ONE OF THE FIRST RUNS that my wife and I took part in after joining PCA UCR years ago was Walter and Sheila Murray’s Muskoka tour. So, when we saw that they were organizing one once again on July 21, we excitedly signed up right away, as did our friends in the club Mike and Donna Ellig. Claire and I met up with the Elligs in their beautiful, newly acquired Boxster 25 Years enroute, and we drove to the meeting point together.
Pulling into the meeting spot on Highway 118, we were taken by the sheer number of gorgeous, colourful Porsche Boxsters lined up ahead of us. In their usual super-organized style, Walter and Sheila greeted each car upon arrival, organizing all 24 cars into three groups of automotive eye candy. Boxster, Boxster S, 718 GTS, Boxster 25, 718 Spyder — everything from 1999 to the present, quite literally an amazing array of Porsche mid-engine excellence. Woweee-wow-wow. This was, after all, the Boxster-Only Muskoka Driving Tour.
After an explanation of the day’s events, and stressing the importance of road safety, we fired up our beauties with great anticipation. Timing each group perfectly, Walter sent us off to explore the twisty ribbons of pavement that wind their way through what is essentially he and Sheila’s back yard. Our three groups snaked their way throughout Muskoka, with the sounds of our wonderful flat-six powerplants echoing gloriously off the visually stunning exposed rock faces. Ahhh, truly the hills were alive with the sound of sweet music.
Enjoying the burbling and popping of every shift, we eventually wound our way successfully to our lunch objective, the South Muskoka Curling & Golf Club. Here we assembled our prized machines in a long line set aside for us in the parking lot. This made for a great photo-op, which many took advantage of. We then indulged in an exceptional lunch, enjoying the opportunity to chat and to meet new members seated nearby. After lunch, Walter conducted a fun and challenging trivia contest, awarding some really great Porsche items, some of which were from his personal collection.
Walter then took the opportunity to speak to the group about the importance of the Street Survival School offered by UCR in conjunction with BMW Trillium. As Walter mentioned, it’s the kind of training that can make a real difference, particularly with younger drivers. (Street Survival School runs Nov. 6 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, see PCAUCR.org for more info or to sign up. —Ed.)
Peter Helston spoke about his recent harrowing accident in his Boxster. It was a riveting story, which highlighted how terrible things can happen extremely quickly, even to the best drivers. It was also a real testament to the robust and astoundingly safe nature of the Porsche Boxster platform. Boxster SIG Lead Dan Proudfoot was visibly impressed with the turn-out of Boxsters for this event, and he encouraged all to join the Boxster special interest group to connect with other like-minded members. Mike Bryan summed up everything with a call to take advantage of all facets of our PCA UCR membership by getting involved as much as possible.
Then it was time to play some more flat-six music as we followed Rick and Lizann Reitmeier on a twisty tour to their neighbourhood on the north shore of Lake of Bays. Dwight Beach Road was beautiful, with all our incredible cars lined up right along the water for some truly magnificent photos. Then it was off again on the last leg of our amazing journey, to a local gem, the Muskoka Brewery. Organized, exciting, picturesque, with some of the best roads anywhere winding their way through Muskoka’s breathtaking beauty. It was what can only be called a truly great driving tour. A very big thank you to Walter and Sheila Murray and to everyone who helped to make the day a huge success. </>
Story and Photography by Claire Zuccato and Rick Zuccato
