Boats ready to line Sydenham River during WAMBO 27

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Boats are expected to line the Sydenham River this weekend in Wallaceburg, carrying on an annual WAMBO tradition.

Paul Dineno, the organizer of the boats at WAMBO 27, said they are hoping for bigger numbers this year.

“As far as the antique boats are, they tend to be really late,” Dineno said. “We maybe have a half a dozen of them that I am aware of at this point in time. A lot of them just appear on the Friday afternoon. Weather is also an issue but I expect that we will have a better turn out than last year. Last year we had about 50 to 60 boats, so I’m hoping that this year will be even better.”

Dineno said there is a registration fee.

“The seawall in Wallaceburg is free at any time except for WAMBO when we are allowed to charge. Those funds go right back into the WAMBO fund and we use that to help keep it going. In past years it was $50 for the weekend. This year we reduced it to $25. I am hoping that will spur a little more interest,” he said.

“We have a couple coming out of the United States that we are aware of at this point. One from Ohio on the south side of Lake Erie and two or three out of Michigan right now. I guess that maximum distance as of right now would be in the neighbourhood of 50 to 60 nautical miles.”

Dineno said they have changed the categories up from previous years.

“There were almost as many trophies as there were boats. We’ve have narrowed it down to six trophies. There will be one for the best Chris Craft of course, given the area that we are in. There is a People’s Choice Award. There is The Chairman’s Cup, which is effectively the Best in Show. There is one for the oldest boat and there are two others that are not earmarked for anything. They are kind of at my discretion,” he said.

“What I did last year was I actually grabbed one of the spectators and asked him to walk around with me and really put him on the spot. That worked out really good. It gets people involved that wouldn’t normally be involved, so I am going to do the same thing again this year. One other one is usually for the best Outdoor Powered. That was split last year between two. One of them was a young fellow, I think he was 15 or 16 years old. He just heard about it and brought over this rather old wooden early 50’s outdoor powered boat . That was a pretty little boat itself and he was just ecstatic. So I suspect he will be back.”

Dineno said everything is weather contingent.

“I have several more volunteers than last year to assist with docking. We are hoping that the southside of the area, east of the walking bridge will also be occupied. I am planning on putting all of the water boats on that side and the cruisers on the other side. Some part of that area will be taken up for the staging of the cardboard races and the inner tube races. That is new this year. They are always interesting to watch especially the cardboard one. There is about 600 feet on that sea wall so there is lots of space,” he said.

“We hope to get as many people out as possible. It’s always a good time. I have been to WAMBO several times but just as a spectator. My wife and I are new to this area. We have been here about three years now. We are from the Toronto area and when we retired we sold our house and moved here. We actually live on our boat which is unique.”

For more information about the 27th annual Wallaceburg Antique Motor and Boat Outing, visit their website here.

Watch for more WAMBO stories all week long.


This article is sponsored content and is a part of our “Keep It Local Business Spotlight” feature. Contact Dana Haggith for more information – 519-784-4610 or dana@sydenhamcurrent.ca.

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