RAFT OF IDEAS FLOATED TO REVIVE CHARITY RIVER RACE
Thousands of spectators once lined banks of North Saskatchewan to watch event
The 58th annual Sourdough Raft Race will be held July 23 and one longtime supporter wants to return it to its former glory.
“There was a day when 200 rafts sailed from Terwillegar Park to Rafter’s Landing and many thousands of people lined the banks to watch the fun,” said longtime rafting enthusiast and builder Roger Kehoe.
“Floating down the North Saskatchewan River for about 31/2 hours on a good day, sitting on a lawn chair and enjoying a picnic, is an enviable experience.”
The days of it being a big corporate sponsors’ event may be over at present, said Kehoe.
In the meantime, he has hatched a scheme that will see friends and families build their own raft for about $1,500.
“My buddy Gordon Lair and me bought the wood we needed, plus barrels and three small electric motors, for that sum and built a raft in about 12 hours,” said Kehoe.
The duo was planning to float their raft Sunday and make notes of materials and specifications for would-be raft builders.
“Gordon and I will happily give advice and maybe a bit of a helping hand,” said Kehoe. “Rafts are about five metres long and 2.5 metres wide. It’s important to have a place to build it, such as a large garage, a garden or land.”
The raft can be taken to the start of the race by trailer and it will be dropped into the water and removed by a commercial crane.
“Storage is another important factor,” said Kehoe. “Some have later used their raft as a lakeside dock while others have found a place to store it for use the following year.”
Prize money is awarded to various winners to donate to charity — admiral’s choice, $1,000; most innovative craft, $500; and best Canada 150 theme, $500. Winner of the Titanic award for sinking or mishap wins a plaque.
Prize money awarded to rafters includes best first-time entry, $250, and fastest two-person raft, $250.
All are welcome to a toonie pancake at the start and there is a participant’s barbecue at the finish near the Edmonton Queen.
A WINNING COMBINATION
Former Edmontonian Cliff Lede left his mammoth construction company Ledcor in 2002 to follow a dream of making worldclass Bordeaux-style wine.
Judging by how quickly tickets sold out when his Napa wines were paired with dishes created by Terwillegar’s Nineteen XIX Restaurant chef Andrew Fung last week, he succeeded.
“Interest in the wines is not surprising,” said Wade Brintnell, a distributor of Lede’s wines and owner of the Wine Cellar, 12421 102 Ave.
“In 11 vintages, Cliff was able to produce a 100-point Robert Parker (revered critic) wine. There are wineries in Napa which have been making wines for 70 years and have never had such a score.”
Lede’s son Jason Lede, with an MBA from the U of A, joined Lede Family Wines as sales manager in 2016 and said at the dinner their vineyards keep raising the bar on quality.
“Investing is paying off and we have launched other projects,” said Jason Lede, recounting his dad’s ventures.
Cliff Lede purchased 60 acres and a winery in Napa Valley’s eminent Stags Leap District in 2002.
He renamed and replanted the estate, hired the best-in-thebusiness staff and opened the luxurious five-bedroom Poetry Inn in 2005.
Lede bought a small winery in the Anderson Valley in 2009 and renamed it FEL Wines in homage to his late mother, Leducbased Florence Elsie Lede. She had dabbled in home wine making and provided early inspiration for her son’s love of wine.
Later, Lede acquired the Savoy Vineyard, a benchmark vineyard for Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
“My father is nearly 62, but he’s very young at heart and a fun guy to hang out with,” said Jason Lede, who learned about wine from stocking Wine Cellar shelves and taking care of restaurant and wholesale accounts.
“I took the summer off studies in 2007, worked one of the best seasons California has ever had and caught the wine bug.”
The dinner wine I liked best — the 2014 Cliff Lede Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, a true Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (89 per cent) and Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot ($109.95).
TWO FOR TENNIS
Waiting number 11,256 in line for Wimbledon tennis tickets Saturday was Edmonton’s Sandi Wright, a Royal Glenora Club board member and tennis player.
“I have been here 12 hours so far,” Wright messaged from London. “But there are people camping out for three nights to hopefully get centre court tickets for Monday.
Wright had planned to be in the U.K. last year for her master’s of science in health systems management graduation from the University of Liverpool.
“But I couldn’t get tickets for Wimbledon and decided to skip my grad and try again this year,” she said.
Wright was linked to the right person at Tennis Canada by the Royal Glenora Club’s Ryan Schroffel and she and her friend Nicole El Zahr acquired tickets for the women’s singles and men’s doubles semifinals.
“I’m hoping to see Roger Federer and his amazing backhand, as well as current No. 1 Angelique Kerber,” said Wright.
Wright got into Wimbledon just in time Saturday to see Federer qualify for his fourthround match Monday.