wooden boat

Painting your wooden boat

2008-12-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

Its seen to be very easy when painting a wooden boat if you had the skill and knowledge. When painting the wooden boat all you need is a fine sunny day. Painting your wooden boat you need to have the right paint so that the paint can dry faster and besides it can if you the shine and the gleam. The reason of painting our wooden boat is to protect it from rots under the sun and water for too many years. Secondly if care such as repaint every year will have less problem to maintenance it and further more you will appreciates sailing out with her for its beauty, cleaner, better and smarter. With painting on your wooden boat it will protect from polluted water that can degrade timber and thus make the wooden boat to go rods faster.

Most of the style of painting your wooden boat is by spraying , rolling and brushing. Most of this works is done by individual skill as for myself I am not good with spraying but I like to paint with brush. The one things that some painter do is to retouch when somethings goes wrong with their painting when it is still wet. Wait until the paint is fully dry then painting can be done.

The beauty of dragon wooden boat

2008-07-18T02:14:00.000-07:00

When the dragon boat festival is few months away I joined my friends and a groups of experience wooden boat makers building a wooden boat with the head and tail of a dragon for the dragon boat festival which is going to held around the month of June. The wooden boat is of standard length and wide and size which has a sitting for twenty two rowers. The color of the wooden boat is of your own personal preference which you think its looks more elegant to your groups.

During the festival you can observed the beautiful wooden boat piling in row at the shore and will be push to the sea by the competitors. Many countries takes parts in the competition and events are divided into my section. The winners will get home with a medals and price money. I was rowing for a club and we got second losing a short head.

Building our own wooden boat for fishing

2008-05-08T01:35:00.000-07:00

Fishing is a hobby to many person but fishing at the beach or on the rock or the seafront can be very slow if their is no bite. I used to fish on a rock near a seasides with a groups of friends when we are very young and it was a very interesting outing if we had regular catch but at times we only return home with a few fish or none at all on one occasion.

With a friend who house is situated along the beach and we a few friends who learn how to build small wooden boat, we decided to come with some money to build our own fishing boat. We brought all the teak wood and started building our wooden boat. After a month our boats was ready for sails with a sitting of eight person. Our wooden boat was equipped with first aid kids and safety items and runs by motors.

Now when ever we decided to go fishing we will sail our wooden boat to where there is plenty of fish to catch. It is very fun, we joke and enjoy food and drinks that we bring with us. When the sun is about to set, we will sail home and we also proud to show to our family and friends about our big and good catch.

Wooden boat are make of oat and cedar

2008-02-29T01:06:00.000-08:00

Today most luxuries boat own by wealth people or company are make of cedar and oaks. This wooden boats which is beautiful design and crafts are equipped with all fishing equipment and all necessary emergency equipment for half or a day outing at sea.

Some wooden boat are build for bass fishing as every years there are bass fishing competition going on. To own a wooden boats will cost expenditure nowadays as parking of the wooden boats will cost monthly rented and besides a monthly maintenance of the boat will cost some dollars and gas price is going up every times.

Fishing in a wooden boat at muka head

2007-11-15T01:11:00.000-08:00

Fishing is most people part of past time and a hobby. In Penang there are many places and excellent spots where you can fish and watch the time passed by. You can even chartered a small wooden boat which our country called it sampan and a bigger wooden boat which its center with shelter and sitting our country called it bot berhais which can carry up to 10 person and an ideals for family vacation or a group tours. Most of this wooden boat are equipped with fishing equipment and safety equipment. If for bot berhais there will be a person who would guild you to your destination and for sampan you had to roll yourself.

The interesting spots that I like to go is Muka Head. Whenever my relatives and friends comes from other state , I will chatered a bigger wooden boat and we will started our journey from morning and will return only when the sun is going to set. There are many perparation before our fishing expectation. Cooking a pot of chicken curry with white rice and loaves of sandwiches, salad, deep fried chicken wings, fried mixed vegetable and some other favourite items. Few cartons of beers,cans of variety soft drinks and bottles mineral waters.

When we reached Muka Head those who like to stay at the boat doing fishing or stay at the shore swimming, digging shells. During school holidays the place was crowded with hoilday goers. The price of chartered boat will goes up.

Tambang make of wooden boat prefer as river taxi

2007-09-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

Tambang which people prefer as river taxi in Sarawak, This boat is make of woods with the pitched roofs of corrugated iron and the cabin walls of wood and ready looks like a mini wooden houseboats that ply along the Sarawak river in Kuching the capital state of Sarawak. The boat's pilot to core with the boat and had to exhibits his strength as he wields two long oars to manoeuvre his charge to and from the jetty.

Tambang are said to have been inspired by Sarawak great White Rajah, as most people refer him at that as Rajah Brooke. Back in the year 1841, Rajah, (James Brooke) the intrepid British adventurer achived a local rebellion for the Sultan of Brunei. It was said that the Rajah was also responsible for the peculiar tambang custom by which passengers are expected to leave the exact fare on the deck as they disemback.

Taking a wooden boat to Rendang Island

2007-07-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Most small boat which our Malaysian people called sampam. This sampam or called wooden boat in english is good for fisherman in swallow sea and travelling along the river. Boat berhais is much bigger then sampam which can carries about twenty persons at one time compare to sampam, maximum four persons. Boat berhais is good for fisherman in deeper sea and besides this boat is good for group tours as this boat are equip with shelter, sitting area and can traval against rough sea.

During long school holidays in the middle of the year our company will organised a family tour to the island call pulau Rendang off the state of Trengganu. When we reach Trengganu we will hire a boat and said to the Paulau Rendang. The place was quite at night but during the day time we would spend most of the time at sea. Its is beautiful for its marine fishes and coral. Subal driving is the main hobby over there.

The sampam or wooden boat competition

2007-06-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

The sampam which is make of woods, this wooden boat has two types, one which is not very big and are use by small fisherman for fishing or a average which can accumulate about thirty person or called bot berhias are use by big fisherman for fishing in deeper sea.

This month June 2007 highlights was organised by the Penang Municipal Counsil in conjunction with visit Malaysia 2007. The Penang beach carnival was held in Batu Ferringhi with Fairchild semiconductor malaysia ddn bhd sailed away as the champion of a decorated sampan or wooden boat competition. Before the competition the organisers realeased twenty doves to signify peace and hundred ballons to symbolise the beautiful island of pearls, The Penang Island.

This year Dragon wooden boat race festival held in June

2007-05-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

This year a total of twenty one teams from ten countries have so far confrimed their participation in the 28th Penang International Dragon boat race festival which will be held at the same venue of the big event held in Penang on June 8th to 10th that is Friday to Sunday.

Countries from Australia, Hong Hong, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Holland, UAE, germany, Vietnam and host Penang respersending Malaysia. Seventeen events including six new events as been included in the event under the international boat race category.

This yearly events is going to attract thousand of thoudands of people from Penang, Malaysia, naibouring countries and tourist. This year the long wooden boat of dragon head and dragon tail require a sponcers for twenty wooden boat costing about Rm 50,000.00 each and last to ten years.

Owing a boat an expensive hobby

2007-04-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Owing a boat could be fun and enjoyarable but is one of the most expensive hobby to think of. Boat trailer can cause a few hundred thousand of dollars depends on the size, design, quality and facilities in side the boat. Each boat trailer is designed and made with one specific boat model in mind and some boat trailers are totally submersible while others aren't. Most boat are design of woods, fibre, iron and steel but the smaller boats are mostly make of wood. This wooden boat will not cause you a lots of money to own and can be easily mantained. Most fisherman will own this wooden boat for a living.

I had a friend who is very rich whose hobbies are mostly luxury items, every weekend we will go out fishing in his boat trailer, With so many beautiful girls, foods and drinks served and alots of game to play, the days passed very fast. The area we most frequent visits is near muka heads. Big fish can be caught over there and the water is very clear and the brezze is very cooling. Even swimming is very nice as the water is not very deeps. Sometime of the month it will be high wave then we will change our destination.

Dragon boat race in Penang

2007-02-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

Dragon boat festival is one of yearly event festival happen in the Island of Penang. Its always occured on the fifth day of the month of may. Many schools, big company such as hotels, factory, several goverment dept taking parts. The events attracted many people of all walks to the said venue to witness the auspicious events. Other countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Thailands, Hong Kong and some europe countries is invited to participate. This events is always organgisized by the state govermont.

The dragon boats is about 40 feet long and 4 feet wide. The head of the dragon boat is make of woods as we called it , the dragon wooden boat. The head of the wooden boat is design of colourful dragon heads while the end of the wooden boat is the dragon tails. There will be 20 persons rowing the boats, a leaders to leads the rowers and a perons beating the drums. Price money and soverniors will given to the winners and a certicates of appriciations will given to the all the participants.

Considering Buying a Boat?

2007-02-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

Usually when you get to the stage of buying a boat, you will have had some previous experience of boating. You may be looking for a replacement, new or used, or it could be that after spending many a good time on a friends boat that you feel it time to have your own. Check out the market. There are various ways to find your type of vessel. Boat builders, dealers, brokers, and private sellers who all use the old and new methods of advertising such as magazines, news papers, brochures and of course the biggest medium available is the web.

