Boat House

The only word that comes to mind to describe this show is elegant. The show is located in the harbor directly in front of the historic Empress Hotel. Victoria is the center of government for the Province of British Columbia, so in addition to the Empress, the harbor is also surrounded by the Parliament buildings, which are beautifully lit at night. Everywhere you look the city is festooned with beautiful flowers.

Victoria Harbor is a visual delight with a myriad of various activities going on at all times, ranging from the arrival and departure of float planes, car carrying ferry boats, 20 passenger whale watching inflatables, schooners filled to the gunwhales with tourists, tiny tug-type ferry water taxis, in addition to every possible form of street performers. One can hear a concert violinist, a steel drum band, a bagpiper, and see jugglers performing atop unicycles. All of the above can be viewed from any one point along the great wall that fronts the Empress Hotel or the Milestone café which offers your favorite beverage in a fishbowl.

The Victoria Boat Festival is different from most shows in that it is sponsored by the Victoria Real Estate Board and the local newspaper, the Times Colonist, and not a local ACBS Chapter. This show is unique in other ways as well in that nary a Chris Craft, Century, Gar wood or Hacker was to be found. In the total registration of 82 boats, runabouts were represented by one registrant, a 1936 Swiss Craft sporting a 4 cylinder Kermath engine and built entirely of Douglas Fir and Oak and finished natural.

In the Power category, boats were entered, ranging in length from 18 to 85 feet. Vintages ranged from the early to the, with the majority of the boats from the 30's. While most of these boats were built by private yards, there were a number of vintage cruisers built by Stephens and Grandy. Also in the Power category were a number of tug boats that had been retired from active service and were restored as private yachts