Barry was Commodore when I joined the club and I would see him regularly on the back of his big boat at the centre of the outside dock.
The last few years his boat has not been in its slip but I have had the pleasure of saying hello when he stopped by to visit. Barry did us the great service of taking charge and caring for the club for so many seasons.
Summer on the river in 2021 turned out to be a long warm season defined by the closing and opening of the locks at Lockport. With so little rain, the level of the river was consistently near normal and the river never did flow strongly. The lack of current added to the growth on ours boat hulls and the docks, so cleanup was a a bigger job than usual. Our new electric power washer helped with that.
The pandemic restrictions kept the clubhouse mostly closed but as the restrictions eased up people were able to meet on the docks and I hear there was some fairly regular barbecues on the weekends.
The lost revenue from being unable to rent out our space was lessened by income from a movie shoot on our site. The movie production painted the garage a green colour that has not been appreciated and there are plans to cover it up next year.
Movie production alters the look of our garage.
There are a few activities making use of our river access this winter as well. A curling tournament and a company that harvests ice will be using our ramp in the upcoming months.
Now that we are experiencing the joys of midwinter, I will post some more club history to get our thoughts back to summer on the river. The Winnipeg Free Press is searchable online for free if you have a library card and today I will share what I found from the first year of the club in 1956.
All the meetings were advertised the week before and welcomed all boating enthusiasts.
The club was active with the issues in the city pertaining to the river.
The club’s group activities made the newspaper.
The club sponsored a long distance swimmer and accompanied her from Grand Beach to Winnipeg Beach.
The club announced the annual general meeting and Al Brophy was kept on as Commodore. The ‘better facilities for bathing’ comment seems strange.
The Red River started into winter in a much different way this year compared to last. Last fall ended with extremely high water on the river that froze early and then fell through the winter as the water went down. This year once the locks were opened the river level quickly fell to near 0 ft James, which is normal for winter and 6 feet lower than the normal summer level. This and the lack of snow exposed the bottom section of our launching ramp and it did not look good.
It appeared that we were lucky there was no trouble with the process of pulling all the boats out this fall. So fixing the ramp moved to the top of our repair list, and the weather was cooperating. The decision to act was made quickly and we went from quotes, to work in progress, to complete in a matter of a few weeks.
Now that the concrete has hardened, it has been uncovered and we were able to get a few pictures before it gets covered up with snow.
The weather did not fully cooperate but over the last week it was good enough to get all the docks in the water. Thanks to all who helped and especially Chester for running the operation.
There are still some details to finish off but boats can get in the water and tie up as of tomorrow June 8th. The weather may not cooperate with that however.
By the end of the week the sun will be out and there may be a lineup at the launching pad. I for one am excited about another summer on the river.
The process of putting the Redboine Boating Club docks back in the water has begun. And to celebrate that, I will share the story of one dock in particular. Dock #1 is located at the east end of the row closest to shore and has a well engineered notch for one of the posts that hold the docks in place.
Last year ended with a sudden rise in the river due to record September rainfall and with the rush to get the boats and docks safely out of the water dock #1 was left chained to the post with only a corner of it visible above the surface. The river froze at a very high level and although attempts were made there was no chance to rescue the dock. It spent the winter in the ice.
Spring came and the ice broke up and more attempts were made to rescue the dock. It was tied to shore with a strong rope and plans were being made while the quite high spring flood was happening. The dock broke free of the ice, snapping the rope, and started floating down the river with the ice. Luckily it did not get far and was tied up to the shore just west of the club.
As the spring flood receded, dock #1 was brought to shore and included in the spring repair ritual. After much straightening and board replacement it was put back in the water, the first in, after being by far the last out.
This of course is only a small part of the story. If you want to hear of all the adventure and heroics I think Pat Bohme is the member to ask.
One more historical photo before boating season begins for 2020.
The year is 1960 and Ralph Miller (left) is presenting the clubs first lifetime membership to Chas Harvey who was the original secretary of the club and signed the first lease for the property. Ralph was the treasurer in those early years.
This photo would have been taken in the mid sixties in front of the new clubhouse. I will guess that that is the Commodore raising the triangular R flag. There is another photo that shows a large Canadian flag that was also flying on that pole.
Late in 1963 a building appropriate for use as a club house was found and a plan to acquire it was put in place.
A temporary office for the Toronto Dominion bank was available and the club raised the funds in part by selling shares to members. In the previous 3 years the membership had more than doubled to almost 200.
The share paid off by paying part of the membership fees over the next 7 years.
In December of 1958 the Redboine Boating Club signed a lease with the city of Winnipeg for land at the club site to build a ramp to improve the club members access to the river.
Redboine Boat Club 