There can be many traps when buying a boat, particularly if pre-owned and you’ve not had the experience. If not sure always seek advice from an experienced person. For example; a good coating of paint on an older wooden boat can hide rot and other nasties. If a glass boat has lived its life in the sea have the hull checked for osmosis. Hulls delaminating have been a common problem. Marine Electrical and Electronics need to be checked and tested and made safe if required. There are specialists who survey vessels. Mostly their expertise is applied to vessels that live in the water all their life but there are plenty of reputable dealers that give good advice on smaller boats. Money spent with a Marine surveyor will always be a good investment and can save you a lot of financial heartache in the future. And if still not sure get a second opinion.

wooden boat festival of Penang

2007-01-27T05:24:00.001-08:00

In the island of Penang the festival of dragon boat is held every year on the fifth of may. the boat was build of wood and is four feet wide and thirty feet long. The head of the wooden boat is design with the head of a dragon and the tail of a dragon tail.

Little chips and dings

2007-01-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

Most of the professional yacht maintenance companies we are familiar with, would be happy to take a look and give you an estimate of what it will cost to have the work done right. We can do part of the job, for example the compounding/polishing and will gladly help you choose the best wax to finish the job yourself.

What about those little chips and dings in the gelcoat?

Many books have been written on fiberglass repair and it isn't the intent of this article to cover the subject in any depth but many small repairs are well within the reach of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like anything else though, if you have never done it before, "consult an expert."

I've been building and repairing in fiberglass since I was 14 and while the first wooden boat I glassed was water tight and lasted a good many years, it was far from pretty. The small investment you lay out for expert repair now will pay big dividends when your boat sells at the price you want.

Deer Island peapod

2007-01-09T00:55:00.000-08:00

On calm days - even if the skies are mackerel colored, rather than cobalt blue - Mohr can often be seen on Coos Bay or on Eel, Tenmile or Tahkenitch lakes in an unusual 15-foot wooden boat he had custom-made by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Washington.

It's called a Deer Island peapod (its symmetrical shape resembles a bean pod) and is based upon a Maine lobster boat. Constructed of red cedar, mahogany, oak and fir, the boat can be powered by one or two oarsmen, a sail, or an electric motor.

2006-12-10T22:47:00.000-08:00

To be aboard a converted riceboat on the backwaters of Kerala is to experience India beyond the mainstream: tranquil, uncrowded, at one with nature. Our little thatched wooden boat moves as gently as a sleeping swan as we sit and read on the upper deck, rousing ourselves for meals from cook Pradesh's miracle kitchen, gazing at a time-stalled landscape of lush plantations and abundant groves of coconut trees. We are absorbed in green. The air smells of cloves, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. We are aboard for just a few nights but the restorative effect is magical: as we dock beside the Taj Garden Retreat at Kumarakom, we skip on to shore, ready to again tackle the intoxicating muddle that is Mother India.

2006-11-27T00:13:00.000-08:00

Organizers of the annual Georgetown Wooden Boat Show are taking exception to some remarks made recently by Georgetown Police Chief Dan Furr about the October event.
At a recent Georgetown City Council retreat, the panel was discussing the possible creation of a new ordinance to govern special events in the city. During that discussion, Furr talked about some incidents that occurred at this year’s Wooden Boat Show.

He told council officers had to make several alcohol-related charges at the event.
Furr said state law allows beer and wine, with the proper permits, to be sold on public property but liquor falls under a different category. He said the sale and consumption of liquor must be contained within four walls and no one can be on the streets with that type of alcoholic beverage. He said the organizers of the Wooden Boat Show were granted permission by the state to serve beer, wine and liquor inside the big tent that was erected for the event.

“The people in the sponsor tent opened the sides of the tent and we had a big problem with people holding drinks walking in and out and they could not be on the streets with the drinks,” Furr said. “We warned them arrests would be made if they were outside the tent and some of them said they didn’t care.”
Citations were issued to several people and one man, who apparently had too much to drink, was arrested for disorderly conduct.

There were also several instances, Furr said, of people walk

ing from the restaurants onto the Harborwalk boardwalk with alcohol. He said it was the first time there has been a significant problem at the boat show, which has been held for 17 years.

The Harbor Historical Association (HHA), which organizes the Wooden Boat Show and the Big Blow Auction which is held the night before the boat show, issued a written response which states the auction and boat show are two separate events.
The letter states the arrests referred to by Furr did not occur at the boat show, but at the auction.

Festival of wooden boat

2006-11-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Problems at this year’s Wooden Boat Show are causing Georgetown City Council to look at creating a new policy to govern special events that are held on public property.
Georgetown Police Chief Dan Furr told Council at a recent retreat that his officers had to make several alcohol-related charges at the Wooden Boat Show which was held October 21 on Front Street.

“We will have to devote more officers to it. This is the first time we had a significant problem (at the Wooden Boat Show),” Furr said. “We need a special events policy that mandates that organizers of the events carefully manage what is going on. Very few cities in South Carolina allow alcohol on the streets for any reason.”
Council member Peggy Wayne, organizer of the annual Harborwalk Festival and Christmas Parade, said she welcomes tighter restrictions on public alcohol consumption.

“We don’t allow it at all at Harborwalk or the parade. We don’t want beer or wine or anything like that there,” Wayne said.
Mayor Lynn Wood Wilson asked city staff to draft a special events ordinance and bring it to Council for consideration. No time table was given for the creation of the new law.

Festival of July

2006-11-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

Current info about wooden boat is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this report includes the latest wooden boat info available.

Solstice Parade - The Solstice Parade is the official kick-off of the Fremont Fair. Over the past 20 years, the Fremont Arts Council has been a non-profit organization celebrating art and creative expression. The Solstice parade has become popular not only with the locals in Fremont, but with hundreds of people from Seattle and beyond. The parade celebrates not only the beginning of summer, but a love of art and community. Location: Fremont

If you don't have accurate details regarding wooden boat, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don't let that happen: keep reading.

Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival - The Wooden Boat Festival is an annual event celebrating one of the most favorite pastimes of Seattlites - Boating. The festival includes a regatta and people’s choice awards. Location: Lake Union

That's how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

What about those little chips and dings in the gelcoat?

2006-11-01T22:24:00.000-08:00

In today's world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought were settled are actually still being openly discussed.

Many books have been written on fiberglass repair and it isn't the intent of this article to cover the subject in any depth but many small repairs are well within the reach of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like anything else though, if you have never done it before, "consult an expert."

I've been building and repairing in fiberglass since I was 14 and while the first wooden boat I glassed was water tight and lasted a good many years, it was far from pretty. The small investment you lay out for expert repair now will pay big dividends when your boat sells at the price you want.

Truthfully, the only difference between you and wooden boat experts is time. If you'll invest a little more time in reading, you'll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to wooden boat.

In the Emerald Coast region the standard fees for compound/waxing run between $15.00/ft. and $18.00/ft. for the topside (rub-rail up) which includes a thorough cleaning and treatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass, and metal. In other words, for the price of doing the "hard" part we'll detail the entire topsides and leave it in "ready-to-show" condition. Hulls (rub-rail down) run about $8.00/ft. but, of course, the boat must be out of the water in order to do it. (This walking on water with a hi-speed electric buffer in hand is still beyond me, but I'll let you know;-)

Fiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to $65.00 per hour and in general as with most everything else, one gets what one pays for. The up side to this is that when approached in a professional manner the dents and dings of ten years hard use can be repaired and made to look like new in an amazingly short time.

All too often we have seen people save $300.00 or $400.00 on a detail only to loose $Thousands$ on what their boat could have sold for. Then too, our local marinas are clogged with many examples of boats with "For Sale" signs which were never given the least bit of attention to make the passer by want to stop and think, "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to call that boat mine." Some of these boats have sat for years when all they ever really needed was a little T.L.C.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of wooden boat. Share your new understanding about wooden boat with others. They'll thank you for it.

2006-10-29T23:44:00.000-08:00

When most people think of wooden boat, what comes to mind is usually basic information that's not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there's a lot more to wooden boat than just the basics.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on wooden boat now have at least a basic understanding. But there's more to come.

Thousands of people will gather in Georgetown Saturday for the 17th Annual Wooden Boat Show. The event will be held at the intersection of Front and Broad streets from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Featuring one of the Southeast’s finest wooden boat exhibits with more than 100 classic boats on display, there is something for everyone.
Exhibits and activities include: the Wooden Boat Challenge boat building competition from noon to 4 p.m. with a relay race with the boats at 5 p.m.; a children’s model boat building area; maritime arts, crafts, books and supplies; and food including Cajun gumbo, shrimp Creole and hot dogs.
The most popular event of the Wooden Boat Show is the Wooden Boat Challenge, where teams of two compete using the same plans and the same materials to build the Georgetown Bateau. Teams have four hours to build their boats and then they must compete in a rowing race in their boat across the Sampit River and back.
“You can get a winning point for having completed the boat in the least amount of time, a point for having the best-built boat and a point for winning the rowing race,” Jim Clark, one of the judges for the contest, said. “It shows not only craftsmanship, but speed of building and how well you can handle a boat in the water.”
There will also be two interesting demonstrations during the event: Knot tying by Dan “The Knot Man” Machowski and carving a wooden boat from a log with antique tools by Tiny Tim.
Joseph Cave is the winner of this year’s Wooden Boat Show poster contest with his colorful depiction of a 30-foot sailing vessel. The original is hanging in the Rice Paddy Restaurant and will be auctioned off during the boat show.
Money raised through sales and donations during this event will go toward the Harbor Historical Association's plans for establishing a maritime museum in Georgetown.
“It is a wonderful thing that people come here to Georgetown to see these dedicated boat builders giving it their all,” Susan Hibbs, one of the many organizers of the event, said. “I think people are fascinated and inspired by this boat show.”

