Canoe Cove Rendezvous
Sept 26, 2019
Canoe Cove Association members, the proud owners of boats manufactured by Canoe Cove Manufacturing in Sidney, BC held their annual rendezvous at the Ladysmith Community Marina from the 23rd to the 25th of August this year.
Canoe Cove 53
The facility is an excellent one with a large covered outdoor eating area, a small café and lounge and a long straight dock so all the boats could be seen on one dock. It is also the home of the Ladysmith Maritime Society which operates a small but very good museum. They have some restored wooden boats on display and are always happy to talk boating. Ladysmith a short walk away, is a great small town with interesting shops, including a very good grocery store, a Home Hardware, an amazing bakery and Bouma Meats, who have supplied the beef and chicken for this and last year’s Rendezvous, are also here.
Our Canoe Cove original sign is once again displayed
“Friday the 23rd, the boats started to arrive and by Friday evening we had 15 boats and about 35 people on site. We had our usual Friday afternoon social hours with lots of appetizers so everyone had the opportunity to renew old friendships and meet some new members. Some members had never been here before and were surprised at what the facility had to offer. We were already receiving positive feedback” said Gary Russell.
The attending boats were: Aqua Miss, Aquileia, Encanto, Encore II, Evensong, Gulf Return, Hot Toddy, Island Dreamer, Minty, Private Affair, Skoots, Tanoosh, The Shop Boat, Timeless, White Pearl.
“Saturday the 24th was boat visiting day and most members took advantage of that to see what the other boats had to offer. As usual, some of the newer members were amazed at how each boat was different inside while looking the same outside. Mid-afternoon there was the “Tech” session where we got together to discuss problems, ask questions. This went over well again this year. Steve Phillips was not there as he and Jaye had been delayed but he agreed to a Q & A session on Sunday morning, which was also well attended.”
Canoe Cove 41
“This year we obtained two new members, Brian and Kim Armstrong and Tony Silver. Brian and Kim have their boat, Sunquest a 41’ Coho, at Ladysmith Marina so they just walked up and joined. Tony is from Maple Bay and drove up to see the boats. Alan Brown, a member from Portland, Ore, also drove up for the event.”
“Around 4 PM on Saturday members assembled for drinks and a short business meeting, door prizes and then the semi potluck dinner where the Association supplies the meat and the members bring various dishes to go with it. Bouma Meats delivered the prime rib roast and rotisserie chicken right on time. The meat was done to perfection. There was barely a scrap left as most members went back for seconds. The café, which is open to 8:00pm supplied coffee, or tea so all we had to do was take our cup into the café and they filled it up. This was a lot better than providing coffee ourselves as everyone could order what he or she wanted”
Prime rib roast and rotisserie chicken
“Thanks go to; Al Crompton for arranging the meat, M L and Ken for looking after the door prizes, Maribel for making the fabulous deserts, Catherine and M L for check-in, and Lori for regalia sales along with Al” said Gary Russell.”
“After dinner, there were draws for the 3 main prizes, one of which was a beautiful afghan made by Nicki Poburko. Members were asked about next year, and there was a resounding response with everyone voting to come back to Ladysmith as they had had such a good time. So, we booked it! This year we also took preregistration and we had 14 boats signed up. Since the Rendezvous we have had 3 more for a total of 17 boats for next year” said Gary.
“Thanks go to; Al Crompton for arranging the meat, M L and Ken for looking after the door prizes, Maribel for making the fabulous deserts, Catherine and M L for check-in, and Lori for regalia sales along with Al.”
“After dinner, we had draws for the 3 main prizes, one of which was a beautiful afghan made by Nicki Poburko. We also asked the members about next year, and there was a resounding response with everyone voting to come back to Ladysmith as they had had such a good time. So, we booked it! This year we also took preregistration and we had 14 boats signed up. Since the Rendezvous we have had 3 more for a total of 17 boats for next year.”
Goodbyes
“On Sunday We said our goodbyes and most left at about 11:00am, which was checkout time. However, many stayed as the Gulf was not good. The idea was that Monday would be better – it was but not much. Thursday was the next window and some of us stayed until then. At $1.10/ft. the moorage charge is hard to beat and it is a great place to hang out. Thursday turned out to be perfect and we had a virtually flat crossing of the Gulf.”
Rendezvous 2020 will be at little later as Labour Day is later and we are always the weekend before Labour Day so it will be Aug. 27-30. Note we are including Thursday next year.
– Article provided by Gary Russell, Canoe Cove Association member.
