Brothers Rob and Jes Bickhart stand in their family's 1922 Hackercraft Polly Ann, which won the Jim Bohn People's Choice Award at the 32nd Annual Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show Saturday, August 8, in Hessel.

The rain finally stopped just past noon. Dark clouds lingered in the sky and steady winds kissed the Hessel harbor, filled with wood boats that glisten as much under gray skies as they do in the sun. The morning downpour did hurt attendance at the 32nd Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show and Fetival of Arts, said Boat Show Committee Chair Barb Smith, but as the day opened up, it was just like old times, with some of the best antique boats in the country on display, ice cream and maple syrup, a midway of professional art, live music, pulled pork and whitefish sandwiches.

Hundreds of spectators attended the show early on, wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas to keep dry. Three hours of morning rain delayed performances by the Soo Swing Band and Soo Opera Theatre because they didn't want to get their equipment wet, Mrs. Smith said.

Crowds of people admire the 144 boats entered into the 32nd Annual Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of Arts Saturday, August 8.

Joe Eger of Eger Beaver Canvas was one of the many exhibitor tents set up in the Dockside Traders section of the show. He stood under his tent Saturday, August 8, as he watched show-goers run from tent to tent trying to stay as dry as possible.

"There were lots of people out here in the rain," he said. "It was unbelievable."

Once the rain stopped, people emerged from their shelters and descended to the boat show in droves.

They were greeted by members of

the Soo Opera Theatre group singing popular Broadway show tunes and opera over the marina's speaker system. The sounds of classic opera carried across the marina to set the tone for what would turn out to be a successful, albeit cold and damp, Les Cheneaux Islands boat show.

 

Bruce Ball of Cedarville unbuttoned the canvas cover on his 30- foot replica 1930 Hackercraft launch, Benchar, to sit inside the cockpit and have lunch. He has exhibited his boat in the show every year since he bought it in 1994.

Lori and Greg Schmidt with their 18-foot, 1918 Evinrude round-bottom canoe Bess at the 2009 Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show. The couple won the Frank Bronson Award for the best non-professional restoration.

"It's called a user boat. That's what the guys in the show call it," he said, "because this boat's in the water all summer. This is very low maintenance" because it's a replica boat.

To get Benchar ready for the show, he said he just gave it a good wash and drove it from his home on Island No. 8.

"It was beautiful this morning when the sun was coming up," he said. "As long as it clears up by the time I go home, it'll be OK. I've got 16 miles to travel."

When the performers from the Soo Opera Theatre group were finished, the Soo Swing Band picked up their instruments in front of the marina building to serenade the thousands of show attendants

as they walked through the gate into the show.

 

As they do every year, show attendees vote for their favorite boat to receive the Jim Bohn People's Choice Award. This year, Polly Ann of Les Cheneaux was selected to receive the award.

Lily, an 18-foot, 1952 Chris Craft utility owned by Chad and Andrea Durren of Three Rivers, floats in the Hessel Marina during the 32nd Annual Les Cheneaux Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of the Arts.

The boat is shared by the Bickhart and Berghausen families of Big LaSalle Island. Brothers Rob and Jes Bickhart spent two days cleaning, polishing, and preparing the boat for the show. All of their hard work paid off during the awards ceremony when they were announced as the people's choice winner.

"A lot of people from around here recognize the boat," Rob Bickhart said. "We have a lot of friends every year that come to the boat show. They all must have voted for us."

The 22-foot, 1922 Hackercraft spent the past winter at Tassier Boat Works in Cedarville being refinished, and the two brothers thought it was the perfect time to enter it into the boat show.

At left: Peg Sjoberg adjusts the hood of a raincoat she bought for her granddaughter, Hamilton Sjoberg, of Midland. Attendants of the 2009 Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show and Festival of the Arts were greeted with rain Saturday, August 8. The rain stopped around noon, but dark clouds and steady winds lingered throughout the remainder of the day.

Greg and Lori Schmidt of DeTour displayed their 16-foot, round-bottom, 1918 Evinrude Craft de Luxe canoe, Bess, on land near the entrance of the show. The couple has been coming to the show for about 20 years, but this is their first time ever displaying a boat. They said they are so pleased with the response from the crowd toward their boat that they are definitely coming back next year.

Bess won the Frank Bronson Award for the best non-professional restoration. Mr. Schmidt spent the past 10 months restoring the rare canoe.

"This is an extremely rare boat. There's only six or seven known," Mrs. Schmidt said. "It's put back exactly the way it was originally."

Jeff Rogers of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, which conducted the judging of the boats, said originality is the main thing they look for when inspecting boats.

"A lot of boats have a lot of use, and you can tell from the years of docking or banged up hoods if it's an original boat; that could win over a very shiny, brand new looking, and incorrect boat," he said. "Originality is key, but at the same time, well maintained, well restored, good craftsmanship is important, too."

More than 150 volunteers help all year long to organize the boat show, which benefits the Les Cheneaux Historical Society and its two museums. Mrs. Smith said the lower attendance at the show this year will affect how the Historical Society runs its operations throughout the coming year, but not by much.

"As a board, we'll have to watch it very closely. It's not as though we'll have to close the museums or anything like that," she said. "Our balance sheet is strong enough to handle this. We still will be able to staff the two museums."

Mrs. Smith said the total number of attendees is still being calculated, accounting for different adult and youth ticket prices, but total gate sales are down about 17% over last year. About 6,800 people attended the show last year. The drop in attendance can be attributed to the inclement weather, she said.

When the boats started docking in the Hessel Marina at 6:30 a.m., the sky was fairly clear. The show is held rain or shine.

"Rain or shine. If the winds were to come up, then we would move the awards ceremony up and start releasing boats, because we don't want any of the boats to get damaged, but they're pretty well tied up," she said. The day before the show had beautiful weather, she said. "We were off by one day."

Boat owners and spectators will return to the show next year owing to their admiration and appreciation for the antique boats. This year, 144 registered boats were displayed in the show.

Co-owners of the 19-foot, 1952 Chris Craft utility Timbertoes, Ron Snider and Gary Sonnenberg of Grosse Ile, brought their boat to the show for the third consecutive year. They said they like coming back to the Les Cheneaux show because of the friendly atmosphere and crowds.

"I like the camaraderie with all the people," Mr. Snider said. "This show has a lot more enthusiasm than others."