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what's important about wooden boat.

wooden boat festival

2006-10-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Seattle Area Festivals - If you are the kind of person who enjoys a wide array of festivals, then Seattle is the place for you. Whether you want to celebrate the summer solstice or Nordic Yulefest, there is sure to be a Seattle Festival for you.

Summer Festivals:

Solstice Parade - The Solstice Parade is the official kick-off of the Fremont Fair. Over the past 20 years, the Fremont Arts Council has been a non-profit organization celebrating art and creative expression. The Solstice parade has become popular not only with the locals in Fremont, but with hundreds of people from Seattle and beyond. The parade celebrates not only the beginning of summer, but a love of art and community. Location: Fremont

Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival - The Wooden Boat Festival is an annual event celebrating one of the most favorite pastimes of Seattlites - Boating. The festival includes a regatta and people’s choice awards. Location: Lake Union

difference between you and wooden boat

2006-10-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

The following article covers a topic that has recently moved to center stage--at least it seems that way. If you've been thinking you need to know more about it, here's your opportunity.

Last year I got a call from Dick Wagner, local patron saint of old wooden boats, with an offer that could have read, "Free Classic Boat, Moorage Included."

Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats had acquired an old thoroughbred of a sailboat, the legendary sloop "Mistral," and they needed someone to look after it.

These were Dick's actual words:

"She just needs to be sailed."

Truthfully, the only difference between you and wooden boat experts is time. If you'll invest a little more time in reading, you'll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to wooden boat.

Perhaps he said something else after this, something about sanding and varnishing and occasional engine trouble, or occasional white-knuckled moments trying to get the bilge pump working while water streamed in from the bow. If he did, I wasn't listening. That would have been the rational thing to do, and taking on the stewardship of a large boat — old, wooden, fast or otherwise — is guided as much by sugar plums dancing in one's head as dull, boring reason.

I took on Mistral for two years, slowly picking up a crew of fellow volunteers. Seventeen months into my commitment, we have spent a couple thousand hours scraping, sanding, varnishing, painting and tinkering. The Experience Mistral Project has grown to include an official logo, a fictional corporate structure complete with a promotions-and-marketing department, iron-on transfers, a "free beer" night and a blog to apprise the world of all the latest Mistral news.

Some of us have even gone sailing. We picked up several coveted duck stickers in the Tuesday night Duck Dodge series on Lake Union. Amazingly, we won an actual cup by besting two of the Northwest's finest wooden racers. We've taken dozens of people out on the Center's free Sunday sails. And earlier this month, we had one of those sterling Northwest weekends that have you waking up on Monday with the feeling that you've just done something unique and spectacular.

"This one day of sailing has made all the work worthwhile," said Erik Nielsen, a former Washington State University dinghy racer and crew member so dedicated he actually calls me "skipper." It was midweekend and we had just finished an absolutely wild ride around Port Townsend Bay. We had yet another great ride to come.

As your knowledge about wooden boat continues to grow, you will begin to see how wooden boat fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

about wooden boat

2006-10-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

The best course of action to take sometimes isn't clear until you've listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

In the past travellers were able to easily visit Ha Long Bay independently by paying a fisherman to ferry them around the bay. But the popularity of the region has given rise to a cavalcade of wooden junks shuffling tourists about.

Apart from a handful of more expensive tours, the majority are uniform – a three-level wooden boat with an open deck on the top level, dining area in the middle level and quaint, clean cabins below.

Our tour promised a two-night, three-day sojourn on a sail boat in the World Heritage-listed site, with no more than 16 people on board. We slept one night on the boat and the other on Cat Bah Island. Once aboard, we quickly found the crew had little interest in customer service.

When the boat filled with more than 25 passengers, we approached our host. Instead of explaining that most of these passengers would be disembarking before we moored for the night, she told us sternly that the Vietnamese tourists were not included in the head count.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on wooden boat now have at least a basic understanding. But there's more to come.

Our tour was more like a dictatorship that masqueraded as a boat tour. We were told what to do, when to eat and when to get up (at 7am). We were forced to stick to a tight schedule, which ferried half the tourists aboard to and from Cat Bah Island, leaving little time to swim and kayak.

One local told us the lack of choice among tours was because the Vietnamese Government either owned or heavily subsidised the tour companies, allowing for no real competition in the market.

But despite the sometimes unfortunate aspects, Ha Long Bay is breathtaking. From the calm grey-green opaque waters of the bay rise thousands of limestone islands, with dramatic sheer cliffs and craggy openings.

There are nearly 3000 limestone islands in Ha Long Bay and many are hollowed out with enormous caves. On the first day we visited one of the largest caves, commonly called Wooden Stakes Cave.

It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on wooden boat. Compare what you've learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of wooden boat.

Sailing with wooden boat

2006-09-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

Would you like to find out what those-in-the-know have to say about wooden boat? The information in the article below comes straight from well-informed experts with special knowledge about wooden boat.

Recreational sailboats vary the most in size and shape. There is everything from a 5 foot wooden Pram to huge yatchs that span over 100 feet in length. Smaller boats are designed for more economical reasons. The small price tag and the agile steering make them great for learning on. Bumping and obsticle will do minimal damage to small boats because the are so light. They are also more appropriate for small lakes and rivers. When boats exceed about 20 feet, they begin to take the shape of the typical single hull sailboat. There is the rudder wheel located near the stern and a cabin that starts halfway and up towards the bow. The deck is where you access all the ropes and winches to control the sails. Most every boat has an alternate form of power in the form of an engine with a propeller. Wind power is not good for every situation and it is not always plentiful. Racing sailboats also vary in size and shape, but the biggest sailboat race in the world sets the standard for the type of boat. Yatch racing is the

most popular and most repected. They are fairly large boats at 44 feet with a single hull. The race is held every four years and the challengers are fighting to win the cup from the victor of the previous race. Other popular styles of boats to race are Cataraman sailboats that have two hulls with a deck spanning the gap between them.

If your wooden boat facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important wooden boat information slip by you.

Sailing is a tough sport because there is strict strategy that must be carried out through so many different controls. Teams practice together for years just to learn how to work around eachother. If you ask me, I'll just go cruising.

Is there really any information about wooden boat that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.

boat made from wood

2006-09-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for some inside information on wooden boat? Here's an up-to-date report from wooden boat experts who should know.

what about those little chips and dings in the gelcoat?

Many books have been written on fiberglass repair and it isn't the intent of this article to cover the subject in any depth but many small repairs are well within the reach of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like anything else though, if you have never done it before, "consult an expert."

I've been building and repairing in fiberglass since I was 14 and while the first wooden boat I glassed was water tight and lasted a good many years, it was far from pretty. The small investment you lay out for expert repair now will pay big dividends when your boat sells at the price you want.

In the Emerald Coast region the standard fees for compound/waxing run between $15.00/ft. and $18.00/ft. for the topside (rub-rail up) which includes a thorough cleaning and treatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass, and metal. In other words, for the price of doing the "hard" part we'll detail the entire topsides and leave it in "ready-to-show" condition. Hulls (rub-rail down) run about $8.00/ft. but, of course, the boat must be out of the water in order to do it. (This walking on water with a hi-speed electric buffer in hand is still beyond me, but I'll let you know;-)

Most of this information comes straight from the wooden boat pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you'll know what they know.

Fiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to $65.00 per hour and in general as with most everything else, one gets what one pays for. The up side to this is that when approached in a professional manner the dents and dings of ten years hard use can be repaired and made to look like new in an amazingly short time.

All too often we have seen people save $300.00 or $400.00 on a detail only to loose $Thousands$ on what their boat could have sold for. Then too, our local marinas are clogged with many examples of boats with "For Sale" signs which were never given the least bit of attention to make the passer by want to stop and think, "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to call that boat mine." Some of these boats have sat for years when all they ever really needed was a little T.L.C.

You'll want a work area that's adequate. The larger the table or work area the better, and it's always nice to hang your plans for easy referral. You also need good lighting with no shadows. Your work area should be broken into areas such as preassembly, working on, and waiting to dry. It will make the process much easier.

Always read your plans in advance of starting to work on an area. That way you'll know exactly where you are headed. It might take a couple of reads to makes sense of the directions, but be patient – you'll get it.

There are all kinds of model ships – tall ships, cruise ships, sailboats, speedboats, wooden boats, and antique boats are some examples. So whatever you fancy, you'll find plenty of model ships to choose from.

