20 antiques, classics featured in boat show today in Penticton
With sunshine in the forecast for today, the Okanagan Antique and Classic Boat Society is happy to be returning to Penticton for its annual boat show.
The society’s most recent appearance in the Peach City was in 2009, and flooding last year prevented it from returning sooner.
Today, there will be 20 antique and classic boats at the Penticton Lakeside Resort’s docks for public viewing and appreciation.
Jim Cooper, the society’s director and boat show chairperson, as well as president of the SS Sicamous Society, will have his own boat in the water. A proud owner for 15 years, Cooper boasts what will be the oldest boat at the show. It’s a 1924.
“My first antique boat I bought in 1998. The first time I saw one of these boats, I was going to university in Toronto and I went to a boat show on the lakeshore in Toronto. This was in the late ’80s, and I said, ‘I gotta have one of those one day,’” he said. His 1924 boat is one of only six in the world. Antique boats are classified for their age prior to the Second World War. Classic boats are dated after 1945, and contemporary classic boats are those from the 1970s.
“We encourage not just wooden boats, but fibreglass ones too,” Cooper said.
He hopes the event will draw a large crowd and new members to the boat society.
Cooper said all boats in today’s show should be in the water before 10 a.m. The event will conclude at 5 p.m., but visitors who are unable to view the boats during the day are welcome to come in the evening as they will remain in the water.
At noon, there will be a parade down Lakeshore Drive, starting at the Lakeside Resort and concluding at the SS Sicamous.
Anyone interested in joining the Okanagan Antique and Classic Boat Society can find information about it at today’s show. As the only member in Penticton, Cooper hopes to find more volunteers for future events.