Beach Rollers

Hi Chuck,

A New Mystic Seaport Video Now Available

Hi Chuck, 

Just letting you know that we have launched a new Mystic Seaport video today, "Dedicated Craftsmanship: The Art of the Wooden Boat at Mystic Seaport." There's nothing quite like the sleek lines and the welcoming feel of a wooden boat. The seaport knows that the level of skill that goes into building and caring for one makes owning a wooden boat a labor of love! 

Let us know what you think!

Connor

Colin in the R2AK

Much chatter about Colin making it into Victoria... about an hour behind big trimarans...

He's the man... 

Tom G

OCH does the R2AK

Hi Chuck ~

The Race to Alaska has captured the imagination of sailors, rowers and extreme adventurers worldwide, and we've created links and videos below so you can quickly get inside race, in an up-close and personal way.

This race is a crash course in seamanship — racers battle 13-knot currents, 30-knot winds on the nose, and periods of dead calm, in some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet.

It's a seafaring gumbo, chock-full of personal triumph with a dash of death-risk-denial, and there's a LOT to learn by watching.

This year, we wanted to get there before the start and capture the essence of a few of the crews and the boats before they set out.

Here are links to two videos covering the R2AK that we have released so far. 

lovable brother team here:
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Bunny Whaler

serious single-hander here:
Race to Alaska 2016 – Meet Team Sea Runner

Steve Stone

Off Center Harbor

"Happy Hour" in South Africa

Hi Chuck,

This might probably go in the "Letters" section of the magazine. Just got an e-mail from Gerhard K. from South Africa. He bought plans for "Happy Hour" about two weeks ago and look at his amazing progress!

" Hi Alex

 Many thanks for your kind words. It was a pleasure working with your plans and all your dimensions were 100% correct.  The only change I made was, I only spliced the individual boards instead of the two sheets. Makes working easier. Your accurate dimensions made this possible..."

Attached are some photos!

Warm regards,
Alex Bogdanov

I'd like to share something...

I’d like to tell you about a guy, you likely don’t know.  And, that’s too bad, because you probably would have liked him.  I only had anything to do with about a half-dozen of his 69 years, myself.  I was privileged to be holding him up, and helping him breathe; as he lost his fight with cancer this Sunday morning.  I was the one who watched the spark go out of his eyes, and felt his heart beat its last.  We are ALL very much worth remembering how we lived.  And, I feel honor bound to share the smallest part of one man’s contribution to my life—and by extension, yours.

Bill Kendall.  He was my friend.

I think you can say, Bill was a class act.

The kind of guy who people gravitate to.

Maybe it’s just, that he “knew stuff.”

Yeah.  Maybe that’s it.

But, it’s a lot more.

Something we call a world view.

Something, that comes more from listening, and watching.

Not, just from books.

Bill was the kind of guy who was always ready to share a laugh.

He appreciated the well-turned phrase;

And, he saw the value of ideas-for-ideas-sake.

That takes practice, patience, and skill.

Bill always made me glad I called, or dropped by.

We could, and did, talk about everything that really mattered.

He allowed me into his well-crowded personal space.

That’s, what friends do.

Dan Rogers

Basket Boats

Loops

A fellow at the office gave me some bunched up, tangled line he retrieved from a dumpster. I sorted it out then and there at MacDonald's that very morning. Between the fisher men there, morning coffee you know, it was surmised it came from someone's sail fishing rig.

Here in coastal Texas, one can make a small sail boat, barge type thing, at most two feet or so. No real measurements given. This line is then drug off island with the breeze carrying numerous hooks, in hope of catching numerous fish. That's the consensus anyway at the office.

The reason for this short missive is the laughter it brought my wife this morning, at her betrothed expense. There were about four sections of line, once untangled. Seemed strong enough, not damaged, plenty of life left. So the latent sailor in me says short lines, with loops, comes in handy for various tying's on the boat.

Being a solid braid I figured to just whip the loops in one end. Having made up eight of these about 3' long, I showed my wife telling her how I counted as I went, eight right, this is real difficult. Thinking I had one left to do, I finished up and saw yet another on the table. Huh? Must have over looked that one. Did it and gathered the finished ones at my feet.

The second photo shows the reason for my Linda's good cheer this morning.

Pelican Blueprints

Good Morning,

I was at a garage sale yesterday and love sailboats and picked up a pack of papers on the pelican by wm h short. Inside are a lot of blue prints by others for his pelican boat. There are some that are his and they have white out marks and look like they might be original. I am an art collector and if these are original was wondering if there is an organization that might like them for their archives. If you have any info or can pass me to someone that might be interested in them, it would be appreciated.

Thank you
Kristin
_____________________

If anyone knows a worthy S F Pelican organization that would want these let me know - Chuck

Sometimes all the work is worth it

It's the girl.

Really, the most remarkable thing.
I’m not quite sure, if I got what I wanted.
But, more and more;
I want what I got.

 Can’t seem to go anyplace,
Without meeting somebody new.

 It’s not me, for sure.
I’m just an ordinary guy.
It’s her, no question or doubt.
She dutifully follows me, out and about.

 Strangers stop. Smile, and wave.
The braver ones come on over, to talk.

 They call her beautiful!
They see her as pretty, and “really cool.”
She poses with patience and dignity.
While I explain, and embellish.  Repeatedly.

Summer Reading

Summer is almost officially here!  And we have new titles to help you on your voyage, whether it’s learning your way around a sailboat or navigating into retirement:

SAILING INTO RETIREMENT: 7 Ways to Retire on a Boat at 50 with 10 Steps That Will Keep You There Until 80 by Jim Trefethen (August 2016; Hardcover, $26.00)

• ·       This book will help you decide you’re sure you really want to do retire on your boat: then make sure you are absolutely sure!
• ·       How to upsize your ambitions while downsizing your life, in ways that will enhance your retirement
• ·       How to get all your shore-side affairs in order, then to make some important adjustments in your attitude, confidence, and self esteem
• ·       Easy-to-understand pointers and suggestions for deciding which type of retired cruising is best for you
• ·       A ten-step plan to buying a boat with as little drama as possible
• ·       How to modify your new/old floating retirement home to make it safer, more comfortable, and more elderly friendly
• ·       Jim Trefethen (New Zealand) is in his 70s and still cruises with his wife Susan. He is the author of The Cruising Life, Woodenboat Renovation, and Inflatable Boats.

Smooth Sailing, Ann Pryor

TV

Hello,

Wow

Lengthening a boat.  Not for the faint of heart:

Submitted by Robert B

Department

Here is another of Herb's wonderful catalog scans: