Classic boats draw big crowds at annual show

COOK- The docks at The Landing on Lake Vermilion were crowded with people on Sunday as they surveyed the entries in the 32nd annual Lake Vermilion Antique and Classic Boat Show.
“The turnout seemed to be really good,” said Sandy Jackson, one of the event’s organizers. “It helps when it’s not 95 degrees.”
The Captain’s Choice award winner was a 22-foot 1948 Hacker-Craft named “Miss Minnesota” from Lake Minnetonka, owned by Steve and Nancy Shoop. Jackson provided a bit of history about the boat.
“It was one of four transport boats to Big Island (on Lake Minnetonka) for the Excelsior amusement park,” Jackson said. “Steve found it in a gas station garage in Excelsior. It had been sitting there for years and he offered the guy some money and got the boat.”
The People’s Choice award went to “Swan Song,” a 1938 Chris-Craft custom runabout owned by Terry Hurley.
The show, sponsored by Land-O-Lakes Classic Boat Club, also serves as a benefit for the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade and the Vermilion Lake Association. Jackson said they were able to present $2,000 checks to each organization from the proceeds of this year’s show.