Mahogany and Merlot….a Return To The Past and a Toast to the Present

by Dennis Rahm, classic hydro photos courtesy of Bob Buhl (B&W) & Mark Lippencott (color)

One of Lake Chelan’s most popular fall weekends is coming up as the community gets ready to embrace a glorious history of boating at the 9th annual Mahogany and Merlot. The event brings vintage Unlimited and Limited class hydroplanes, antique and classic mahogany runabouts and a car show.

Phil Moller of the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce says the official activities begin with a Friday night downtown display of boats and cars in addition to a street dance. Boats and cars will be displayed on Woodin Avenue in the downtown core from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. The street dance — with music by the Superchargers — will go from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. at the intersection of Woodin Avenue and Emerson Street.

David Williams, the Executive Director of the Hydroplane and Race boat museum in Kent, says 10 of the most recognizable boats in the history of unlimited racing will be in Chelan for the weekend. He said “we have a lot of old and expensive mahogany coming your way this weekend”.

Williams goes on to say he’s not aware of a bigger race boat show anywhere on the West Coast.

This year’s lineup of boats will include 10 of the unlimited class, including such well-known thunder boats as Miss Thriftway, Miss Bardahl, Budweiser, and Pay N Pak. There will also be 24 Limited Class hydroplanes and three outboard hydros, in addition to 20 or more classic wood boat runabouts.

Four of the unlimited boats making the visit to Chelan raced competitively on the lake during the Apple Cup Regatta races from 1957 to 1960. These boats are the 1955 Miss Thriftway, the 1956 Miss Wahoo, 1957 Miss US-4 and the 1958 Miss Bardahl.

New this year is the Mahogany and Merlot Winery Shuttle to the tasting rooms in downtown Manson. The shuttle will operate Saturday from the Don Morse Park parking area in Chelan with the first trip at 10:30 a.m. and the final return trip from Manson at 5:00 p.m.

The popular Mahogany Row at the City Marina will also take place on Saturday with an on-the-water showing of classic wood boats such as Chris Craft and Garwood. Saturday also features a vendor village at the park as well as a classic car show.

Tune in to this week’s episode of Making Waves for an interview with Hydro Museum Executive Director, David Williams.

For more information about this event, visit the Chamber website.