Floating Castles at Singer Castle

On Sunday, July 31st those in the vicinity of Singer Castle noticed a veritable flotilla of yachts making their way downriver toward Dark Island.  After checking in with customs at Boldt Castle, thirty yachts most ranging in size between 30 and 65 feet came to the island for AquaPalooza 2011.  AquaPalooza is a series Sea Ray sponsored on-water celebrations held during the last two weekends in July at more than 100 locations around the world.   The participating boats were docked on both the North and South sides of the castle and the passengers enjoyed an evening of socializing, dinning and dancing on the Castle Greens followed by an overnight stay. This was the second AquaPalooza cruise to Singer Castle from Hurst Marina in Manotick, Ontario Canada.  Event organizers found that AquaPalooza 2010 was so well received that they decided to return in 2011.
  
Singer Castle staff welcomed the group’s return and enjoyed seeing the floating “castles” that were manufactured by Sea Ray, Meridian, Cobalt, Viking, Chris Craft and Doral. Several of the larger yachts came equipped with every convenience one would ever want or need for an enjoyable cruise: kitchens with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops, stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, icemakers, wine storage, beds with pillow top mattresses, full bathrooms, TVs, DVD players, Stereo systems, washers and dryers, GPS and so on.  One could easily live on board for months at a time.

Above report and photo direct from Dark Island's Jean Papke, Administrative Assistant to Tom Weldon, President of Singer Castle.

Commodore Frederick G. Bourne's Weathervane at Singer Castle Restored

Pictured above: Singer Castle Tour Guide, Brianne Langtry of Brier Hill, with the castle’s newly polished weather vane. Click on photo to see it larger.

As early as ancient Roman times, weather vanes were used to show wind direction.  They were particularly useful to mariners who utilized wind direction and sky conditions to predict short-term weather conditions.  Commodore Frederick Bourne was an avid sailor and in 1902 when he had his castle constructed on Dark Island, he had a unique weather vane crafted to place on the highest peak of the castle’s roof.  The weather vane connected to a wind dial inside the castle allowing the Commodore or any of his guests to judge wind direction at a glance.  Constructed of brass with copper finials, the weathervane had a brass pennant style flag with a “B” on it that would cause the vane to turn as the winds changed direction.   Crossed arms with brass letters for north, south, east and west were fixed below the upper section of the weather vane and the flag’s position in relation to the letters would indicate the wind direction to those outside of the building. 

The weather vane is still operational today and Singer Castle staff members have spent that past two weeks cleaning and polishing the parts of the weather vane so that it will once again be a shining fixture for visitors to see on the roof of Commodore Bourne’s castle.

Above dispatch and photo by Jean Papke, Administrative Assistant to Singer Castle's President Tom Weldon. Below, photo of Singer Castle's weather vane in place before restoration, by Bob Mondore. Click on it.

Antique Boat Museum, Clayton NY - Authors Autographing Books 8/6/2011

Robert (Bob) and Patty Mondore will be among North Country (New York State and Canada) authors that will be autographing books this Saturday, August 6, 2011 from 2:00 pm to 4 pm at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY (750 Mary Street, Clayton, NY 13624

Phone: 315.686.4104) to benefit the museum.

Famous authors Ian Coristine (1000 Islands Photo Art) and Anthony (Tony) Mollica are scheduled to be there, as well as others.

Bob Mondore (this blog's author and founder of Gold-Mountain) will be giving away free gifts, so be sure to stop in to say hello if you are at the boat show. (Remember: Saturday 8/6/11, from 2:00 pm to 4 pm only). The museum has stocked our books Singer Castle Revisited and River-Lations.