Lost friend commemorated on 29th anniversary of golfing boat trip

For 29 years a group of friends has piled aboard a lobster boat in Arisaig, N.S., and crossed the Northumberland Strait to P.E.I. for a round of golf, but this year they made the trip without their captain.

Daniel Ross is too young to have been there at the beginning, but he's a regular now. He said it's an easy and beautiful sail from the wharf in Arisaig to the Brudenell golf course, which includes a ride along the Island's eastern shore and up the Brudenell River.

It started as a casual idea, said Ross, but quickly gained in popularity.

"It was just the novelty of it all," he said.

"There's not many people that play a round a golf that their vehicle was a boat."

The group soon had to be limited to 24, withspace guaranteed only if you made the trip the year beforeand a waiting list if you missed a year.

A tragic loss

From year one the captain of the boat was Stevie MacInnis. While everyone else partied, he ensured all made it back to the home wharf in Arisaig safely.

Last fall, 68-year-old MacInnis died when he went overboard during a tuna charter.

"It was tough," said Ross.

"Friends weren't important right then, when he died. We thought so much about the family."

For a time the friends wondered if they would go this year, if the tradition was over.

'Like there was another golfer with us'

They decided they would go, and Ross said he knew from the moment he stepped on the boat it was the right decision.

"It was so awesome. It felt like there was another golfer with us. I swear to God. It was crazy," he said.

That time was really important. We would sit there and just drift in the boat. Daniel Ross

There were special moments that day. Ross was paired up with MacInnis's son, Danial.

Danial hit a perfect shot on number 10 and almost birdied the hole. This was big deal. He and Danial only had a couple of pars between them that day.

When they got back to the clubhouse, the Brudenell staff told them they wanted to do something special for Stevie MacInnis, and they had planted a tree on the number 10 hole in his memory.

"When you're standing at the tree you can see the dock where we parked the boat each year," said Ross.

A special time coming home

But one special moment was missing.

If the seas were calm on the ride home, MacInnis would cut the engines a couple of kilometres from the Arisaig wharf. He'd place a bottle of rum on the boat's picnic table, and give his friends an opportunity to toast one another.

"That time was really important. We would sit there and just drift in the boat," said Ross.

"It was really symbolic. We'd had this great time with friends together and we're coming back."

The day would include golf and swimming and a steak barbecue, but it wasn't really about any of those things.

"It's about friendships. It's about feeling grateful for what you have," said Ross.

MacInnis's brother Colin has been organizing the trip for almost three decades, but Ross said after this year he will pass the torch. Ross and Colin's son, Andrew, are taking charge now, and Ross said they will make sure the tradition continues.

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