New world record set
By Jason Lesley
jlesley@gtowntimes.com
Keith Singleton and Doug Dow bettered their own world record time in building a wooden skiff during the 19th Annual Georgetown Wooden Boat Show Saturday and won the Georgetown Challenge.
They built the 12-foot rowboat in 2 hours 22 minutes and 26 seconds. They set the record last year with a time of 2:27:33.
The competition was only part of the show that brought dozens of wooden boats and hundreds of visitors to Front Street and Georgetown Harbor.
Sally Mayse of Frogmore, who brought her 27-foot pocket cruiser "Perspective" to Harborwalk Marina for the weekend, said the Georgetown boat show was a hit despite cold, damp weather.
"It was wonderful," she said. "Everybody is friendly. There was stuff to see, stuff to do."
Boatbuilder Tom Lathrop of Oriental called the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show "the best one-day boat show around."
The highlight, as usual, was the rowing race on the Sampit River, the final leg in the Georgetown Challenge. Observers packed the Harborwalk to watch, and when Master of Ceremonies Rob Dwelley asked who was a first-timer about a third of the hands went up.
There were no man-overboard scenes as witnessed last year, but Dow did fall head over heels inside his boat before regaining his oars and completing the race.
Following Dow of James Island and Singleton of Daniel Island in the boatbuilding competition were top five:
Second place: Willie and James Murphy of Goose Creek; third: Skip and Casey White of Murrells Inlet; fourth: Ryan Schmeirer and Trey Tyson of Cape Fear Tech, Wilmington, N.C.; Dan Skerman and John Lammonds of Georgetown.
Awards were presented Saturday night to the following:
Rowboat: Ron Cockerham, Kernersville, N.C., "Heidi", plywood and mahogany.
Canoe-Kayak: Rusty Cooper, Moncks Corner, canoe.
Surfboard: Martin Gruber, mahogany and cypress.
Sailboat: Ken Johnstone, Mt. Pleasant, "Coquina", glued lapstrake wood.
Outboard power: Chip King, Morehead City, N.C., Albury Bros. Runabout.
Inboard power: Dick T. Newcomb, Georgetown, Pulsipher Hampton, oak frame and pine strip.
Classic sail: Fred Wichmann, Charleston, 1935 Herreschoff-Guilliford ketch.
Classic power: John Tinney, Wilmington, N.C., 1943 Core Sounder, juniper.
Owner design and built: Hank Bravo, Chapel Hill, N.C., 2007 outboard powered skiff, Okoume plywood.
Century Class: Russ and Barb Hicks, Eaton Rapids, Mich., 1911 Henry Rushton "American Beauty" canoe, cedar and canvas.
People's Choice: Carson Benton and Neal Swann, Myrtle Beach, 1900 13-foot sailboat.
Betsy Havens was recognized as the artist whose painting of the shrimp boat "Rock and Roll" was used for the show's poster.
Pete Peterson was winner of a rowboat.
: 10/21/2008
I have verified the information with woodenboatshow.com and made the correction. Thank you for the information - and congratulations!
: 10/20/2008
Great show, good story. However the time you reported on Doug and I is not correct. The correct time is 2 hours 22 minutes and 26 seconds. You can verify this at the press link at woodenboatshow.com Thanks