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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-07-01, Page 180 Page 6A Times -Advocate, July 1, 1987 First is marked as fish boat is Iewnched =Mattis-complextion was grey with exhaustion -by seven. o'clock in The evening. He and his crew had been working since early Monday morning. as the huge flat bed truck inched its way out of the yard and down River Road with its precious cargo -the 78 foot fishing tug. The moment of launch had finally arrived. With a renewed surge of energy. Matt clambered up the side of the vessel and with two others of his crew rode the tug to the river's edge and gently into the water. His sister-in- law, Pat (Meloche) Green, crashed the bottle of champagne against the side, to the applause of an awed and appreciative crowd. There is a tradition of. fishermen building their own tugs but not too many have ever tried one of this calibre or size. In the memories of any residents involved in the fishing industry in Grand Bend, this project was a first time event, in the village. Almost five years ago, 27 year-old Matthew Miklovic, in partnership with his uncle Andrew Pucovsky decided they wanted another and a newer fish tug for their fleet. Matt, who had trained as a mechanic for large semi trucks,. but changed careers when he joined his uncle in the fishing business, decided to build the boat in his spare time. Five years later his dream became a reality. The familiar L & S tug tied up along the river . behind the retail store known as Fresh Lake Fish Market, is over 40 years old. It was purchased by Andy years ago, and no one seems to know what L & S stands for. The name never was changed apparent- ly because it is considered bad luck to do so. After weeks of- deliberation the new vessel is to be officially - registered as the M & A. There will be no doubt about the name on this tug M & A - Matt and Andy. After a week of painting and install- ing the radar and Loran C equipment the M & A set out Monday, June 29 on her maiden fishing expedition.. After deciding to build the tug in his own time, Matt found there were no stock blue prig's availahle to copy, so petted 90 to loo Ions. Then a steel the first -task -was -to -draw his-o-weldedte-t'he-undefstrue- After the sketches were put down on ture, and later attached to the flat paper, Matt sought the advice of bed. Shadd's experience with moving another legendary figure -around houses_ was adapted here to suit this Grand Bend, known as Skip. Together job. they calculated the displacement, the The first and only hitch in the whole location of the waterline, the height procession out the driveway, south on of the hull and general details. Hwy. 21 to River Road and down to -Then for several years a curious the docks was one of the shade trees sight could be observed by passers-by that had sheltered the skeleton for so as the vessel took on the appearance long. The tree had grown faster than of a second building of Noah's ark, the boat and limbs had to be am - beside the barn on the Pucovsky pro-' putated hurriedly as they pokedand perty on Highway 21, just north of scraped at the hull, the cab of the Oakwood. The skeleton lurked for semi, sliding sideways down the ages afloat among the trees and driveway slope, all the while. manicured lawns; then suddenly in Manouvering the great unwieldy the last 10 months emerged as the tug hulk expertly onto the highway, the M & A, Realizing that the final driver inched the cargo gingerly welding of the steel must be done by towards the river, accompanied by professionals, Brian Wilson, boat . two flashing OPP escort cruisers and builder and welder from Port Stanley with a P.U.C. truck at the ready. moved to the Bend full time to finish The trip was long and labourious, the job with Matt, Andy busied requiring constant watch for himself going on buying trips; seek- overhead wires and other obstacles. ing out propellers. windows and the For the hour and a half journey, crew best prices per pound for steel, members Remi Verhoeven and Peter. Meanwhile in the winter of 1985 Arsenault balanced atop the boat, lif- ting hydro wires with two by fours, and measuring .the width between trees or poles. As the big truck" - lumbered down River Road after a particularly tense few minutes turn- ing thecorner by Mac's Milk, a sense of giddy relief pervaded the air. Matt could be heard asking in jest if anyone could loan him the $3.00 needed to use the municipal launch ramp. At.four o'clock in the afternoon, the second act of the launching drama began. Two cranes were required to lift the tug into the river. the 100 ton, belonging to Joe Kiss from London, was positioned -to lift the stern while the 80 ton Falco Cranes from Sarnia took the bow. Securing chains, testing positions and measuring the lift and swing took hours, while the truck barely manag- ed to turn the load in the turning basin by the Harbour building. It was a driver's nightmare, not a three point. but a three hundred point turn. Even trickier was the tight squeeze bet - Matt 'obtained his Fishing Masters No. 4 -navigational papers in readiness to captain the new 75 -foot fishing tug. In overall length the boat is 78 feel from tip to tip and 22 -feet wide, but - the official keel registration is 75'. By comparison the L & S is 60 feet. To make room at the docks, the L & S will be moved to Bayfield where Matt and Andy also hold a licence to fish and operate the retail store called McLeods "Fishery, soon to be - re- named .Fresh Lake Fish Market, the same as the Grand Bend branch. In all, the -business supports 16 employees, in additon•to Matt's. fami- ly, Andy and his wife Jean. They work -in the retail stores. as. crew on the tugs and:as net stringers. Two days before the big move to the river, the driver of the flat bed semi, Kevin Shadd from Blenheim. arrived in Grand Bend and made prepara- tions. First the vessel was weighed. Much to 14Iatt's surprise it registerd only 55 tons, much•less than the ex - Commodore With the dark grey and white clouds scudding across the sky and the brisk south-west wind putting a chop on the ween the two small fish houses, as the iug- was backedlfiagonallyW' iL the two cranes! Observer Howie . Green (Mitt's brother in law sug- gested they had better grease the Sides of the boat to help it slip through the narrow opening. Finally the lift began. the air crackled with tension,. the crane engines roared, the chains clanged. Up. out over the river then slowly down, down into the water it went. Not a sound, not a splash, not even a ripple. She was launched at 6:50 p.m. Returning two hours later to the scene brought tears to the eyes. The - was stilr iffed`-6y cl'arte, obscenely exposing the underside. The boat leaked. Matt claims this was expected and was right there with the welders making repairs where need- ed until about 10:30 that night. Was it all worth it? Absolutely-. claimed the proud owner. The $11.000 for moving day was more than an- ticipated. The truck was $5500. the two cranes, ,running into overtime were over $5,000; then the OPP escort, and the P.U.C. time • and labour were added. In all Matt estimates he has invested a¢out t 22st0011-of hisown money; no loads or. mortgages. into the M & A. By tom. parison to a similar boat built at Wheatly last year at the cost of $500,000 Matt feels he saved about half the amount needed by doing it on his own. The money Invested is only the recordable part of the venture. The unseen investment is the excitement of accomplishment, the pride in his work and the enjoyment of his own luxurious fishing tug. It's a Grand Bend first. LIKE FISH OUT OF WATER — The usual postcard scene featuring the landmark Colonial Hotel on Main Street Grand Bend looked very different when Mott Nliklovic and partner Andy Pucovsky hauled their new fishing tug they built themselves, to the launching site in Grand Bend Harbour. —r ran and district news Connie Keyser - 2:38-269:1 Roberta Walker -. 2_38-247I Englert and crew «ipture water, the weather added a heighten= yacht race was off to a dramatic ed note of -excitement to the tension in the air. The "Grand -Bend 100" start. Forty-eight sail boats in seven dif- TO THE VICTORS - Club and the crew Two flags and a trophy went to Commodore Peter Englert of the Grand Bend Yacht of "Event Horizon". Crew member Wendy Richardson (left) holds the Lake Huron Yachting Association first place flag; skipper Peter Englert is congratulated by race chairman Don Pear- son; crew Cheryl Englert admires the Oakwood Inn Cup while Debby Stewart displays the Grand Bend Yacht Club first place flag in their racing class. Other crew members are Liam O'Connor and Glenna Mehagen. intrOMIMMOMINHIMM.-MMON‘WORMERNWNMAKW- terent classes, from four to nine en- trants•each (for the knowledgeable few who care. the classes were cruis- ing or PURE.' D, A. B, and C: MOR(' A and B: and IOR), readied - themselves dressed in colourful foul weather gear, -for the anticipated six- teen or more hours required to cover the race 100 statute mile in•length. There was a time limit of 30 hours after the starting gun to complete the run but first to arrive back in Grand Bend harbour at 2:56 a.m. Sunday morning was the "Scarlet Lady" from -Bayfield in under 15 hours. Due to a complicated mathematical- for- mula for handicapping, this was not the trophy winning yacht however. The course chosen this year for the first time in this 100 race took the boats south to Kettle Point marker, westward across the lake to Port Sanilac, north-east to Bayfield then south to Grand Bend. To the agree- ment of everyone concerned. the worst part of the journey was the 40 miles of beating up wind across the lake to Sanilac. The challenge was to tack constantly and still stay on the marker. These trying conditions were some of the reasons 10 yachts out of the 48 entered decided to drop out. Sometimes the sun was so bright most sailors finished sporting very sun burned faces: at other times they battled with winds•that ranged from zero to 45 knots. A few vessels had some damage to sails and'equipment. • Most admit to trying to catch a few hours sleep. but few succeeded. Exhausted but in subdued good spirits. the racers met at the Grand Bend Yacht clubhouse to hear the of- ficial results. congratulate the win- ners