Adam Prudhomme
Staff Reporter
Just as it would have been 150 years ago, the village of Bath’s port was bustling with magnificent sailing vessels during this weekend’s Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta.
The event, which was part of Canada’s 150th celebration, drew over 30,000 visitors to the village as they witnessed a parade of 11 tall ships, a re-enactment of an 1812-era battle on the lake, living history encampments, live music, vendors and a beer garden.
Historical re-enactor Fritz Steele shows off an early Canadian naval ensign flag. (Adam Prudhomme Photo)
“It’s Loyalist country, so there’s a lot of attachment to our colonial history,” said David Smith, member of the Fairfield Gutzeit Society which organized the event. “People in this area certainly have an appetite for (Bath’s history) and we see it first hand on Canada Day and other living history events we’ve hosted here.”
Canada’s colonial history was on full display, as several re-enactors travelled from across Ontario and the United States to the village for the weekend, showcasing the lifestyle from 1790-1815. Among them was Fritz Steele, who played the role of a ship’s carpenter. He was among several re-enactors who set up a tent in the middle of the village and encouraged visitors to browse his collection of authentic carpenter tools from the era.
“I have a variety of everyday artifacts that I lay out on the tables, some navigation instruments and then just some everyday stuff, games, money and personal care items,” said Steele, “just an eclectic arrangement of everyday stuff from the period.”
He says he does his best to demonstrate life in that time period, not just the highlights that are taught in history textbooks.
“When I get up in the morning the first thing I do is make my bed and tidy up inside,” Steele said of his tent. “When I’m all finished, the first thing I do in the morning is tie my tent flaps back. My tent is park of my display. Everything I’ve got here is part of my display.”
Ottawa’s Black Jack was one of 11 tall ships to sail into Bath as part of this weekend’s Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta, which attracted approximately 30,000 to the village over the weekend. (Adam Prudhomme Photo)
Steele is part of a group that travels all across the province and Upstate New York, visiting events such as the Tall Ships Regatta.
“Small towns tend to be much more open than big cities,” Steele says of places like Bath that turn out in the thousands for historical festivals. “That’s not a criticism of big cities, it’s just a different environment.”
He says a big reason he attends festivals like the one in Bath is to teach the next generation about their loyalist roots.
“We call it living history,” said Steele. “The whole idea is to present as broad a picture as we possibly can. It’s not just a little pinhole picture. It’s a panorama.”
The weekend’s visitors certainly saw a wide variety of history, culminating with a cannon battle on the lake on Saturday night. Red coats and members dressed as militia fired blank muskets from the shoreline as the tall ships fired blank cannon shots towards the shoreline, reminiscent of some of the historical battles that took place on the Great Lakes. All told, 11 tall ships attended the regatta — two more vessels than originally planned. Guests were able to tour the ships and even take a cruise around Amherst Island.
Smith says not even a microburst of rain on Saturday afternoon could ruin the event.
“It dampened people for a few minutes but it didn’t dampen their spirits,” said Smith. “They continued on and had a great weekend.”
Smith pointed to the support of several community volunteers as well as their sponsor Lafarge as a huge reason for their success. He says the event could also lead to more marine themed events in the future, particularly with Sail Training International, which travels through Canadian waters every three years. They host races and tall ship festivals all around the world.
“I think it’s fair to say Bath has put itself on the map,” said Smith.