There's a lot to understand about wooden boat. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

traditional wooden boat

2006-09-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

So what is wooden boat really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about wooden boat--info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Lake Iseo, also called Lake Sebina, is the fourth largest lake in the Lombardy region of Italy. The lake was formed by the Valcamonica Glacier, and is 24 kilometres long and up to 5 kilometres wide. This width is not always obvious as the largest lake island in Europe, Monte Isola, sits in the centre of the lake. The lake is situated just north of Brescia and Bergamo, this being reflected in the fact that it is administered on the western bank by the Bergamo district council, and on the east bank by the Brescia district council. The River Oglio, flowing down from the Val Camonica and entering between Lovere and Pisogne, mainly feeds the Lake from the north. The Val Camonica has thermal spas and prehistoric rock carvings. At the southern end of the lake lies the Torbiere, a peat bog and now a nature reserve. South of this lies the Franciacorta valley, producing the best sparkling wine in Italy.

The tour usually takes an hour or so with most of the spices being grown within a small area on each shamba. The tour usually ends with a young man climbing a coconut tree to harvest young coconuts which are opened and the water is offered as a very refreshing drink. Thousands of clove trees line the roads and if it is the season you will be able to smell and see the cloves drying on hessian sacking at the roadside as you drive to Nungwi. From Stone Town the drive is 60km and is a pleasant drive through the island it is too.

Nungwi is a small fishing village on the most northern tip of Zanzibar Island [Unguja]. The traditional wooden boats are still made here and visitors are able to watch the craftsmen at work. Nungwi has evolved into a resort and looks likely to keep growing.

Life for the fishermen of Nungwi is very different from life in Stone Town. Stone Town is affluent and here in the far flung north life is hard. The fishermen can be seen fixing their boats with a paste made up from ground bones and oil.

Think about what you've read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about wooden boat? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

The population of the island is around 1700, with those not employed in tourism working as fishermen, in boatyards or making nets. In fact, the nets for the goal posts of the 1982 Football World Cup were made locally. Guess what - Italy won the Cup that year! There are still numerous naets, the typical wooden local fishing boats, to be seen. Some of the catch is left outside to dry in the sun in the traditional manner.

You can visit a traditional boatyard, Cantiere Nautico in Peschiere Maraglio, and see the construction of the handmade wooden boats.

One of the biggest investments a fisherman.

2006-09-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

When you're learning about something new, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information available. This informative article should help you focus on the central points.

One of the biggest investments a fisherman will every make is the purchase of a fishing boat. Just like cars, fishing boats come in all shapes and sizes and varying levels of quality. To avoid buying a “lemon”, it is always advisable for the potential boat owner to educate themselves on the ins and outs of boat ownership.

These boats are intended for those who fish for just about everything. They can be made of aluminum, wood, or fiberglass and sizes usually range from 15 to 20 feet (4.5-6 meters) in length. Aluminum boats are generally the least expensive option available, with prices ranging from $1,500 up to about $25,500. Keep in mind that these prices are generally without a motor, which will have to be purchased separately. Wooden boats are still being made, but they are difficult to find, and very hard to get. Used wooden fishing boats are readily available in the classifieds section of your newspaper or any number of places on the Internet. Maintenance is the big issue with wooden boats, as the wood is susceptible to dry rot and fungus, and so must be painted and kept in good shape at all times. Fiberglass boats are probably the most widely used these days. There are many manufacturers and styles of fiberglass boats, and prices range from about $8,000 to $30,000 for a new boat.

A general purpose fishing boat will usually have spaces for fishing gear and several bench seats or pedestal style seats with backs. The driver's area will be very simple; some boats can be found that even use a steer-by-tiller layout. These boats are almost always outboard powered, and are usually trailerable. The capacity range for a general purpose fishing boat is 1-4 people. Boat movers require the boat to be properly prepared for transporting. They will not move the boat unless certain details are taken care of. The doors need to be closed properly. Batteries and cables must be disconnected. Boats should be covered by shrink-wrap. The shrink-wrap is a heat sealed surface to ward off hot sun and water from chafing the surface. Wooden boats are transported in a custom cradle. Most boat movers do not accept responsibility for damage if the boat was not prepared for transport.

If you don't have accurate details regarding wooden boat, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don't let that happen: keep reading.

The driver transporting the boat will carry out a survey of the exteriors of the boat. He makes a report of the condition of the boat. Damages if any have to be reported while taking delivery of the boat.

If the boat fits the size of a container of a container vessel, then it is transported in the container. For oversized boats, a flat rack and strap is used to secure the boat. Sometimes the boat is loaded directly from the water. In some cases the boat is loaded from a barge into the ship.

The main job of boat movers is to assess the client’s needs and transport boats in a timely and safe manner.

If you've picked some pointers about wooden boat that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won't really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don't use it.

information about wooden boat

2006-09-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.

Solstice Parade - The Solstice Parade is the official kick-off of the Fremont Fair. Over the past 20 years, the Fremont Arts Council has been a non-profit organization celebrating art and creative expression. The Solstice parade has become popular not only with the locals in Fremont, but with hundreds of people from Seattle and beyond. The parade celebrates not only the beginning of summer, but a love of art and community. Location: Fremont

Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival - The Wooden Boat Festival is an annual event celebrating one of the most favorite pastimes of Seattlites - Boating. The festival includes a regatta and people’s choice awards. Location: Lake Union

Many books have been written on fiberglass repair and it isn't the intent of this article to cover the subject in any depth but many small repairs are well within the reach of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like anything else though, if you have never done it before, "consult an expert."

I've been building and repairing in fiberglass since I was 14 and while the first wooden boat I glassed was water tight and lasted a good many years, it was far from pretty. The small investment you lay out for expert repair now will pay big dividends when your boat sells at the price you want.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

In the Emerald Coast region the standard fees for compound/waxing run between $15.00/ft. and $18.00/ft. for the topside (rub-rail up) which includes a thorough cleaning and treatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass, and metal. In other words, for the price of doing the "hard" part we'll detail the entire topsides and leave it in "ready-to-show" condition. Hulls (rub-rail down) run about $8.00/ft. but, of course, the boat must be out of the water in order to do it. (This walking on water with a hi-speed electric buffer in hand is still beyond me, but I'll let you know;-)

Fiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to $65.00 per hour and in general as with most everything else, one gets what one pays for. The up side to this is that when approached in a professional manner the dents and dings of ten years hard use can be repaired and made to look like new in an amazingly short time.

All too often we have seen people save $300.00 or $400.00 on a detail only to loose $Thousands$ on what their boat could have sold for. Then too, our local marinas are clogged with many examples of boats with "For Sale" signs which were never given the least bit of attention to make the passer by want to stop and think, "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to call that boat mine." Some of these boats have sat for years when all they ever really needed was a little T.L.C.

Knowing enough about wooden boat to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you've just learned about wooden boat, you should have nothing to worry about.

History of Ship Models

2006-09-17T23:58:00.000-07:00

This article explains a few things about wooden boat, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.

Model ships have gone a long way from the first types of model ships made by the Egyptians 5,000 years ago. Funeral boats were an integral part in Egyptian burial practices since these were believed to carry the souls of the departed to the afterlife, thus, tedious effort was exerted in making highly detailed, beautifully crafted and richly colored funeral boats made from sycamore. From the 12th to 15th century, model ships were used as symbols taken to the church to bless the said vessels and the crew aboard these ships who are at sea. Galleys and Galleons are the more popular types of model ships and may still be seen in museums. Unlike the Egyptian funeral boats, however, these blessing symbols are quite crudely made.

The first well-crafted ship models were actually made just for nobility by shipwrights or those who design ships to show the ships that they intend to build. More interestingly, French prisoners of war who spent many years held captive made use of their time by making ship models using scraps of wood and bone, often using human hair for rigging. Model ships later evolved into an art form due to exceptional craftsmanship and are still sought after in this day and age.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you're fully informed about wooden boat, keep reading.

Boat shows have become very popular ways for boat manufacturers to showcase their products and for consumers to research, dream about and perhaps even purchase a boat. There are as many different kinds of boat shows as there are boats with shows specializing in luxury yachts, wooden boats, power boats, sailboats and more. However, the largest shows are more general with exhibits and information on all different kinds of watercraft.

Boat shows can take place inside large convention centers or at outdoor venues like marinas. For example, the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat show takes place at six different marinas throughout the city. By contrast, the largest boat show in Baltimore takes place inside the convention center.

Don't limit yourself by refusing to learn the details about wooden boat. The more you know, the easier it will be to focus on what's important.

specialized of wooden boat

2006-09-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with wooden boat.

THE regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said he will recommend for the auction of a wooden boat recently seized in Maitum, Sarangani.

The half-finished boat is 94 feet long, 18.5 feet wide and almost two-storey high.

The boat has three decks with bridge, crew cabin with built-in beds and engine room that can hold at least four cars, he said.

Now that we've covered those aspects of wooden boat, let's turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

A public notice has been issued by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) to inform "whoever is the owner" of the abandoned boat "to submit any legal documents within three days upon this posting to support the source of wood materials."

