Happy New 2023

01 Jan 2023:

Well here we are, 2023. The crew behaved overnight and are ready for the next great adventure, or at least ready to take the scenic route. The last few days of 2022 were spent transitioning from Christmas mode at the Station to early Spring mode. We don't mentally do Winter! We played Tetris in the Boat Works to store the Christmas yard art. The pack up was a little different because we lost the back wall when we added the French doors, so some of the passenger coaches went higher. 

We also moved our portable generator from the far end, it fit perfectly under the shelves just out of view on the left. And moved the shorter keep boxes to the far end. So now we once again have a space long enough to fit the 16 foot finishing dolly/bench inside. It might roll back in with SMEDLEY aboard, depending on outside temps.

A few minutes were spent in the Thinking Chair out on the work deck, contemplating the calendar of events for 2023. 62F with cloudy skies. We need to finish repairs on our Catfish SMEDLEY and then continue the new build of a wooden Sunfish, next step is to cut frames from patterns and gather the deck/hull plywood.

As for boating, we'll keep our eyes open for nice days on the rivers and creeks, the Runabout WILLOW and the Penobscot ST. JACQUES need to get their keels wet in the Tidewater. And definitely ONKAHYE, Skipper's Drascombe Lugger.

Per Native American tradition, Winter is the time to tell stories, so fo us that includes taking time to gather stories. We spent a few days chatting with the locals, learning about watermen from the area. It is amazing to travel back in time to the days when large schooners frequented the areas, and were built on local railways. Pretty much everyone had some type of boat, especially if they wanted to trade amongst nearby villages. Sail and then steam powered ferries ran several times a day to other villages in the Hampton Roads area, and on shore the railroads linked people further inalnd. In many ways I feel we took a step back with the Interstate highway system, a lot of community was lost that water and land stations offered.

One boat built locally, early 1900s, was the schooner PRIVATEER. She was launched in Chuckatuck from one of the deep water marine railways. 

PRIVATEER, a schooner built in Chuckatuck. (Image Polly Crittenden Moore)

PRIVATEER under sail. (Image Polly Crittenden Moore)

Modern day, near where PRIVATEER was built and launched, a scaled down skipjack awaits restoration. She was built this century and is used to train Girl Scout Mariners.

2023 offers a lot of fun opportunities for messing about, in and out of boats.

Happy New Year!

Clark and Skipper