HISTORY, FAMILY — AND — FRIENDSHIP A PRIVATE BOATHOUSE IN ALGONAC, MICHIGAN, PAYS HOMAGE TO LOCAL BOAT BUILDING AND GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY. BY H E AT H E R S TE I N BE RG E R
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f you follow I-94 northeast from Detroit and then take M-29 around Lake St. Clair’s Anchor Bay, you’ll arrive in the city of Algonac. Nestled along the St. Clair River’s sprawling freshwater delta, it is often called the Venice of Michigan. Powerboat history is woven into the community’s fabric. Brothers Christopher C. and Henry Smith founded Smith Brothers Boat Builders here in 1884, with the venerable Chris-Craft name emerging in 1924. Celebrated entrepreneur, inventor and powerboat racer Garfield “Gar” Wood lived in Algonac, building boats with Chris Smith for several years and later establishing his own company. Wood, known as the “Gray Fox of Algonac,” is buried here. Algonac is also home to Colony Marine, owned and operated by three generations of the Beauregard family since 1958. Although the company has additional locations in St. Clair Shores and Oakland County, Algonac is special; Pete Beauregard Sr. says all his children and grandchildren live within 20 miles. Beauregard grew up not far away, and he spent summers enjoying the family cottage on Harsens Island across the river. He loved cars and boats, and he knew early on that he would not be following in his father’s footsteps as a tool-and-die maker. “I hated machinery, and I hated getting my hands dirty,” Beauregard says, chuckling. “I told my dad I didn’t want the business. He invested in a marina in St. Clair Shores, so I decided to get into sales. I became a Chris-Craft dealer at the age of 21.”
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