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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22,1987, PAGE 11 Rum-runners, good fishing remembered The days of the rum-runners and good trout fishing make up just some of Joe Stephens' memories of the Whitby harbor of yore. Stephens, now 69, was part of a well-known fishing family which carried on business out of the har- bor beginning in 1917. That was when his father, Joseph Patrick Stephens, moved to Whitby from Toronto because "there were more fish down here," including whitefish and trout. Joe Jr., born in 1918, has vivid remembrances of his father and uncle William enjoying good com- mercial fishing during the 1920's and then less-than-successful net- ting during the 1930's. "The (U.S.) market was there, but the fish disappeared," he recalls, attributing the depleting fish populations to pollution. "My father started complaining about pollution in the 1930's." Joe Sr. carried on fishing until 1960 when he retired at age 80. He died three years later. Joe Jr. became a truck driver in 1952 for the Regent gas company (later bought by Texaco) which owned the big tanks in Port Whitby that were torn down only recently by a scrap firm from Welland. Trucking never gave him the pleasure that fishing did, however. "When I was fishing, I was working for myself," he says. One of his father's first boats was Eileen, a craft he built and named after a daughter who died wher. quite young. Father and son built Shirley S., named after Joe Jr.'s niece after World War II. Stephens sees plenty of fast boats now used for recreation. But he remembers the high-powered boats of the 1920's used by rum-runners. "Before they got out of the har- bor, they'd open them up, and some could go.50 mph. They had to go fast, it was a dangerous occupation and in American waters, you could be dead duck." He remembers that his father oc- casionally "worked for them," although not transporting the goods to the U.S. Father once gave Joe Jr. a gun holster he had obtained from the gun-toting rum-runners. He remembers the harbor, like the fishing, as "pretty dead" in the 1930's since "a good-sized boat couldn't get in because it was shallow." He has seen the harbor "taken over" by pleasure craft and he's aware of Town plans to improve the port. "They got great big plans for Port Whitby but I'l probably never see it," says the lifelong resident of the area, born there in 1918. No matter what changes have oc- curred and will come, the harbor wil remain a' special place for Stephens. "I get tears in my eyes whenever I look at it," he says. PORT WHITBY in 1950. At right is the fishing shack of Joe Stevens, part of a longtime fishing family from Whitby. Boats at left are in area of present boat launch. Area behind building at left is now occupied by Cartier-MeNamara. Whitby Historical Society photo Yachting not just for the affluent By JANET BROWNE Stan Knight is only a part-time Whitby resident. Each spring, as soon as the ice around the edges of Lake Ontario has melted, Knight sublets his Toronto apartment and heads out to his second home, a 28-foot Ontario cruiser which awaits him at the end of pier 4 at the Whitby Marina. During his six-month stay at the harbor, Knight, now 74, doesn't get out much, unless his daughter and. grandchildren drop by. Although his boat has automatic steering and can be sailed single-handedly, ar- thritis keeps Knight's wanderlust in check. "I like the marina here," says Knight, "The docks are the best around, for one thing. They're floating docks, so it doesn't matter whether the water is high or low. They have docks like this in other places, but the fingers aren't quite as long." Knight's experience aboard ship dates back to his first job as an 18- year-old working for what is now the coast guard, in his hometown of Penetang. He sailed as a naval of- ficer during World War Il on a minesweeper, and on Corvettes which each had a crew of about 250. During his youth, Knight had what he describes as 'a little putt- putt thing" which was all his family could afford. "People didn't have boats in those days, nobody had any money." Things have changed a lot since the 1930's. Knight's first boat was a 25-footer which he bought following his wife's death eight years ago. "When my wife was alive, she was terrified of water, so we never had a boat, always a house. Now that I'm alone, I just thought it would be nice to get out of the apar- tment for the summer." One thing Knight has noticed that is changing in Whitby harbor is the size of boats people are keeping. "Before, the biggest boat here was about 35 feet, and now the average boat is close to that, about 30 feet long." Knight decided he needed a bigger boat when he kept hitting his