By Robert Mackenzie

Published Aug. 8 2017

Fifty boats will be racing on Head Lake Aug. 19 and 20 as Toronto Outboard Racing Club’s Haliburton powerboat races return to the village for its fourth straight year.

“It’s an exciting sport to watch” said Barb Hammond organizer of the event. “These are racers that do a bit of a circuit and the boats are interesting.”

Racers coming from as far as Ohio and New York State will be taking part in the competition.

This year two locals from Haliburton Lake will also be competing in the event – Brandon Sutton and Hammond’s son Wesley – both of whom will be sponsored by Youngdale Fuels.

This year’s races will also act as a fundraiser for the Haliburton Hospital Auxiliary.

The auxiliary will have a booth where attendees can pick up their free event programs and participate in a raffle with all proceeds going to the organization.

Hammond says there will also be a 50/50 taking place at TORC’s banquet the Friday before the event at Pinestone with proceeds again going to the auxiliary.

This year the racers are foregoing a day of boat engine and prop testing that would normally occur on the Friday before the event.

Hammond says the event has also pushed back its start time on Sunday so that they don’t distract any church goers.

“We appreciate the impact this has on some of the community members so we try to limit [the noise]” she said.

The festivities will begin at 10 a.m. on Aug. 19 and 11 a.m. Aug. 20. Attendance is free. More info on the event can be found at www.torc.ca.