Antique Boats

July 25, 2009

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Profile America — Saturday, July 25th. Just about every week, there’s an old car show somewhere in the country. But Mystic, Connecticut, this weekend will host the 34th annual Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous. The antiques, built no later than 1965, will range from everyday work boats to fancy yachts. Tomorrow, the boats will parade down the Mystic River, most with crews in appropriate costumes, led by a 59-year-old motor yacht, the 70-foot Little Vigilant. Boating is one of the most popular recreational activities in the nation. We own nearly 17 million boats. The annual cost of maintaining, docking, insuring and licensing our boats is about $37.5 billion. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 376
www.mysticseaport.org
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1203
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html