Gravenhurst names July 9th, 2011
Miss Canada IV Day
Miss Canada IV is leaving Ingersoll and returning to Muskoka, and there's a party or two being thrown in her honor. She'd love to see you at one... or both!
Saturday, June 25th - Ingersoll, Ontario
The delicate and fascinating work of removing Miss Canada IV from Ingersoll's Cheese and Agricultural Museum begins at 8 am. A BBQ lunch and official departure ceremony at the Museum grounds will follow; at 1:00 pm, Ingersoll's internationally famous pipe band will parade Miss Canada IV down Thames Street before the town waves farewell to her as she heads up the highway. She will arrive in Muskoka later that day where she will be housed until her Gravenhurst party.
Saturday, July 9th - Gravenhurst, Ontario
The Town of Gravenhurst is hosting a Welcome Home event on Saturday, July 9th at 1:30pm. Fittingly, this is also the date of the 31st annual Antique & Classic Boat Show. Miss Canada IV will be escorted down Bay Street past the Show to the Muskoka Boat and Heritage Centre just a hundred yards away... a perfect location! Formal ceremonies staged outside the museum will be followed by a reception. In between, the grand old lady invites you step up and get acquainted before she heads off for her 12-month "make-over".
You are invited to join us at these events. Please take a look at the attached announcement and contact me if you have any questions.
Welcome Home Event at
The Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre at 1:30pm, July 9th, 2011
Miss Canada IV was built by the Greavette Boatworks in the winter of 1948 – 1949 by Ernest Wilson to represent Canada as the challenger for the Harmsworth Trophy; the absolute worldwide supremacy in boat racing.
The boat, a two step hydroplane, is 33 ft long and 10 ft wide was powered by a Rolls - Royce Griffon 3,000 h.p. engine.
Miss Canada IV challenged for the Harmsworth Trophy twice; in 1949 and 1950. The pre race favorite on both sides of the boarder, the boat failed to win either race with propeller problems in the first and steering failure in the second attempt.
In August of 1950 the Wilson Racing Team attempted to break the World Water Speed record of 143 mph in Picton. Miss Canada IV completed the first lap at over 173mph. On the required return run at close to 200 mph the transmission failed. The boat coasted to a stop within a few 100 yds of the finish line.
The World Water Speed attempt was the end of Harold’s racing career. In his book “Boats Unlimited” published in 1990 by Boston Mills, Harold said’ “My first race was in 1927 and my last was in 1950. I had won three World Championships and set two speed records, one North American and one World Record. I had been made a member of the Gulf Marine Hall of Fame – the only Canadian, I believe, to be so honored. A few years after my retirement, I was greatly honored by being made an Honored Member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame”.
The Wilsons racing career brought world wide fame to both Ingersoll, where the family owned the Ingersoll Machine & Tool Company and to Gravenhurst where they have cottaged since 1925. Why they came to Muskoka is another story; you will need to wait until the summer of 2012 to learn the answer at a world premier of the two part television docudrama, “Harold & Lorna” at the Gravenhurst Opera House.
Miss Canada IV has been acquired from the Ingersoll Cheese & Agricultural Museum by Mr. Bobby Genovese of Lake Rosseau. The boat is leaving Ingersoll on June 25th and returning to Muskoka for restoration after an absence of sixty one years. The boat will be an actor in the closing scenes of “Harold & Lorna”.
The Miss Canada IV Restoration Team has worked with Amy Taylor and Amanda Lomas to plan a “Welcome Home” event hosted by the Town during the Antique & Classic Boat show on July 9th at 1:30pm in front of the Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre.
An exciting event for town residents is planned. Guest will include council members and staff from both Ingersoll and Gravenhurst. The boat will be paraded down Bay Street, past the Antique and Classic Boat Show, by the police and fire departments to the Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre.
Speeches by the Mayor of Gravenhurst, the Mayor of Ingersoll or his designate and by Mr. Genovese to welcome the boat home are planned, followed by a reception for guests and attendees.