They have been plucked, one by one, out of their marina berths and set on the gravel lot to wait out the winter under brightly coloured tarps. Others have been trailered and towed away.
The Barrie Marina, devoid of boats, is a lonely looking place now. Today, it is just a stopping place for ducks, geese and migrating cormorants.
The present-day city marina had its beginnings in 1962. Over the preceding few years, pleasure boating had risen in popularity by leaps and bounds. It was estimated that one in six families owned a watercraft of some sort and Barrie saw itself as the ideal destination for these weekend boaters.
That was 60 years ago.
Sixty years prior to that, the residents of Barrie had only been reading about fantastical and futuristic European experiments in boating. Local newspapers copied stories of motor canoes and automobile boats.
That a contraption such as this could appear in Barrie was a rather far-fetched notion. Of course, in 1902, Barrie residents had only recently glimpsed their first motor car.
By 1905, England had been hosting the Harmsworth Cup motor boat races for two years. The moneyed class spared no expense in having engineers and designers tweak their pricey toys to be the fastest on water.
That year, the Napoleon II, a 40-foot craft, won the cup by reaching a speed of 29 miles per hour. She was considered the fastest vessel of her size in the world.
Kempenfelt Bay has always been an ideal aquatic amphitheatre. The best, the brightest and the fastest usually appeared here eventually. In the 1870s, when Ned Hanlan was arguably the biggest celebrity athlete in Canada, he brought his scull-racing spectacle to Barrie.
In November 1905, the town of Barrie held a sporting day which consisted mainly of foot races, tugs-of-war and the like. However, the biggest draw by far was the novelty of a motor launch race.
Only four entrants competed that year as the motor boat still the plaything of the wealthy. Steamer Capt. O.H. Lyon, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Jackson and Dr. Wells took to the bay. Capt. Whish of the Gables had made it to the starting buoy too late to compete.
The course set was five and half miles long. It began at a buoy placed just opposite the Barrie railway station. Racers headed first to the Allandale station, then across to the iron bridge near present-day Johnson Beach, and back to the buoy.
The winner of that first motor boat race was Capt. Lyon, who recorded a time of 39 minutes. He was followed by Dr. Wells, who reached the finish in 42 minutes.
It could be said that 1908 was the year that it was realized that the motorized boat was here to stay. Mr. A.B. Thomas advertised that he could offer motor boat painting and engine repairs at his shop which was located next to the bay near the Barrie railway station.
Thomas later expanded his business to include the sale or rental of motor boats, but still retained some services of the past.
“Motor boats and engines repaired and painted. Horse clippers, knives and scissors ground and made as good as new. Light machinery repairing of all kinds.”
Over the years, boat speeds have increased and price tags have gotten much bigger, but boating on Kempenfelt Bay is as popular as it ever was.
Each week, the Barrie Historical Archive provides BarrieToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past. This unique column features photos and stories from years gone by and is sure to appeal to the historian in each of us.
