PERFECT END

This was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. After time relaxing at a cottage, followed by a concert, the boys wanted to stop at the wharf, one of their favourite places, to visit the ships. They were disappointed to find the Segwun missing but while we watched the sunset they heard its familiar whistle and soon their ship came in.

BOATHOUSE ROW

A panoramic shot was necessary to capture this row of boathouses, made up from single level tinnies, behind the Residence Inn. Due to their delapidated appearance they are considered an eyesore to the new Muskoka Wharf development, however a subsidized renovation proposal has, like my son Stirling, caused ripples, among the locals.

REFLECTIONS

The following morning dawned clear and hot, allowing me to get this glowing reflection of the Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre, adjacent to the Residence Inn. The museum, built like a reflection of earlier boathouses, features in addition to its permanent exhibits, several antique boats that owners are proud to display on a rotational basis.

FIERY ENDS

A fiery sunset brings the evening to a close over the boats and the row of boathouses behind the Residence Inn. It is also the resting place of the Sagamo, Muskoka's largest steamship whose years of service came to a fiery end in 1969, its twisted steel hull partially exposed among the concrete debris and foliage in the foreground.

SIBLINGS

I had my boys join me for the weekend and stayed in Gravenhurst at the Residence Inn. In the morning they reneged on their decision to accompany me while I slipped out in the early morning mist to visit and photograph another set of siblings, the Segwun, North America's oldest operating steamship, and the Wenonah II, a modern replica.

MUSKOKA WHARFARE

A model German U-Boat surfaces in Muskoka Bay, the rocky point in the distance the former site of a PoW camp, where ironically during WWII some submarine crew were interned. Norwegian pilots training at Little Norway used to fly over and drop potatoes at the PoWs' and occasionally practised divebombing and strafing runs on the Segwun.

WOOD & WATER

I consider this my Study for Wood & Water, not only as it resembles a painting but also because its details remain incomplete. Each time I visit the wharf I am always drawn to this wood boathouse with its chair, but know nothing about it except that a Sea Ray boat named Sand Bank berths there, and that I wish I could learn more about it.

CLASSIC CARS

The second day of the show featured "glassic" boats, a variety of fiberglass ones with and without fins, classic cars and combinations, such as this AmpFicar that attracted a lot of attention when it began cruising around the bay, and raised a lot of questions, including: "Do they also require a Pleasure Craft Operator's Card now to drive that?"

WOODEN BOATS

Gravenhurst hosted the 30th annual Antique & Classic Boat Show
and as this event spanned all weekend the first day was devoted to wooden boats. The selection was varied with their manufacturers, ages and lengths, their varnished surfaces reflecting the sky and polished hardware, such as this Minett-Shields Gentleman's Racer.

LOOKING-GLASS

A view of Muskoka Bay through a frosted window below deck on the Wanda III. Although the image appears backwards from being taken inside, I felt it was appropriate as being on board was like taking a trip backwards through time to 1915, when she was commissioned by Lady Eaton and was the fastest steam yacht to cruise the lakes.

SPRING EQUINOX

Winter has officially surrendered to spring and released the Segwun, North America's oldest operating steamship, named for the Ojibwa word for springtime. Many of the lakes have moats of open water separating the shoreline from the receding and deteriorating ice, conditions now deemed unsafe to travel on except with an airboat.

FLY IN, TAKE OUT

The sister ships, the Segwun and Wenonah II, are flanked by an identical pair of Advanced Ultralights that flew in to catch some of the excitement of the pond hockey and curling competitions that were underway, and in turn generated their own excitement. One pilot is known to fly in frequently to pick up his Boston Pizza order!