A source at the Sarangani government said they have identified the owner but declined to give the name pending further verification.

The grilled gizzards shads are also popular. Sprinkled with raw salt, they are slowly roasted over a briquette fire, making the fish greasy from its natural unsaturated fat.

"Gizzard shads have plenty of DHA and EPA, helping your children to study harder, and they have taurine, a compound also found in fungi and plants, that breaks down your body fat," said Chung Jeong-ho, a director of the town's upcoming gizzard shad festival. "It also helps clean out the intestines. Actually there's nothing in the body that this silver fish is not good for."

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what's important about wooden boat.

wooden boat: Folks soak up nostalgia with wooden ships

2006-09-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

2006-09-08
by JEFF CHEW

PORT TOWNSEND -- If maritime heritage really floats your boat, the 30th annual Wooden Boat Festival is bound to put wind in your sails and a song in your heart.

With more boats than ever expected to be exhibited at or near Point Hudson Marina -- about 200 -- the festival runs today through Sunday.

``Bigger than ever,'' said Dave Robinson, Northwest Maritime Center executive director, who was making the rounds Thursday as exhibitors were sailing in and setting up at Point Hudson.

Audrey McSperitt, the festival's maritime information coordinator, said Thursday that about 175 boats would be exhibited on the water and another 25 on land.

It's still not too late to catch an ear-splitting close-up shot of a cannon blast aboard the tall ship Privateer Lynx, which will challenge the tall ship Lady Washington in a mock battle in Port Townsend Bay.

There are still plenty of spaces aboard the Lynx, said Jeffrey Woods, Lynx Educational Foundation director, on Thursday.

On board tours of the Lynx and Lady Washington are scheduled during the festival, for donations.

The Lady Washington, which last visited Port Townsend in 2005 along with the Lynx and several other tallships en route to the Tacoma Tall Ship Festival, is a replica of the original Lady Washington.

The Lady Washington was painted in Port Townsend in 2002 for its appearance in the Disney movie, ``Pirates of the Caribbean.''

The Lynx is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx that was built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell's Point, Md.

The vessels have visited the popular festival in past years.

New this year is a live broadcast of National Public Radio's West Coast Live from the Wooden Boat Festival.

The broadcast will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday from the Main Stage, near the Cupola House at Point Hudson.

Hosted by Sedge Thomson, who last appeared at the Upstage in Port Townsend for last year's Port Townsend Film Festival, the show is carried by KALW-FM in San Francisco, and usually is broadcast from Fort Mason.

Lemanski said he keeps the boat in the water until October at his home port in Afton, then stores it in a covered pole building during the winter. He has a hydraulic trailer to lift the boat from the water.

Aside from the beauty of the craft, Lemanski said the boat offers a better ride than many of today’s fiberglass models.

“Because of its weight and because of the wood, it sits a little bit lower in the water and has a tendency to just glide through the water better,” he explained.

Mark Ludlow, who along with other resort operators organizes the annual boat show, said his own love affair with wooden boats began in the 1970s.

“My wife Sally’s parents, the Beaurlines, had two wooden Chris-Crafts hanging in the boathouse,” he said. “We decided to get one going in the late 1970s.” From there, the fleet expanded to include the cruiser Sally Anne and a wooden boat that shuttles passengers to and from Ludlow’s Island Resort.

The annual boat show is “pretty informal” as shows go, said Ludlow. “There are only two prizes — one is the Skippers’ Choice and the other the People’s Choice. The real purpose is to show off the boats and familiarize people with the boats.”

That’s not to say that the show doesn’t attract some major boating enthusiasts.

Jeff Stebbins owns 14 wooden watercraft, including a 28-foot 1954 Chris-Craft Sportsman that is one of a kind. He first started obtaining the boats in the early 1970s. “Wood boats were cheap then,” he recalled. “Nobody wanted them. In the mid-70s, they started to become collectors’ items instead of just discarded relics.”

Stebbins said classic wooden boats please all the senses.

“They look beautiful, they smell great, they sound great and they ride great,” he said.

Stebbins, who has a house on Lake Minnetonka, recently purchased a home on Lake Vermilion, where he and his wife Nancy plan to become full-time residents. When he visited friends in the area, Stebbins said he became smitten with the lake. His travels as a member and past officer of the International Antique and Classic Boat Society reinforced his feelings.

“We travel all over,” he said, “and Lake Vermilion is one of the top five lakes in North America.”

wooden boat: Large wooden boat seized by DENR

2006-09-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

MAITUM, Sarangani (8 September) -- A half-finished wooden boat two-storey high and longer than a basketball court lies abandoned in the coastal barangay of Pinol after no one claimed ownership when authorities swooped down.

Maitum police chief Senior Inspector Geronimo Dimayuga inspected the boat yesterday but nobody around would tell about its owner.

The boat has three decks with bridge, crew cabin with built-in beds and engine room that can hold at least four cars.

Authorities said the boat was "60% complete" and locals were calling it "Noah's Ark" because it was entirely made of wood.

Local officials pegged the boat's value at P5 million when completed and fitted with engine.

The boat, 94 feet long with a width of 18.5 feet, was seized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on August 23.

A public notice has been issued by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) to inform "whoever is the owner" of the abandoned boat "to submit any legal documents within three days upon this posting to support the source of wood materials."

"Otherwise this apprehended item shall be recommended forfeited in favor of the government," said the notice, a copy of which was received by a barangay official Monday.

A composite team from DENR, municipal government and the police which seized the boat was "facing a blank wall," CENRO Ruel Divino reported.

In a memorandum for DENR Sec. Angelo Reyes dated August 30, Divino said "there was no one who was willing to divulge the identity of owner for fear of reprisal."

The CENRO recommended that the boat "be disposed immediately thru public auction in 'as is where is' basis."

Divino said the lumber used has a scaled volume of 20,426.65 board feet of batete, yakal, and lambayao hardwood with total value of P612,799.

The seized boat has been placed in the custody of Pinol barangay kagawad Sarifa Ulangkaya. (Sarangani IO/PIA 12)

wooden boat: Large wooden boat seized by DENR

2006-09-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

wooden boat: Richard Shanahan loves his Streblow 28

2006-09-08T01:03:00.000-07:00

The vessel weighs in at about 8,000 pounds, but it used to do 55 miles per hour. It runs a little slower today, having been repowered.

The Streblow 28 is constructed with white oak framing and Philippine mahogany planked deck and sides. That's right. It is a classically beautiful wooden boat. But Richard has learned classic beauty and wood are not necessarily high priorities for Southwest Florida.

"It forced me to buy a piece of property on the water when I moved to Boca Raton," Shanahan said. "I couldn't find any place that would take a wooden boat. So I ended up buying a house on the water that I couldn't afford. That was back in 2000."

He also designed a lift for the boat and worked together with GEM Remotes to design the remote for the lift. All of that simply proves what all boaters' wives already know - some men really do love their boats.

Shanahan's love for boats started when he was young.

"I grew up in Chicago. My dad had a lake house at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. My mom and dad were divorced, so I spent my summers at the lake," Shanahan explained. "Basically, I've been boating ever since I was a kid."

He got his first little fishing boat when he was about 10, and his family was among the first to have jet skis on Lake Geneva.

The big boat, though, was a wooden Streblow runabout. Shanahan's father, Richard Sr., started with a 23-footer, then moved up to a 26-footer. Finally, he convinced the Streblow family to build him a 28-foot runabout.

"That was back in '85," Richard said. "My dad died in '88, so me and my brother kind of inherited the boat. Basically, I've had it ever since."
When Richard moved to Florida, he brought that boat with him and quickly learned that wooden boats are rare in this part of the world.

Also, like most northern boaters who move to Collier County, he learned some things about navigating the local waters.

"How this area became a boating community I don't know because it's shallow water, not very easy to navigate," he said, voicing a common frustration. "Where I'm from if you go towards the middle of the water the deeper it is. I've found that here it's just the opposite. The edges are deeper than the middle, which is a little amazing. So I'm driving a boat that can easily run aground. And if I do, I'm really in trouble."

Shanahan has figured a way to deal with shallow water. "I got a little 16-foot jet boat. Now, I map out where the shallow spots are, then take the other boat out."

His first day of boating here was memorable for several reasons. He and his brother were bringing the Streblow from Boca to Marco, a trip of more than 300 miles that started with propeller problems and a repair delay of several hours. At the end of a very long day, they arrived in the Marco area about midnight under just a sliver of a moon while disagreeing on how to interpret the GPS.

"My brother was saying, 'The house is this way,' Richard recalled. "But he was pointing over Caxambas Pass and some hotels. So now I know why mutiny happens."

He continued, "Ironically, I drove the 300 miles from Boca and got almost to my house before almost touching bottom. We stopped, backed up, figured it out and went ahead."

A few days later, a friend shared some local knowledge, took Richard around by boat... and grounded it three times.

"I am absolutely shocked," Richard commented. "The bottom constantly changes here."

But, like others who boat around Marco, he is overcoming his dismay and learning how to keep track of the bottom.

He plans to buy a sailboat in the next few years.

"I love sailing," he said. "But living in a very shallow area, I don't know which sailboat I'm going to get. Maybe a trimaran."

