds – and dads – in tow. Track
conditions were perfect; Susan Wilson had been preening the shoreline earlier
with her radio-controlled model hydro, quickly dubbed Lawn-Mo-Shun, out for its
inaugural run. The jockeys slipped into position – a delicate proposition for
most. A tense moment of anticipation... And They’re Off! Some paddled, some
rowed, some flailed. The armada was even for just an instant. That’s when the
designs hit the fan. As the cheering crowd urged them on, the pack began to
straggle apart in a pattern displaying everything from determination to despair
as the watery chargers each went their own separate ways. Entering the
backstretch it was clear which
nags
were bound either for the glue factory or for glory. The winner of the event,
Alex Westervelt, rode to victory aboard a creation that Duke Kahanamoku might
have built as a kid, a sort of cardboard surfboard.
Seeds of next year’s designs were
already planted in everyone’s minds as the exhausted mounts were dragged ashore
to be honored in the soggy aftermath. The winner’s circle included every entrant
and the pictures and congratulations were evenly distributed among all; each kid
shared in the victory just by participating.
Even casual spectators were swept up
in the excitement. “What a great way to get kids interested in boats; it sure
looks like everybody’s having a ball,” said one onlooker. And there it is in a
nutshell...those three crucial words. Kids. Boats. Interested. All bound
together with one absolutely necessary ingredient: Fun. This is one group you
know will be hooked on boats for life.
And
what would any family event be without dinner. Saturday night’s banquet had all
the elements of a festive holiday gathering. Friends and relatives were catching
up on the latest news and children circulated around the tables that were
decorated with their wooden boat centerpieces they’d built and painted that
afternoon. After the buffet, two of the kids took charge of drawing and awarding
an endless supply of door prizes so plentiful almost every person went home
pleased with something in their hands.
Then came the stories. The kind of
stories that close friends share; the type that bind us closer together.
Embarassing stories. Bloopers. We all know there’s no shame among boaters. Maybe
a little squirming, perhaps. By the time the evening ended, the whole catalogue
of sinkings and soakings and mechanical mishaps in all their hilarious details
had been thoroughly embellished and enjoyed by all. And so this Chapter gets a
little stronger while its list of legends grows a bit longer.
From high on the wall of the Fieldstone Inn a bearded and rather bemused looking
moose enjoys the spectacular panorama his peculiar fate has placed him in. He’s
the only one with a better view out of the towering great-room windows. There’s
nothing so relaxing late on a spring afternoon as sitting in Georgia and looking
across the placid lake at the mountains of North Carolina.
But all this leisure will come to an end for Blue Ridge members next year. That’s when they’ll host the ACBS Third Annual International Meeting and Boat Show, September 16-19, 2004. The site will be Lake Lanier Islands at the Renaissance PineIsle Resort, just north of Atlanta. They’ll be a busy crew until then, but afterwards... why, there’ll be time to unwind once again at lovely and hospitable Lake Chatuge.
