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Boating for Recreation:
A Brief History

Boating for Recreation on Georgian Bay and beyond had an early start once settlement began in the region. As early as the 1850s pleasure crafts were popular.

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In the summertime, the Georgian Bay region welcomes visitors from all over the world. They come here to enjoy the warm sands of the many beaches, fishing, golf, or just to enjoy the scenery. After all, on the Bruce Peninsula one can wake up to a glorious Georgian Bay sunrise, and later in the day travel a short distance to the west and enjoy a romantic Lake Huron sunset!

While all oi these reasons are a good reason to visit the Grey and Bruce region, many more visitors and residents alike choose to enjoy many of these pastimes while boating for recreation. A visit to the yacht clubs in Owen Sound and Wiarton, or a dockside stroll in Tobermory or Southampton illustrates that the recreational vessels which ply the waters in this region come in many shapes and sizes.

On a trip along the shoreline of either side of the peninsula, one can see people enjoying sailing or fishing in vessels from the smallest rowboat and colorful sailboats to majestic yachts. Some of the larger boats have the name of their home painted on their stern. On any given day, one can see vessels which have sailed from such distant locales as Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago. Perhaps the yacht which came from the furthest point to sail on Georgian Bay was the Royal Yacht Britannia, when Queen Elizabeth sailed the Great Lakes, including Georgian Bay, on her Royal visit in 1959.

Water transportation was an important factor in the settlement and development of this region. Due to difficult land travel, the early settlers found it easier to travel to and from the area by water. Therefore, it is not surprising that boating for recreational purposes became a popular pastime shortly after the first settlers arrived. Due to the fact that there was not a local newspaper in the area until the Comet began publishing in 1851 in the community that would soon be called Owen Sound, and the fact that few diaries or journals exist from the early years in this community, it is difficult to know when recreational boating actually began in the Owen Sound region. However, we do know from existing copies of early newspapers that in the 1850s there were many regattas held here.

Boating for recreation continued to grow in popularity and as advances in industrialism created personal wealth, and more leisure time, the number of private vessels sailing for pleasure increased dramatically.

A familiar vessel plying the local waterways was the Mizpah, whose home port was Meaford. This sturdy vessel was capable of challenging Georgian Bay into the late fall. Consequently, its owner used it to take hunting parties to the North Shore in October and November when Georgian Bay can be particularly nasty to unwary sailors.

As the number of pleasure craft increased so did the variety of shapes and sizes. As personal wealth increased more money was spent on vessels. In fact, some of the early yachts were small palaces. One of the earliest luxury yachts was probably the Skylark. Owned by Arthur Dodge of the Georgian Bay Lumber Company, the Skylark was "as perfect and as handsome a craft as sails anywhere on Canadian waters."

Today, corporations use recreational "perks" to entice prospective clients or reward valued customers. They offer tickets to sporting events, trips, and other incentives to help secure business. This is not a new phenomenon. Around 1900, the Canadian Iron Furnace Company of Midland used their steam yacht, Voyageur, to take prospective customers and clients on tours around Georgian Bay. The Voyageur was outfitted in a majestic manner. It had overnight accommodations for 15 passengers.

Georgian Bay's scenic vistas and challenging waters have long been an attraction to local residents and tourists from around the globe. It's just another good reason why so many visitors are envious of those of us who call the Grey and Bruce region our home.

Most of the information used in this article came from A Maritime History of Georgian Bay by Larry Turner and Paul White.

A version of "Boating for Recreation: A Brief History" originally appeared in my Local History column in the July 3, 1998 edition of the Owen Sound Sun Times.