It was the 28th year for the Rice Lake “Bruce Nicolle Memorial” Charity Fun Run that took place on Saturday, September 15, 2018 starting off at Bewdley.
The event was held by Performance Boat Club featuring a number of high performance and very expensive boats.
Some boats cost upwards of $400,000 with the engine alone costing $200,000. By the time the days fun run was over, some boats burned approximately $1,000 in fuel and on average 750 litres of fuel for the 100 mile course. Some of the boats are capable of speeds of 175 m.p.h.
Benefiting the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.
Carl McBride said some of the finest off-shore boats offered on the market were in attendance at the event.
“We’re just here to enjoy the day. It’s not really a race. Safety is our first and foremost concern. But everybody has a great day and we have that ability to give back and do something positive at the end of the day.”
The group held five events over the summer starting in early June and finishing on Saturday in Bewdley.
Over the years the group has raised a staggering $700,000.
“We’ve had a record fundraising year this year where we’ve raised well over $100,000 this year.”
After the “parade of power” in front of the crowd lining the waterfront the pace boat “released the fleet” and they were off to Elmhirst, then Hastings for lunch before heading up the Otonabee River.
McBride said the owners of the performance boats are “not that much different from the rest of us. We all have a common passion for boating and for wanting to give back and make a positive difference in the communities that host are events.”