and receive awards presented by the race chairman Don Pearson. General agreement and -most often heard remark --'1t was a good race".. Pearson was pleased with the results, especially that there we -repo -protests registered that had to -be dealt with according to agreed yachting rules. This fleet of 48 entrants was. the largest -ever for the Grand Bend 100. The imposing Labatt 190 trophy. and • antique wood - spoked wheel mounted on a pedestal was awarded -to Candu from Sarnia Yacht Club. owned and skippered by Wendy Jar- vis and Spike Boston. The win in- dicates the best time of all the firsts in all the classes ,('andu was also first in the MOR(' 13 class r under 25 feel 1. Barely able to contain his pride.Commodore Peter Englert and the crew of Event Horizon received the Oakwood Inn award, a large silver (owl inscribed with each year's winning yacht name. This award is given to the best overall time. in all classes. of those who.are members of the Grand Bend Yacht Club. Englert 'and Liam O'Connor. with their crew Debby Stewart. Wendy Richardson. Glenna Mehagen and Cheryl Englert title also received two first place flags in their class from the Lake Huron Yachting Association and from the Grand Bend 100 committee. Their sailing time was ,twenty and a half hours. Quotes Englert and crew, "we were just practicing this trip, now we are ready for the Macinac.race, on -July 25 weekend. That's 258 miles, a three day race. of challenging racing with little time for sleep". The only real disappointment to an otherwise great sailing weekend was - the theft of the large banner strung across the G.B. Yacht Club building which read "Welcome Skippers to Grand Bend 100". The ('lub has gone to great care and . expense to make this event one that everyone in the village can enjoy. Hundreds of land -locked residents sauntered down River road just to en- joy the sight and sounds of a beautiful harbour full of activity - representing not only fun but hard work. This type of mindless vandalism in- volving the theft of a large and expen- sive banner to welcome visitors to the village of Grand Bend and the ac- tivities there can only harm the whole community. The Yacht Club asks that the ban- ner be returned. Let's find the banner and return Grand Bend to the stature of a great place to live: a place we can all be proud of. aa. .(sa;r/.o-, AUTAOMw4:r. < .. fay:&w '. i{'t',oe4Mtmaram'sfkwsfiwwwws<4mi � Good, sunny weather promotes Pkiyhouse sales The usually decorous Heather Redick, manager at Huron Country Playhouse, admits to bursting out in laughter at rehearsals for "Babes in Arms", the musical production at the Playhouse opening Tuesday. Ap- parently there are some hilariously comic moments, especially in the an- tics of Playhouse favorite Karen Scidmore, • Take a mixture of hummable songs by Rogers and Hart, choreography by another Playhouse perennial Glen Kotyk, mix it with some fine and fun- ny theatrics and the• results should make for a great summer evening of la going. play sales are booming for Babes In Arms, but good seats are still available" reports box office manager Kathy Schade. The house was reported about 60 percent sold by last weekend. About 20 percent of _ ticket sales is by subscription for each of the four main stage productions, the rest are sold individually at the box office. The weather has a lot do to with ad- vance sales explained Manager Redick. People relate to the rural set- ting of the Playhouse, and think about going to the theatre in good weather, but rainy days discourage sales. So far this June, records for sunny days have been set. In case the hot spell lasts all season, subscriptions will still be available for another month, until the end of the first run. The Playhouse board of directors, staff, and Artistic Director Steven Schipper have worked hard this past winter to give the audience a round- ed season of shows, ones which the variety people enjoy as well as ones the Playhouse can build in the given time, with the money and artists available. Corporate sponsorship has increas^ ed most satisfactorally this season ac - 1 cording to Redick and the new public relations and marketing director Vicki Mann. Some corporations that used to support the theatre in the past but not in recent years have once again returned to Playhouse backing with goods and services as well as money. Redick feels this is due primarily to the Liberal provincially administered program "Investment in the Arts". Matching government dollars with corporate sponsorship is a major encouragement for dona- tions. The incentive works both ways, then no one feels put upon for dole - outs. Many sponsors are expected to be on hand for the festivities of opening night July first. The list is impressive. In addition, people watching should be rewarded with a glimpse of dignitaries such as MP Murray Car- diff, MPP Dave Smith, or Agriculture Minister Jack and Anita Riddell. In true theatre tradition, the show must go on. Those "Babes In Arms" may show us how on the stage, but behind the scenes there would be no show without corporate, government and especially the ticket -buying public support. Huron