193 : Girl in a rowing boat in the middle of nowhere. So there are four potential themes for starters : girl, boat, middle and nowhere.
I went through all our family photos and could not come up with anything for this topic. I remembered that in June we had attended the Tall Ships Festival at Queen's Quay and there had been a display of old photos depicting Toronto's waterfront. It is on until September 2.
Before 1917, Toronto Harbour often froze over. Torontonians used this wide stretch of ice for skating parties, hockey games, curling matches as well as the popular winter sport, ice yachting.
Archival photographs show Toronto Bay filled with the canvas sails of iceboats, the slender wooden vessels gliding over the ice on steel runners. Iceboat races and regattas were also common, often drawing huge crowds. They also had their practical uses, moving people and goods to the islands as there was no ferry service in the winter.
The relocation of the Western Gap in 1917 altered the currents in the bay resulting in less ice, so that by the 1920s it was no longer safe for winter sports.
Iceboats on Toronto Bay
ca. 1908
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1244, Item 444a
ca. 1908
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1244, Item 444a
Iceboat and motorcycle race, Toronto Bay
ca. 1908
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1244, Item 450
ca. 1908
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1244, Item 450
The photo of the flying iceboat puts me in mind of my husband sailing our Hobie Cat (when we had one) He loved to fly on one hull - when he could find the wind to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for the archives! That first shot matches the theme perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for archives. That first picture is a perfect match.
ReplyDeleteThe iceboat looks like it has a big advantage over a motorcycle on the ice.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of iceboats until this post. Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteIceboats. Great. Youv'e managed to come up with something quite different which is nice. !
ReplyDeleteLiving in Sydney where our winter temps have been around 20oC this year, it's hard to imagine having ice enough in a city to have boats and motor bikes race on it! Brrrr!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics. I am a sucker for the courtship pictures, a guy and a gal and a boat! But must say my heart thrills to the ice boat photo.
ReplyDeleteI could just about manage to stand up on the ice, but i'd leave the iceboat to others.
ReplyDeleteThat ice boat reminds me of the sail boats that are used in the desert in certain places in California. Areas that are flat as a pancake where "sailors" can go like crazy when the wind is just right.
ReplyDeleteThat first picture is great,
ReplyDeletebut the iceboat steals the show!!!
Nice to have those archives around,
aren't they!?!
:D~
HUGZ
Iceboat?? YIKES!
ReplyDelete