The James Wakefield Rescue Row
This Saturday, October 10, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s Champlain Longboats Program will hold its annual youth rowing race in Burlington – The James Wakefield Rescue Row. The race is named after James Wakefield who was responsible for the courageous rescue of the passengers and crew of canal schooner General Butler when the vessel crashed into the Burlington breakwater during a fierce winter gale on December 9, 1876.
Over 150 youths in 20 crews will participate, rowing 32- and 25-foot boats in a series of heats along the Burlington Waterfront. Local crews, as well as visiting crews – some travelling from as far as the coast of Maine will participate in the race that begins at Perkins Pier in Burlington.
The colorful boats used in this event were built at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s boat shop by Vermont High School and Middle School students and are used in after-school rowing programs by 160 students at nine area schools through mid-November.
See these boats in action: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s website.
This 128-page softcover book features stunning historical images from the archives of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and other regional collections, and includes chapters on Patriotic Sites and Celebrations; Commerce in the Canal Era; The Age of Steam; Crossing Lake Champlain; Recreational Boating; Summer and Summer Folk; Hunting and Fishing; and Winter. ‘Lake Champlain’ tells the story of this historic, busy commercial corridor and recreational destination.
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