Number Boats Treasures of the Thousand Islands

摘要

It's always a thrill to learn something new about a familiar boat. On a windy, sunny day last summer in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River, I learned that to race a Number Boat, goggles are required. They're not needed for the wind-these semi-displacement launches are not fast by contemporary standards-but for the spray. Glancing left toward Hart Island off the village of Alexandria Bay, I saw a century-old boat, identical to the fiberglass-hulled reproduction I was driving, running smoothly along the placid inshore water, making for the island well in advance of me. Its two occupants seemed to be engrossed in conversation. I had stood off from the shore, hoping to pass delicately between a pair of tour boats and take the lead. As I rounded the island, the volume of water coming over the rail was such that I could barely catch a glimpse of the river in front of me once every few seconds. Even if I could make it through the cross-sea of wakes, the poor visibility would slow me down. Experience and local knowledge (and a windshield) were allowing Teddy McNally and the wooden-hulled NIGHT RIDER to get the better of me for the second race of our series.