Georgetown Wooden Boat Show Draws Huge Turnout
By Christina Knauss
Florence resident Asa Godbold's journey to the Wooden Boat Show in Georgetown took four years. For three years, he worked to restore and rebuild a 1949 17-foot deluxe runabout he'd bought at an auction in Columbia.
In 2008, he planned to display the boat at the show, but downpours kept him home where his years of work would be shielded from the weather.
This year, however, on Oct. 17, the roundabout finally made it to the Georgetown waterfront for display at the 20th annual show, and Godbold ended up winning big. Not only did he take home the prize in his division, but he also won the show's annual People's Choice Award.
"I was hoping beyond all hope that I would at least win my class, and winning the people's choice made everything even more wonderful," Godbold said after the show.
Godbold, a contractor by trade who also restores old Army Jeeps, said he has been doing woodwork all his life, and built small fishing boats for his uncle and some friends during high school. He later moved on to building other small boats, but had always wanted to restore an old boat. The roundabout fulfilled his dream.
From power boats to runabouts like Godbold's'skiffs, kayaks and surfboards ... if it was made of wood and could float, it was on display at the show.
This year's sunny, relatively warm weather drew the event's largest crowds in memory, officials said, and the biggest number of boats on display with more than 100 wooden boats on display along the waterfront and Front Street.
"There were huge crowds out, the largest we've ever seen," said Georgetown resident Jan Lame, who was one of the organizers. "We got people displaying from Ohio, West Virginia, Florida, a lot of different places. We were excited because with the economy down and for it to be the 20th year, it was great to see such a turnout."
Activities during the day-long event included displays of maritime arts and crafts, canoe carving by a craftsman named "Tiny Tim," live music, children's model boatbuilding, and the National Boatbuilding Challenge. Two-man teams worked together to build a rowing skiff in four hours, and then tested the boats in a rowing relay across the nearby Sampit River. which culminated in a race. Skip and Casey White of Murrells Inlet won the national rowing championship in 3:52:02.
The Whites and the second and third place finishers are now eligible to compete in the 2010 National Boatbuilding Championship.
Godbold said he probably won't restore another boat for a while, but the Georgetown wooden boat show was the ideal venue for anyone interested in the art of wooden boat-building or boating in general.
"I just loved the Georgetown show," he said. "There were beautiful boats on display in a great atmosphere, not a killer-type atmosphere. There was great competition, but it wasn't cutthroat."
Wooden boat exhibit category winners were:
Rowboat - Mason Cox, Morehead City, N.C.; Canoe and Kayak - Alan Gearhart of Belpre, Ohio for kayak and Lee Morgan of Gaithersburg, Md., for his 13' Lee Morgan canoe; Surfboard - James Noland of Charleston; Sail - Stephen D. LeQuire of Kure Beach, N.C. for his 2009 24' Sharptown barge; Outboard power - Bill McLean of Rowland, N.C.; Inboard power - Mike Brooks of Kinston, N.C.; Classic Sail - Sam Albergotti of Anderson; Classic power - Asa S. Godbold; Owner designed and built - Jim Warren of Myrtle Beach, for his 16'2" five liter vintage hydroplane; Century Class - Dr. Michael Grace, West Melbourne, Fla., 1878 14'5" Stephens double-masted canoe.
Other winners included:
Georgetown Boat Building Challenge
- 1st Place $500 - Dan Skerman & John Lammonds, Georgetown, S.C., 3:10:37
- 2nd Place $300 - Craig Dukes and Rolf de Swardt, Blythewood, S.C., 2:44:11
- 3rd Place $200 - Ryan Schmeirer and Trey Tyson, Wilmington, N.C., 3:39:26 (Cape Fear Community College-Boatbuilding Program)
Winners of the National Championship
Skip and Casey White, Murrells Inlet, S.C., 3:52:02
Six Knot Challenge
Sarkis Keuleyan of Georgetown, S.C. tied six knots in 23.5 seconds.
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