head on the ceiling of the 25-foot boat when doing the dishes. "It's funny with boats, a foot or two more realiy makes a difference because they seem to increase every way, not just lengthwise." Roy Turner, another Torontonian who spends a lot of his free summer time in Whitby sailing, has through the years been afflicted with what he describes as "foot-itis". His first boat which he bought in 1969 was a 16-foot 'dinghy', and sin- ce then he has gone through eight other boats, each one bigger than the last. He and wife Peggy, made the decision to explore the realm of yachting "to get away from the company telephone on weekends. It just developed from there." His present boat, which is his favorite so far, is an Aloha 28 christened the 'Water Rat'. Although he hasn't yet made it out of Lake Ontario on his latest boat, he has made extensive trips in the past. One year, he took a four- month trip down through Lake Champlain in New York, through Troy, and uR through the Erie barge canal. Lately, he does a lot of single-handed day sailing, and SEE PAGE 15 By JANET BROWNE Yachting is no longer a pastime exclusive to tycoons, movie stars -and young rich executives. Although most of the 40-foot luxury cruisers usually belong to the more affluent, Dorothy Lintjens at Whit- by Marina says just about everybody who wants to get out on the water these days, is. "We've got every kind of person here, from janitors to GM workers, and policemen right on up to doc- tors and lawyers . and businessmen," says Lintjens of the marina which has been a part of Whitby since 1979. Only about half of the boats moored at the marina are owned by Whitby residents, according to manager Bill Smith, but the majority are from within Durham Region. A few travel from Toronto on weekends to get away from the city, while others are northerners who want easy access to the Great Lakes. Themarina welcomes quite a few American overnighters as well. "It's quite a popular place because the docking facilities are so good," explains Lintjens. "Thev say the best marinas are on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario. The place is nice and clean, the facilities are nice for the Americans and the fishing is good." The 344 available slips at the marina are full, while six are left vacant for transients. With the in- creasing demand for openings at the marina, the recent recommen- dation to the Town to increase the number of slips to 450 promises to be well-received. There are both saii and power boats at the marina. Although the sailing boats were much more popular during the oi scare, power cruisers seem to be gaining back. Smith says the value of the boats ranges from about $3,000 to $300,000 but the average price runs from $60,000 to $80,000. In addition to the larger boats within the marina slips, hoards of small boat owners line up at the end of Brock St. to launch their crafts onto Ontario's waters. Smith repor- ts that on weekends, boaters have to arrive at the launch at 5 a.m. in order to get a parking space during the busy season. The Town is con- sidering constructing two new boat launches on the west side of the harbor in order to alleviate this problem. Most local boaters are day sailors, travelling to the Toronto Islands, while others prefer longer trips to Oswego, Rochester, Thousand Islands, or down through the Erie Canal. The majority of boats are capable of travelling overseas, but these trips are much less common. Even b'oatless residents can find things to do at the marina. Salmon fishing charters take passengers out daily to try their hands at angling and those seeking sailing experience can either join the Whitby sailing school, or come down as spectators for the Mayor's Cup race on August 8. Many of the boats at the marina are stored over the winter on cradles in the boat yard, as the marina does not have 'bubbling' facilities which allow boats to stay in the water all winter. There is no membership tee at the marina, unlike at the Whitby Yacht Club "which is more for the social thing," according to Lin- tjens. Boating, particularly yachting, is quickly growing in popularity in this part of the world, evidence being the expansion of marinas around Lake Ontario. "The biggest boost was probably the addition of salmon to the lake, which produced a great im- provement in the fishing sport," says Smith. "People these days are becoming more affluent, and they seem to be getting away from cottages," adds Lintjens in explanation. "They also have much more leisure time on their hands." STAN KNIGHT relaxes aboard Gillian ddaughter) which is his home away II, a 28-foot yacht (named for his gran- from home during the summer months. Free Press photo Boat is home for Stan NEXT WEEK: The boat builders