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A little background
(way, way back background)
I am not a sailor. I was not born to the sea. I never wanted a boat
other than a canoe. Then my father told me a story about how he,
my uncle, cousin, and grandfather tried to sail a 25' ketch from
Anacortes, Washington, down the coast and up the Columbia River
to Pasco, Washington. The story had everything: a hurricane, fire,
sinking, daring rescue - the whole nine-yards. At the time, I thought
I wanted to be a writer, and decided this would be a great story,
but I knew nothing of sailing, and so set about to learn.
(semi-recent background)
I have a friend who hosts a yearly sailing event in the Texas Gulf
Coast - the Texas200. I participated
for three years
Texas200 2008,
Texas200 2009,
Texas200 2010
And after building a boat on the beach, sailing it 200 miles, then
burning it, I simply couldn't think of anything worth doing in 2011,
so I skipped it.
(recent background)
I discovered I don't like trailering boats and wanted to return
to my car-topping roots. Small boats are small, though, so I started
looking for building styles other than the traditional methods.
I came across Skin-on-Frame (SoF) boat building and, with the help
of friends and strangers, made a kayak
and a rowing scull. Through this, with Dave
Gentry, SoF designer extraordinaire, and saw his design for
a Shenandoah
Whitehall sail/rowboat.
The Whitehall design has a special place in my heart. After my
dad took his ill-fated sailing trip, he ordered a print of Winslow
Homer's Breezing
Up from the National Gallery. Dad never did anything with the
poster - it remained rolled up in its original shipping tube and
tucked away in a closet. After Dad died in 2006, my mom found the
poster and asked if I'd like to have it. It now sits, still in its
tube, in my house.
(current day)
I'm going to build the Shenandoah Whitehall and sail it in the Texas200.
I am going to use this web page to document my efforts - including
all the screw-ups and mistakes (of which there will be many.)
Next Entry: Design and Layout
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