Capt. Carl has held his U.S. Coast Guard Captain's License since 1994. He was a columnist for the Englewood Review of Englewood, Fla., before moving to Collier County. He can be contacted at marcocaptain@comcast.net.

©Marco Island Sun Times 2006

wooden boat: Huge wooden boat abandoned, seized

2006-09-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

MAITUM, Sarangani -- A half-finished wooden boat, two-storey high and longer than a basketball court, lies abandoned in the coastal barangay of Pinol after no one claimed ownership when authorities swooped down.

Maitum police chief Geronimo Dimayuga inspected the boat Wednesday, but nobody around would tell about its owner.

The boat has three decks with bridge, crew cabin with built-in beds, and engine room that can hold at least four cars.

Authorities said the boat was "60 percent complete" and locals were calling it "Noah's Ark" because it was entirely made of wood.

Local officials pegged the boat's value at P5 million when completed and fitted with engine.

The boat, 94 feet long with a width of 18.5 feet, was seized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on August 23.

A public notice has been issued by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) to inform "whoever is the owner" of the abandoned boat "to submit any legal documents within three days upon this posting to support the source of wood materials."

"Otherwise this apprehended item shall be recommended forfeited in favor of the government," said the notice, a copy of which was received by a barangay official Monday.

A composite team from DENR, Municipal Government and the police, which seized the boat, was "facing a blank wall," Cenro Ruel Divino reported.

In a memorandum for Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes dated August 30, Divino said, "There was no one who was willing to divulge the identity of owner for fear of reprisal."

The Cenro recommended that the boat "be disposed immediately through public auction."

Divino said the lumber used has a scaled volume of 20,426.65 board feet of batete, yakal, and lambayao hardwood with total value of P612,799.

The seized boat has been placed under the custody of Pinol barangay kagawad Sarifa Ulangkaya. (Sarangani Information Office)

wooden boat: Setting sail

2006-09-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Crafted of wood in the shipbuilding tradition, 38-foot schooner makes its debut this weekend in Gloucester's Parade of Sail
By David Rattigan, Globe Correspondent | September 3, 2006

ESSEX -- The answer to the question Harold Burnham has been asked most often over the last year is scrawled in spray paint on a plank that's tacked to a cabinet in his boatyard. It reads, ``We will launch her when she's done."

homemade sign reads, ``No drinky drinky until splashy splashy."

Since the fall of 2005, when he started milling the wood of a thick tree trunk that would become the keel, Burnham has been working on the Isabella, a wooden schooner that is scheduled to make its debut in today's Parade of Sail at the Gloucester Schooner Festival .

Shipbuilding has been part of Essex's history since the 1600s, when travel along the coast and down river was the region's most important form of transportation. Over the centuries, more than 4,000 wooden vessels have been built in the town, according to Tom Ellis, president of the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum. Essex vessels were distinguished not just by volume but by quality and innovation, he said. ``They were the envy of sailors all over the world."

Production methods have changed, but traditional wooden shipbuilding is alive at Burnham's Shipyard, from the use of wood milled on site to the recognition of centuries-old rituals.

Last November, there was a public celebration at the yard for the laying of the keel to signal the ``official" start of the project. Attendees were allowed to write their names on what would become the vessel's spine. Earlier this month, the shipyard held a formal boat launch, which drew an estimated crowd of 2,000. They watched from vantage points around the inlet and cheered as the 38-foot, 20-ton vessel was tipped on its side and eased along the greased launchway into the water.

The tradition also includes building the boat by the water's edge, to be observed by those sailing past. With the help of modern technology, the project also could be viewed via an automatically updating webcam on the website of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum (www.EssexShipbuildingMuseum.org), which is located next door to the boatyard, at the Town Landing.

``All the methods we use to build these boats are as efficient as they ever were," said Burnham, 39, who learned many of the techniques as a teenager, observing Brad Story, a prolific boat builder from another old Essex family, who operated a boatyard in the buildings that now house the museum. He learned of other old-time methods through photographs and historical documents.

Burnham began building wooden vessels in the traditional way starting 10 years ago, with the 65-foot schooner Thomas E. Lannon, which was commissioned by Ellis and launched in 1997. This is the fourth traditional schooner built by Burnham, who is the 28th Burnham to operate a shipyard in Essex since 1819.

Burnham said he can build a vessel in the traditional way and charge the same price, or less, than an owner would pay for a comparable new boat.

``Those techniques and ways that we do it have been handed down in this town for almost 400 years," he said. ``The nice thing is, there's an awful lot of people in the next generation that worked on this boat and will be able to use those methods to take on more projects, as long as people like Bill Greene want a well-built wooden vessel," he said, referring to the boat owner who commissioned the project.

Burnham doesn't use those methods solely as historical curiosity, he said, but because they deliver better quality for the cost than other methods. And while he builds in a traditional way, using wood carved from a tree trunk, the Isabella is a new design, not a replica.

Burnham isn't exactly sure how many people have worked on the project, but said that the ``mad rush" of work being done in the last few weeks is typical of the end of any boat-building project.

``There's a lot of interesting characters in this yard," Burnham said, noting that many enjoy the challenge of the work. ``If you're building something and it's just spreading goo into a mold, it's just not the same. When this boat goes away, it will be rewarding not only to the owner, who will reap the benefits of all these people's work, but everybody will look at it and see a different thing."

Francis Cleary of Gloucester, who has worked as a carpenter on both houses and boats for 25 years, said he enjoys the nature of the work, and the variety. ``It's all custom work," Cleary said. ``You can go buy a real nice sailboat for a lot less than this, as a production boat, but you wouldn't have nearly the boat, and wouldn't have the uniqueness."

Neither the builder nor the owner has divulged Isabella's price.

This is the second wooden boat John Miles has helped build. The retired Lynn firefighter said the work presents multiple challenges. The wood of the hull, for instance, has to be milled in a precise pattern that will mirror a matching piece on the other side of the hull. ``If it's not right, as soon as you put it up, you'll see it," he said.

In comparison to building houses, he noted, ``You don't have to cut two-by-fours out of trees."

Burnham recently purchased the flagship of the Bath Maritime Museum in Maine, and plans to refit it for use as a commercial passenger vessel next summer out of Gloucester. He also plans to do some work on the historic Schooner Adventure, a large, long-term restoration project out of Gloucester.

He doesn't have a commission for a new boat, but noted that frequently, one job comes from the previous one and the celebration that surrounds the continuation of a town tradition.

``Almost all of the customers I've had from the last few years have come from the launch," he said. ``Having lived through it, [the owners] all appreciate it."

Asked if he is sad to see the vessels go at the end of the project, he said, chuckling, ``No -- God no -- I can't wait to see them go."

``The end of every project is pretty intense. There's a lot going on, everybody's got a lot at stake, everyone's in a rush. It's natural for it to be that way. What's really nice is a year or two years later when you're sailing along the coast and bump into everybody. That's when everybody's happy to see you.

``When you're in the thick of it, it's pretty intense, but the memories are fond ones."

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

wooden boat: Schooner Isabella launched in Essex

2006-08-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2006

ESSEX, Mass. --Someone compared it to giving birth.

It may not have been quite so painful, but those involved were pretty tense. Nearly 3,000 people stood at attention, listening for the telltale creaks and whines that meant a nearly 40,000-pound wooden schooner vessel had reached its tipping point.

Sunday was the official launching of Isabella, a privately commissioned boat built in the style of an early 1800s fishing vessel.

It was built in the Burnham Shipyard, and sent to sea using the traditional side launch method. A wooden skeleton, called a bilge, was built around the vessel. The craft was slowly -- very slowly -- jacked toward greased planks that lined one side of the bilge.

Each creak of wood was followed by a collective gasp. The movements of the vessel were slight, as crewmen pounded wedges under the boat to encourage it to tilt. Then everything stopped.

And with seemingly no provocation, except, perhaps, that of gravity, something gave. The boat slid into the water.

The town of Essex burst into applause.

"How else would you do it?" Harold Burnham asked. "It went textbook. Textbook perfect. Absolutely, textbook."

Burnham, of H. A. Burnham Boat Building and Design, and about a dozen crewmen -- who he refers to as his gang -- spent nine, six-day-a-week months building Isabella.

Around the museum, everyone seems to know that Burnham is an 11th generation shipbuilder. He, however, said he's not keeping track.

"A lot of people mistake ship building ... as a family business and they ask how many generations of a family has been involved," he said after rowing back to shore from Isabella.

"That really doesn't matter. What happened in this town is the ship building became a part of the culture and almost anyone who can trace their heritage to this town in any way shape or form is as closely tied to the industry as I am."

The sentiment was visible in the people drifting in kayaks and lining the banks to watch the launch.

And the sentiment was alive in people like Sarah Gunboot, 21, affectionately referred to as a "grease girl," or "putty god." She worked on the nine-month project in various capacities. Sunday's big feat was greasing up the launch ramp so that Isabella would slide easily into the water.

How did she get involved with the project? She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm an Essex kid," she said.

For 350 years, Essex was a center of wooden schooner construction. More than 4,000 vessels were built here; at the height of production, builders were cranking out about one a week.

The vessel's owner, William Greene, built his first boat when he was 20 -- "With a skill saw and a hammer and a hand drill," he said proudly. Since then, he said, he's owned a few sail boats, he even spent a month in the British Virgin Islands in one. But Isabella, named after his wife's mother, Isabel, was different.

It started when one of his sons asked for advice.

"He asked me, 'Dad, should I get a plastic boat or a wooden boat?'" Greene said.

"I said, 'well, the plastic boat is going to be no problem, but you don't want to get to be a 70-year-old guy who's regretted never having a wooden boat.'"

The 73-year-old man crossed his arms and laughed "Well, even if I am 70, I don't have to regret it, I can get one."

He chose Burnham.

"You can see why I was right," he said, as Isabella bobbed calmly in the water.

© Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

wooden boat: What's Happening -- Community Calendar

2006-08-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

Posted: 8/8/2006
Wednesday

Nevada County Fair: Featuring exhibits, livestock shows and auctions, a carnival, entertainment on three stages, culinary competitions, puppeteers and a petting zoo from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 9-13 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, 11228 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley. Cost: $3-$12. Details: 530-273-6217.

Seniors Concert and Lunch: The Del Sol String Quartet performs a special concert for seniors at noon Aug. 9 at the Truckee Donner Senior Apartments Community Room, 10040 Estates Drive, Truckee. Cost: $3 suggested donation per meal for seniors age 60 and older, $6 per meal guest fee. Details: 530-587-2408 or 530-587-4611.

Guitar Clinics in Tahoe: Open to all levels of guitar enthusiasts. Beginners focus on chords, tuning and timing. Intermediate guitarists learn to utilize greater choice and variation. The advanced group receives some individualized instruction from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 9; 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 11 and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, California 267. Cost: $300 includes all four days or pay the one-day rate of $100 per person. Details: 530-562-1010 for reservations.

Concours d'Elegance: As part of the antique and wooden boat show, the Ladies Luncheon and Fashion Show takes place at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Antle's Lakefront Estate in Rubicon Bay, $55 per person. A barbecue for men is at noon Wednesday at the Turner Lakefront Estate in Homewood, costing $45 per person. The potluck grand finale takes place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Gatekeeper's Museum, Tahoe City, costing $25 per person. Details: 530-581-4700.

wooden boat: Incline wood boaters take it all in at Concours

2006-08-07T23:06:00.000-07:00

Tom Meyer
August 7, 2006

INCLINE VILLAGE - Shortly before judging of the 34th annual Concours d'Elegance began, Incline resident Scott Bryant wiped raccoon paw prints off of the Alina Be, a '67 Century Resorter.

Eight years ago, those paw-prints would probably have gone completely unnoticed.

"It was a disaster (when I found it), but it had those lines," Bryant recalled. He purchased "Be" from a children's charity in 1997 for $675, then spent 21Ú2 years restoring it.

"Buying it was the single cheapest thing about restoring it," said Bryant.

His efforts have thus far paid off: Alina Be has won second place in the show's utility class four times, and was named "Best Century in Show" last year.

The show is the highlight of the Tahoe Yacht Club Foundation's Wooden Boat Week, which brings nearly 100 wooden boats to the North Shore. Bryant is one of five Incline participants.

Incline resident Charlie Marvin's Stealth Princess is steered from the stern by a small wooden rudder that blends in almost perfectly with its port-side railing.

What's more, its flat-topped green canopy looks like it would rip away as soon as she built up speed.

None of that worries Marvin, however, since the electric-powered Princess is only capable of about 4.5 knots.

"(I) wanted to be able to enjoy the lake while being able to listen to music or enjoy the wildlife," Marvin said.

The Princess's eight batteries, which weigh up to 160 pounds each, provide her with enough amperage for a 10-hour cruise at full power.

The boat was designed by Budsin Wood Craft, a North Carolina firm that specializes in wooden electric boats. Completed in 2005, the Princess is the youngest boat in the show, and one of only two that are electrically-powered.

None of the boats in this year's feature category, "Boats of the Fabulous Forties," were from Incline - though John and Mary Lahti's Cracker Barrell makes its harbor in Tahoe City.

The 19-foot custom runabout is a native of the region, and was delivered to its first owners in Reno in 1941. It won second place in its class at Concours in both 2004 and 2005.

Boat Week runs through Aug. 11. Visit the Tahoe Yacht Club's Web site www.tahoeyc.com or call (530) 581-4700.

wooden boat: Build your own wooden boat

2006-08-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

More than two-dozen informative demonstrations, workshops and seminars will be offered to attendees of the 15th annual WoodenBoat Show, which will take place from Aug. 25 to 27 at the Newport Yachting Center.

No additional charge is required to take part in these sessions.

This year, for the first time, the show will provide an opportunity for showgoers to learn directly from the boat builders. Individuals can try to take a long shaving from a plank, learn how to make their own wooden cleat, or how to work a steambox. At the Hands-On Workshops, scheduled from 2 to 5:30 p.m. each day of the show, boat builder and teacher Aime Fraser, WoodenBoat Associate Editor Tom Jackson, students from the International Yacht Restoration School, and a cast of drop-in boat builders will be on hand to put them to work.

In addition, industry experts will offer daily demonstrations of various other wooden-boat-building skills throughout the weekend, such as evaluating and tuning hand planes by Harry Bryan and steam bending by Tom Hill on Friday. Subjects to be covered on Saturday include epoxy-plywood construction by Geoff Kerr, tool sharpening by Aime Fraser, and understanding lofting presented by the IYRS faculty and students. Peter Arenstam from Plimoth Plantation will discuss early rigging styles.

Show exhibitors will also present workshops related to their products or services.

The 15th annual WoodenBoat Show will present traditional classics and contemporary wooden boats of every type. In addition to dozens of beautiful boats, this unique celebration of craftsmanship, ingenuity, and beauty features products and services by 150 companies from across North America, plus a full schedule of workshops and demonstrations by industry leaders. Families can enjoy free activities for children of all ages at Captain Kidd's Discover Point and all show visitors are welcome to board the three-masted Portuguese barkentine tall ship Gazela Primeiro.

Discounted admission tickets are available at www.TheWoodenBoatShow.com or by calling 1-800 273-7447. Aug. 14 is the deadline for discounts. Tickets at the gate will cost $12 per day or $18 for the entire three-day run.

wooden boat: Boat Lovers Spend Day Building Their Own Boats

2006-07-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

July 30, 2006 -- When you talk to boaters around here, it sounds like they've put their heart and soul into the wooden boats they've built.

Rusty Cooper devoted 100 hours to build a 16 foot boat. He used to have a plastic boat but now he says wood is the only type of boat he'll ever use.

Builders and students showed off 50 boats of delicate wooden craftmanship Saturday at the Wooden Boat Festival. Many of the works of art were built by students from Cape Fear Community College.

Boat lovers also spent the day on the riverfront trying to build a boat from scratch. When they're finished, the ultimate test will be which team's boat can survive the water.

The festival even wants to make room for tomorrow's wooden boat lovers.

Cape Fear's boat building program is the only one of its kind on the east coast.

Report by Dan Cassuto

wooden boat: Wooden Boat Enthusiasts Race off Newport

2006-07-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 13, 2006

By Coty Dolores Miranda

The regatta, which attracted quite a crowd, was held on the club's Opening Day.

SEAL BEACH - Every yacht club has its source of pride - but for one Southern California club, it starts from the bottom up.

The 34-year-old Wooden Hull Yacht Club is home to some of the coast's finest and most recognizable sailboats.

On July 8, Wooden Hull YC's 15th annual Heritage Regatta brought handsome old and new wooden hull vessels to the waters off Newport Beach, impressing hundreds spectators on sea and land.

The First to Finish Audrey Nye Perpetual Award went to Bob Dodds and his Rhodes 40, Whisper; Thomas Cooper's Syrena took first in Class B sloops and Denton Porter's Herreshoff ketch, Patience, won the Class B ketch race.

The event also marked the Opening Day for Wooden Hull YC, formed in 1972. The club's members, with home berths from Santa Barbara to San Diego, were hosted by Balboa Yacht Club. Following the regatta, the vessels were open to public viewing.

The Wooden Hull YC Opening Day Reception and Heritage Regatta awards ceremony followed on the Balboa Yacht Club's Flag Deck.

"Our 15th annual Heritage Regatta and Opening Day Ceremonies is our favorite event and provides an opportunity to celebrate not only the heritage of our yachts, but the heritage of Newport Harbor and our shared passion for wooden hull yachts," said Wooden Hull YC Commodore Jerry Klein.

"Boats came from Marina del Rey to San Diego for the Heritage Regatta," said Staff Commodore and regatta co-chairman Alan Peterson. His own vessel - the Kettenburg K-40, Zephyrus, was delivered overnight by skipper Jack Peterson in time for the regatta. Though her home berth is Long Beach, she'd been in San Diego for the past few months participating in classic yacht regattas, said Peterson, who bought his first wooden hull boat and joined the club in 1996.

