Skip to main content

Wooden Boat

Image
By

Good morning everyone. We had a delightful and lively sail yesterday around Blue Hill Bay. We were tearing along on 4 lower sails, no topsails, at 8+ knots all day quite comfortably. And then with the turn of the tide the wind just died…completely flat. So we lowered the yawl boat and pushed the last hour in to anchor here in Brooklin at the home of the Wooden Boat School. We saw numerous bald eagles yesterday as well as seals and the unspoiled islands of Blue Hill Bay.

This is one of my favorite stops. This week in particular, as we examine how we impact nature and how nature impacts us, it seems appropriate to come to a place where wood and water come together in the form of hand crafted boat. The environment sculpts the people that sculpt the boats which sculpt the culture which sculpts the environment and round and round we go. The students here come from all over, just like our windjammer guests, looking for a little reprieve from the modern hurry up world. Many of you know the schooner Mary Day is a part of the Wooden Boat School each summer when we offer guests the chance to be the crew. (2 spots just opened up for this year!) So we went ashore for walks this morning and are getting ready to get under way.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...
28 comments
Read more

We are Nuts

By
Good morning everyone. Well I just had to say it before you did. Yes, we are truly nuts. Now we have gone and added one more adventure to our already full lives. As you can see she is some cunnin'. We have named her Colby. We had a sign... literally. We were in the car brainstorming names on the way to get her at WalMart (yes, you heard it right) and there at the Waterville exit was a sign for Colby College. Colby just happens to be dear Mary's alma mater. It is also the name of one of my favorite ledges in Jericho Bay, the Colby Pup. It just seemed to fit just like the way she came to us. Nothing about our Sunday was going to be different than any other except that I just happened to be helping a friend get her generator back in the barn while Jen and the kids met her new puppy Sherman. They fell in love... so easy to do. We called and there were had two pups from the same litter available... no commitments yet. We had been having the long family debate for weeks about the k...
11 comments
Read more

Darkness and Light

By
Good morning everyone. OK, so this blog does not have a whole lot to do with schooners or windjammers or sailing vacations so if you want to leave now I will not be offended. Today is the winter solstice, as you know, the shortest amount of daylight in our calendar year here in the northern hemisphere. Of course it is the summer solstice on the other side of the equator. So I guess if you wanted to celebrate the summer solstice you wouldn't be at all in the wrong. I would applaud your ability to see outside the box. Map from Wikipedia commons Living and sailing in the mid latitudes (remember, Maine is half way to the North Pole) as we do, we experience a balance that spans a year's time, maybe many years' time. To feel the darkness of winter creeping quietly into our homes is not as bad it may appear from the outside. This is our season to rest... emotionally if not physically. We know it takes more physical energy to live and work here in winter. But when the sun goes down...
6 comments
Read more