For many of us, the highlight of a cool, summer evening at Lake Tahoe is watching a classic wooden boat slowly cruise along the shore just as alpenglow reaches its peak.
Wooden boats remind us of simpler times when sunset cruises and unhurried days on the water were the plan for the day. Back when it wasn’t about how fast you went from place to place, but just being at this wonderful place, slowing down and enjoying life.
While classic wooden boats are now a rarity to be loved and cared for, every August you can still see lots of them lovingly shined up for your viewing pleasure at the Concours d’Elegance classic boat show in Carnelian Bay, now in its 41st year. People come from all over the world to be a part of one of the greatest gatherings of wood boats, and wooden boat aficionados, in North America.
Through ticket sales and sponsorships, the event raises money for maritime education through the Tahoe Yacht Foundation, with more than $200,000 raised since 1994.
Steven Lapkin | h20mark.com
Every year, a centerpiece of the boat show is the Marquee class, which is usually a boat manufacturer. Last year. it was the Riva class, and there was a tremendous gathering of these fine Italian boats at the show. This year, the marquee class is not a boat brand, but a boat collection: The elaborate collection of boats once owned by the late Alan Furth.
The Furth collection included 90 classic woodies, many of them exceptionally beautiful. The collection was not only substantial, but eclectic. He didn’t appear to have any grand plans with the collection, he just loved buying boats, and kept several Tahoe-area boat companies busy restoring more than 30 of them.
Before his death, Lake Tahoe was lucky enough to hold most of Furth’s boats, but when he died many of the boats were sold and spread throughout the country. This year, the effort is being made to bring back a hefty sampling of the Furth collection for a reunion on their former home turf. As well, the Tahoe Maritime Museum is hosting an online exhibit of Furth’s boats – “Alan Furth: A Man & His Boats” – at tahoemaritimefurth.webs.com.
Displaying your prized wooden boat at the Concours d’Elegance is not a frivolous activity. First, you have to obtain one of these rare mahogany beauties. For some, this means expensive and time-consuming maintenance of a family heirloom year after year, when it would certainly be easier and more financially remunerative to sell the boat to someone else and bounce across the water in a Tupperware boat instead. To others, it means coming up with the substantial sum of cash needed to purchase a fine craft that has already been lovingly restored or maintained. Then, there is the third option: finding a diamond in the rough at a reasonable price with tremendous potential … and spending an inordinate amount of time, money and energy to make that diamond shine. No matter which way you choose, it is never an easy or inexpensive endeavor.
Once your expensive hobby is in tip top shape, it’s time to go through an application process to see if your boat is worthy to be a part of the Concours d’Elegance. If approved, you then pay a rather hefty fee to compete against all of those other top-notch boats whose owners have been equally obsessive … um, dedicated … to produce a gleaming product of mahogany perfection.
Steven Lapkin | h20mark.com
The reward? Pride for doing a job well, and for a few lucky winners, their name on a trophy. The real reward for most, however, is the chance to spend time with other folks who are as fanatical about wooden boats as they are. For wooden boat owners connected to Lake Tahoe, the Concours d’Elegance is the social event of the season. And, the event is on for an entire week, not just the two days of the show.
There is an opening night dinner at the West Shore Café on Aug. 8, followed by exhibitors’ BBQ and Awards Ceremony on Aug. 9. On the 11th, there is a Ladies’ Luncheon and a Men’s Grill. The 12th brings the popular Woody Over the Bottom event at 9 a.m., in which the boats participate in a race and social event at Sugar Pine Point State Park. Over the bottom races happen on a pre-set course and at a specified speed. The winner is not the fastest, but the captain who can best control the speed of their boat and come closest to the estimated time. The event schedule winds up with Mahogany Magic, when everyone gets a chance to relive the Concours d’Elegance with a slide show.
Or, you can just do your socializing at the show. For the first time this year, a Wine Tasting Village will give boat lovers a chance to taste a variety of wines for $20 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Ticket sales are limited and each taster receives a commemorative toasting glass.
For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, visit laketahoeconcours.com.
Tim Hauserman wrote the guidebook to the Tahoe Rim Trail. While it is gone now, he has many fond memories of sunset cruises in the back of his Dad’s 1938 Minett-Shields “Woodmere.”
Photos: Top and main page photos by Tahoe TV
Aug. 8
Opening Night Dinner
6 p.m. | West Shore Café
$135
Aug. 9
Concours d’Elegance
10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | Sierra Boat Company
Advance $25 one day, $35 two days | $5 more at gate | Free younger than 12
Wine Village
11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | Sierra Boat Company
$20
Awards Barbecue
6 p.m. | Sierra Boat Company
$50 | $25 ages 6-12
Aug. 10
Concours d’Elegance
9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | Sierra Boat Company
Advance $25 one day, $35 two days | $5 more at gate | Free younger than 12
Wine Village
$11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | Sierra Boat Company
$20
Roar Off
4 p.m. | Sierra Boat Company
Aug. 11
Ladies Luncheon
11:30 a.m. | $60
Men’s Grill
Noon | $45
Aug. 12
Woody Over the Bottom
9 a.m. | Sugar Pine Point State Park
$125 per boat | $35 lunch
Aug. 13
Mahogany Magic
6:30 p.m. | $30
