August 3-5, 2018

Southern New England Chapter Members Danny and Eileen Ross, Chris and Corrine Johnson, Wes and Gail Van Dine, Charlie and Kathy Hand, Paul and Betty Reisbeck as well as Bette and Lee Heinzman attended the 54^th Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY the weekend of August 3-5, 2018.  Other than being hot and slightly humid, the weather was perfect for a boat show!

A very nice evening reception was held on Thursday, August 2^nd which was sponsored by The Thousand Island Chapter of ACBS.  This was a great opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones and to watch some of the boats for the show arriving.  The sunset on the St. Lawrence River was spectacular!

The show opened to the general public on Friday and even though the crowd was small for a weekday, the grounds were busy as was the flea market across the street and the vendors that were set up on the street (i.e., several wineries, food trucks, artists, etc.).  It was great to just walk around and look at everything and eat!  There were no formal activities planned for Friday evening so you were on your own for dinner or sight-seeing, going out for a boat ride or walking through the town of Clayton as many of the shops stayed open.

The show opened at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and even with a slight breeze, it was still HOT!  I believe there were 82 boats registered on both land and water and of those 82 approximately 60 were being judged – so the judges had their work cut out for them.  Wes and Chris were part of the judging team. There was also “Hagerty Youth” judging and it was great to see the kids participating.   The crowd was steady throughout the day and the flea market and the concession stands on the street continued to draw crowds. There was also a number of speaker forums that you could attend.

The boat auction conducted by Antique Boat America began at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and even though the number of boats being auctioned was smaller than in past years, there was still a goodly number that were “hammered down” by the auctioneer!  The Clipper Inn in Clayton provided the “heavy nibbles” on Saturday evening.

Brunch on Sunday was catered again by the Clipper Inn and as usual was very good.  Once brunch was finished, Rebecca Hopfinger, Executive Director of the Antique Boat Museum welcomed the crowd to the awards ceremony and then turned the program over to Chief Judge, Brian Gagnon.  Brian explained the judging procedure to the audience and introduced the judges that were still in attendance – then it was on to the awards!

Southern New England Chapter Members did very well in the awards presentation! Congratulations to Chris Johnson, who was named the Fred Thompson Boater of the Year.  Chris received a standing ovation from the assembly; Wes and Gail Van Dine also won a 1^st place award – Preserved Classic Utility.  Their boat was a 1946 Gar Wood Ensign named JAZZ.  Following the awards ceremony, the boat parade began – it was a great end to a perfect show!

If you have never been to the Thousand Islands, be sure to put Clayton, NY and the Thousand Islands on your “bucket list”! – Bette Heinzman, SNEC Chapter Secretary