Beguiling boat names a catch at Northern Harbour

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Big Jim Scribner

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Debbi Lee and Lawrie Peterson (MAUREEN SCURFIELD / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

About six kilometres east of Kenora, you'd swear you'd died and gone to St. Lucia. Emerging from a winding road through the bush, you come upon a marina as picturesque as any you'd see on a winter holiday. And the place is full of Winnipeggers.

Northern Harbour owner Gary Hall and his wife Barb run the bustling marina, with 250 slips fully occupied by yachts, sailboats, motorboats, houseboats, dinghies, personal watercraft and 100 more boats in storage in the winter. "We're all here for the same reason -- love of the lake," says Barb, who thought they'd only be there for five or 10 years, but ended up staying 30. "This is our life now and the people here are our friends."

Yours truly found Lawrie Peterson of Passages real estate and Debbi Lee of Little Feet daycare, on exquisite yacht Dock Holiday enjoying the Northern Harbour view and fine red wine... and spied Glenn Bampton's fun houseboat 40-Something, chugging happily out to sea Monday -- and back to the repair dock. Engine problems aside, boating life can grab you quickly. Brother Craig Bampton came down to the harbour for a party one night and bought his own boat the next day... And promotion/events guru Kathy Schwartz was spotted blasting across the harbour on a powerful red Sea-Doo.

Top boat names at Northern have to include AFTICA (for Another Freakin' Thing I Can't Afford), Sloop Du Jour, Boat Alicious, Udder Nonsense, Loon a Sea, Liquid Lounge, R2 R (Rags to Ricky's), Play-N-Lazy, Scots N' Water. According to many boaters, Kevin Chester, now doing his boating in Clearwater Bay, is the king of boat-naming with Sir Osis of the River.

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ELECTION COMING: Here's a definite sign. His worship Sam Katz showed up at the Folk Festival kickoff in Old Market Square at high noon Tuesday in a sunshine-yellow Mexican top, to wish all the folkies well. Then he beetled right off the stage and down the street to his office -- no doubt to get that thing off.

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CELEBRATING BIG JIM: Big Jim Scribner, a larger-than-life character in Winnipeg, died June 27. Well-known in the club scene for 25 years (Brandy's, Bogart's, Rorie St. Marble Club), Big Jim loved to tell the story about arriving in the big city from Dauphin wearing his lime green Fortrel suit. "Then somebody took me to the Stage Door at the Winnipeg Inn. I found out about champagne and great food, and I'd never seen so many good-looking women in one place. I knew right then I was never going back to Dauphin."

Over the years Big Jim made hundreds of matches for other people in the nightclubs with this clever technique: "Is there anybody you'd like to meet in this room?" he'd say to an attractive single women at the bar. "Show me! That fella over there? Here, just minute. I'll go get him!" Then he'd pull the guy across the club, telling him how much this woman wanted to meet him. Family and friends are gathering Thursday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Winnipeg Squash Club to celebrate his life with stories from the mild to wild.

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NOT YOUR NORMAL GARAGE SALE: Lisa Dziedzic, creative and PR genius at the Children's Museum is a former Goth girl. Years ago she and her longtime love, music wizard Chris McDonald, used to live in a purple and black apartment -- think Beetlejuice. Lisa is a 30-something woman of sophisticated style now. She's selling the exotic clothes, furniture and paraphernalia from her previous lifestyle Saturday all day, at 266 Hartford Ave., with a generous donation of profits to the Children's Museum.

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen's tip line at 474-1116; email Maureen.Scurfield@freepress.mb.ca; or send mail to The Insider c/o The Winnipeg Free Press at 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 7, 2010 B1