Summer Memories ~ Lake of Bays

 

Boating (Part Two)

The first year we stayed at our new cottage, we had 14’ runabout boat with a 10 hp engine. Eventually, that year my dad purchased a new Shepherd outboard boat with a 50 hp Johnson motor. It was a magnificent classic wooden runabout outboard boat, made in Niagara-on-the-Lake by Shepherd Boat Works. I was allowed to drive, and loved every minute behind the wheel. We had the boat for a number of years, until a nasty storm stripped it away from our boat dock and carried it away to the rock of a nearby island. We (I) were devastated. I felt that I had lost my best friend. For me it was my “life-line” to my summer “freedom”. Not only did it give me peace of mind, but it transported me through the waters on my slalom ski.

For sometime, I felt a great loss, no boat to explore the lake with, no slalom skiing and no summer fun!  I think that my father must have experienced the same melancholy. After all, the boat was his pride and joy. I believe he enjoyed boating as much as I did.

(Continued in Part Three)

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