Country Playhouse has it all. CW1, June Meeting The Catholic Women's League of immaculate Heart of Mary held their June meeting with a special mother - daughter -granddaughter pot. luck sup- per. There were 24 CWL members and at least 10 young ladies to enjoy the meal. Afterward, Father Robert Mor- rissey talked to the ladies about his new assignment in the Edmonton, Alberta mission area, and 'the ex- treme poverty of his new parishioners. - • Some of the wooden ehurches, ha ve no windows due to wood:rotted sills, some have dirt floors in the church 1. halls, two have no hydro, just wood stoves. A small house had to be brought in to replace -the crumbling, rat -infested rectory. He has volunteered to take on quite a job for the next three years, and the ladies wished him the best of luck. The CWL presented Father with a birthday gift and a check for $250.00 for the poor in his new parishes. Father thanked' all the ladies for their work over the past five years: two new vacuum cleaners, one for the church and one for the rectory; fram- ing the Stations of the Cross; the new drapery behind the Alter; the Church sign at the highway; half the•cost of ,the new hymnals; silk flower ar- rangements for the alter plus fresh flowers all summer, and a yearly donation to Development and Peace., Father suggested that, since the Pope has declared this to be a Mar- rian Year, our CWL undertake the re- paint the outdoor statue of Mary, to which everyone agreed as a good pro- ject. As a parting gesture, Father Morrissey donated the money for a raffle gift, a ghetto blaster radio, to be raffled at the CWL bazaar. • President Rose Vanbruene chaired the • business meeting. Four CWL members visited senior CWL member Mrs. Mommersteeg at the Forest Rest Home on June 4. So far, four members have volunteered to at- tend the National Convention in Lon- don in August. Roberta Walker will be representing the CWL at the Provin- cial Convention in Niagara Falls from July 7-9. Preparations were made to serve coffee and doughnuts after each Mass on June 27 and 28 for Father Morrissey's farewell party. The rest of the meeting was main- ly taken up with assigning various ladies to committees to handle the bazaar, for the penny table, bake sale and -vegetable table, craft table, fish pond, refreshments, raffles and garage sales, plus advertisingand pricing. in new business, member Margaret Brewer suggested several fund rais- ing ideas, such as a tupperware par- ty, a parish cook book, which could be printed at ARC industries, and pens imprinted with the CWL name. Most of these will have to be tabled until' after the bazaar and bake sales, for lack of time and money to pursue them at the present. The next meeting will be July 20 for all members. About town In Grand Cove Estates news, a quilt and two wicker chairs were raffled recently. The lottery license number for the quilt was number 563842 and for the chairs number 613756, all items made in Grand Cove. Ann "Cinderella" was happy to win the quilt; and Eira Duggan, Grand Bend, and Alf Potter from Ohio, who was visiting here, each won a hand woven chaise lounge. In news from the Sauble Court, the Sauble Tenants Association held their annual meeting with the election of of- ficers. The new executive consists of Dan Messeroll as president, John Brock as vice-president, Elva Turvey as treasurer, and Jeanne Kading as secretary. Mrs. Ella Bailey of Sauble Court has her daughter, Mrs. Sheila McGillvray from the Ottawa area visiting her this weekend. Mrs. Lenore Orr, area, Mrs. twit Nancarrow, Southcott Pines, Mrs. Blanche Waapole, and Mrs. June Carte, both of Kitchener, attended the Province of Ontario Senior Achieve- ment Awards, held at the Legislative Building, Queens Park, Toronto,an Tuesday evening June 23, 'at 6 p.m. when their sister, Mrs. Dorothea Knights, of Windsor received her 1987 Ontario Senior Achievement Award Twenty people in Ontario received awards. The ceremony was hosted by the Honourable Ron Van Ilorne. _ Minister of Senior Citizens Affairs. Master of ceremonies was Dr. Robert McClure, •and awards were presented by Honourable David Peterson. Premier of Ontario. A reception and lunch was hosted by Ron Van Ilorne in Room 281. in the Legislative Building. following the ceremony. music was provided by Ex Pipe Major Archibald Dewar, of 48th Highlanders of Canada. A number from Grand Bend and Grand Cove attended the Tri County Senior Games held at .Seaforlh last week. Representing Grand Bend Golden Age club. Mary Coxon and Catherine Junker won a bronze medal playing euchre. About 40 from (.rand Bend Cove participated in the games with Tom Ilindle winning a gold medal in table tennis. and Vern Allen and Mr. Hin- dle won a bronze in horseshoe pitching.' A "Come arxi Go" lea was held Sun- day afternoon in Sauble Court lounge for the upcoming 80th birthday of (toss Love. in July. Between 60 and 70 folks called from Dashwood, Exeter, Lucan and Parkhill. TICKET SALES BOOMING — Dispatching tickets with speed and o senile at Huron Country Playhouse are manager Kathy Schade; Tam my Mundt, for the second year; and first year trainee from Exeter, Lisa Blue. . Yy