The Keels & Wheels 22nd Annual Concours d’Elegance
I have been to many car shows and events throughout the world, but there is one show that was just a few miles from my house that I never missed. That show is the Keels & Wheels held at the Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas. Situated on the north side of Clear Lake, they come from land and sea. This show offers spectators the opportunity to get up close and personal to classic cars and vintage wooden boats of every era. This year approximately 200 cars will be displayed around the beautiful grounds of Lakewood and around 100 vintage boats will gather on the north shore of Clear Lake for your viewing pleasure.
“We are excited to see the continued growth and diversity of exhibitors at Keels & Wheels,” said Bob Fuller, Keels & Wheels Concours Chairman. “The variety of classic cars and antique boats that arrive always awe and inspire so many people. Over two decades have passed since the inception of the show and it continues to be a truly exciting and unique event each year.”
As Master of Ceremonies, Keith Martin will be making his way to the Texas Gulf Coast for the event this weekend. Keith is well known in the industry and emcees some of the most prestigious car gatherings in the world, with Keels & Wheels being one. We all know Keith from Velocity’s “What’s Your Car Worth” and Keith shares his expertise in collecting and investing with his magazine Sports Car Market.
Keith Martin told Myclassic News “This is my 8th year as emcee of one of the most special events on the classic car calendar, Keels and Wheels. The brainchild of Bob Fuller and Paul Merryman, it has rasied over $1m for challenged kids over the years. At no other event will you see such a splendid array of highly-polished wooden boats along with the gleaming chrome of classic cars. I’ve told all my car and boat enthusiast friends that this is simply an event you have to attend, at least once in your life. And if you go once, I’ll guarantee you’ll be back.”
Don’t miss meeting Keith Martin at this year’s Keels & Wheels.
Rick Duncan, president of Myclassic News said “I moved from the Houston area in 2014 and the primary thing I miss is being close to Keels & Wheels. I remember, when I was a kid, my dad bought a wooden Chris Craft cabin cruiser. I still recall when I was 6 years old the fascinating shine of the finish on that Chris Craft when sitting on our dock waiting to go boating with my dad. Every year the boats at Keels and Wheels take me back 50 years to those days when my largest worry was how fast my dad backed the boat out of the dock.”
Terry Fiest will be the Chief Boat Judge this year. Terry was inducted into the Hagerty Marine Hall of Fame this year for his contributions to the classic and collector boat lifestyle. Terry’s love for boats and cars came from hanging around his dad, who bought a boat in 1950 that Terry helped restore in their garage. When fishing with his dad, Terry would watch the boats go by and the cars traveling down the road. His passion for boats and cars began then and he never looked back. If you have a question about a boat, Terry is the guy to ask.
Terry told Myclassic News “We’ve got a great line of boats this year. We’re at 78 boats, which is a high number. People travel from all over the country to show their boats and to see all the beautiful boats that are on display. We have a great variety of big boats and little boats this year as well. There are 18 judges lined up that will judge around 60 boats this weekend. It has been windy and our work has been cut out for us in getting all the boats together, but we’re all set and all lined up and ready to go. It’s going to be a great show.”
As always, Keels & Wheels features the best of the best. This year includes the featured automobile marques of Stutz Motor Company, American 50’s classics and Hot Rods. The event will also welcome Utilities as the boats classics marque. Some rare automobiles present will be a 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia, which was crowned the Best in Show at the Windsor Castle Concours of Elelgance 2016.
After all the cars and boats have arrived, set up, been viewed and headed home, the most important story of all is that children of the area have been helped out. The Boys and Girls Harbor, Inc. benefits from the Keels & Wheels event. The mission of Boys & Girls Harbor is to provide healthy, comprehensive care for children and families in crisis. For children who are experiencing family hardship, neglect, abandonment or abuse, the Harbor provides a family environment in a home setting. Through its programs, the Harbor strives to help children learn to overcome self-destructive patterns, break cycles of abuse, develop social skills, learn responsibility, and work towards becoming healthy, happy and productive members of society. CLICK HERE to help these children.
Myclassic NEWS commends and would like to thank all the following individuals who are such an integral part of making Keels & Wheels such a phenomenal event: Concour’s Chairman Bob Fuller, Event Manager Laura Power, Sponsor Relations Chris Ann Conn, Master of Ceremonies Keith Martin, Chief Boat Judge Terry Fiest, and all the other people who contribute so many hours of hard work. In addition, all the classic car and boat enthusiasts that bring their historical pieces of art for the patrons to see and the Patrons themselves complete the event to a perfect closure. Not only do we get an opportunity to view these beautiful relics of the past, but the entire event assists children in need around the area.
As Keith Martin says, “I’ve told all my car and boat enthusiast friends that this is simply an event you have to attend, at least once in your life. And if you go once, I’ll guarantee you’ll be back.”
CLICK HERE to visit the Keels & Wheels website for information concerning the event. If you’re in the Houston area this weekend don’t miss this great event. And, there’s still time to get a reasonable flight into Houston. Either way you will not be disappointed.
Photo Credit: All photos herein are the property of Keels & Wheels, Keith Martin, Terry Fiest, Luxury London and Myclassic News and were published by MyclassicNEWS with their permission and consent. All content herein, other than property published by permission, is the property of myclassicnews.com and any reproduction, other than normal social media sharing, is strictly prohibited. Copyright ©, myclassicnews.com. For reprint permission contact us at rick@duncanwalls.com
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