"I've always loved the heritage of classic wooden hull sailing vessels," Peterson said. "They sail differently. They feel different. There is an organic sense one experiences at the helm of a wooden hull as it sails through the water. There's something about the boats, each with many decades of experiences, memories and nostalgia attached. Wooden Hull YC is our connection for these experiences. It's where we gather as friends, share our boats and our techniques and our latest stories about what projects we have next. There are always projects on these boats - one is never finished."

It was 34 years ago that Clark Sweet and Ray Wallace first approached other wooden hull boat owners with the idea of beginning a club that would honor and promote traditional wooden boats.

This was the decade (1970s) when fiberglass-hulled boats were making their way into Pacific Ocean racing circles, putting wooden vessels at a disadvantage. Within a short time, more than 100 wooden boat owners expressed interest and the Wooden Hull Owner's Association (WHOA) began. That same year, the WHOA's first race, from Newport to Dana Point, attracted 42 participants.

In 1991, the club voted to rename itself Wooden Hull Yacht Club.

Its membership roster reads like a who's who in Southern California wooden boats: the 70-foot gaff rigged cutter, Bloodhound, now plying the waters of Puerto Vallarta; the 1931 Fellows & Stevens 56-foot yawl Cheerio II; the 65-foot Kelpie - serving as this summer's substitute for Argus at the Newport Sea Base; the Alden 72-foot double top-masted schooner Dirigo II; and Tom Zetlmaier's Coast Rhodes 33 Lanakai, built in 1936 at South Coast Shipyard in Newport Beach.

Some members have hand-built their wooden-hulled vesels. Longtime member Woodson Woods, now living in Hawaii, spent six years building the 122-foot replica ship, Lynx, which now serves as the sail training vessel for the Lynx Educational Foundation. A newer Wooden Hull YC member, Thomas Kulp of Mission Viejo, also built his 24-foot Philip C. Boger-designed catboat, Jillian.

Although wooden vessels may seem to some a specter of the past, members like Peterson look to resurgence in interest for the classic beauties the vessels embody.

"I see our yacht club growing in the coming years - over the past couple years, we've reenergized our club, increased our membership and increased participation in our races," Peterson said. "We're a group of yacht owners who love wood, bronze, tools, varnish, paint and sometimes West System, and Wooden Hull YC provides our members the frequent opportunity to meet, greet and share stories."

For more information on Wooden Hull Yacht Club and its activities, visit its Web site at www.whyc.org.

Coty Dolores Miranda is a freelance maritime journalist who covers Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. She is a frequent contributor to The Log Newspaper.

wooden boat: Love of Boats Became Force To Transform Lives Adrift

2006-07-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

By Joe Holley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 23, 2006; Page C07

Inside a hot, cluttered warehouse on the Alexandria waterfront one morning last week, 19-year-old Josh Payne was looking for holes in a small wooden boat he had just helped build. A husky blond with a wispy beard, Payne knew carpentry; he learned from his father and an uncle while growing up in Spotsylvania. Now he knows the rudiments of boat-building, thanks to a program sponsored by the Alexandria Seaport Foundation that works to rescue youngsters caught in the malaise of the justice system by teaching them skills they desperately need.

"I learned how to be successful," said Payne, who landed in jail in the fall after deciding that selling drugs was a better way to make money than building houses.

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One of his mentors in that learning process was Paul Weeks II, a 62-year-old Arlington lawyer who was the program's managing director until his death from melanoma May 31.

Weeks, a lifelong basketball player who hit the hardwood with the same verve and focus that he brought to his law practice, was, in some ways, an unlikely participant in a program designed to rescue troubled youngsters, most of them young males.

Granted, he loved boats. He started sailing on Long Island Sound as a teenager, and he and his wife, Pam, kept a sailboat at Annapolis. He discovered the Alexandria Seaport Foundation when he wandered into its floating boathouse-office between Queen and Cameron streets looking for technical help on a wooden boat he was building in his garage.

But Weeks was no social worker, not even a criminal lawyer. Although he was a father, he was not familiar with the personal turmoil that such youngsters as Payne know too well. Educated at Princeton and George Washington universities, he was a corporate lawyer with a background in engineering. For years, his was a high-powered world of corner offices, corporate boardrooms and international travel, first with Communications Satellite Corp. and more recently with ICF Kaiser International.

Then, in 1999, Pam Weeks had hip replacement surgery, and Weeks decided to stay home for a while to help his wife and to take a break from his stressful career. He started spending more time at the foundation and became a board member.

After a few months, Executive Director Joe Youcha persuaded him to come aboard as a consultant and then as part-time managing director. Weeks kept a private law practice, with the idea that maybe he'd get back to big-time lawyering one day, but it wasn't long before part time at the foundation became full time.

"He just loved it here," Pam Weeks said as she sat in the foundation's cluttered, gently swaying second-floor office. "Going back to a regular law job just seemed less and less appealing."

Youcha, 43, a sailor and accomplished boat builder who grew up on the Hudson River north of New York City, took over the foundation in 1992, when its focus was tall sailing ships. Youcha had in mind starting a community boat-building program similar to one in Seattle called the Center for Wooden Boats.

It was Bill Hunley, a board member and retired chief Navy architect, who suggested that youths should be the focus. The idea was to take high school dropouts in trouble with the law, help them get their General Educational Development diploma and teach them a marketable skill through building boats. The four-month course, relying primarily on volunteers, prepares them for a union job through a partnership with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

"I needed an administrator who would focus on how to run the organization," Youcha said. "We were growing a lot, and we needed to figure out how to manage what we were doing."

Weeks was his man. For nearly six years, Weeks administered the program in every sense of the word -- accounting, fundraising, dealing with lawyers, police and probation officers, whatever was needed to keep things running as smoothly as a well-built wooden skiff.

"He was the glue here," Youcha said. "He was brilliant at being able to take what I had as a feeling, something visceral, and quantify it: 'Here's how we measure it. Here's how we come up with a conclusion.' "

"He knew so many things," said Howell Crim, who directs the apprentice program. "The scope of his knowledge ran from what size hole should I drill for this screw to how do you compensate for wobble in a satellite to how do I volunteer at the foundation."

But there was something more. The big, white-bearded guy got along well with the young men in the program; they enjoyed being around him.

"He helped out a lot of people, especially me," said Alhaji Carew, a slight 19-year-old from Sierra Leone who was a young man in trouble and without a country until Weeks helped sort through the chaos of lost immigration papers that had kept him in limbo.

"He was a real good guy," said Payne, who leaves the program in a couple of weeks to start a new job. "Just a real good guy."

wooden boat: Boat festival widens horizon in 29th yearWooden Boat Enthusiasts Race off Newport

2006-07-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 13, 2006

By Coty Dolores Miranda

SEAL BEACH - Every yacht club has its source of pride - but for one Southern California club, it starts from the bottom up.

The 34-year-old Wooden Hull Yacht Club is home to some of the coast's finest and most recognizable sailboats.

On July 8, Wooden Hull YC's 15th annual Heritage Regatta brought handsome old and new wooden hull vessels to the waters off Newport Beach, impressing hundreds spectators on sea and land.

The First to Finish Audrey Nye Perpetual Award went to Bob Dodds and his Rhodes 40, Whisper; Thomas Cooper's Syrena took first in Class B sloops and Denton Porter's Herreshoff ketch, Patience, won the Class B ketch race.

The event also marked the Opening Day for Wooden Hull YC, formed in 1972. The club's members, with home berths from Santa Barbara to San Diego, were hosted by Balboa Yacht Club. Following the regatta, the vessels were open to public viewing.

The Wooden Hull YC Opening Day Reception and Heritage Regatta awards ceremony followed on the Balboa Yacht Club's Flag Deck.

"Our 15th annual Heritage Regatta and Opening Day Ceremonies is our favorite event and provides an opportunity to celebrate not only the heritage of our yachts, but the heritage of Newport Harbor and our shared passion for wooden hull yachts," said Wooden Hull YC Commodore Jerry Klein.

"Boats came from Marina del Rey to San Diego for the Heritage Regatta," said Staff Commodore and regatta co-chairman Alan Peterson. His own vessel - the Kettenburg K-40, Zephyrus, was delivered overnight by skipper Jack Peterson in time for the regatta. Though her home berth is Long Beach, she'd been in San Diego for the past few months participating in classic yacht regattas, said Peterson, who bought his first wooden hull boat and joined the club in 1996.

"I've always loved the heritage of classic wooden hull sailing vessels," Peterson said. "They sail differently. They feel different. There is an organic sense one experiences at the helm of a wooden hull as it sails through the water. There's something about the boats, each with many decades of experiences, memories and nostalgia attached. Wooden Hull YC is our connection for these experiences. It's where we gather as friends, share our boats and our techniques and our latest stories about what projects we have next. There are always projects on these boats - one is never finished."

It was 34 years ago that Clark Sweet and Ray Wallace first approached other wooden hull boat owners with the idea of beginning a club that would honor and promote traditional wooden boats.

This was the decade (1970s) when fiberglass-hulled boats were making their way into Pacific Ocean racing circles, putting wooden vessels at a disadvantage. Within a short time, more than 100 wooden boat owners expressed interest and the Wooden Hull Owner's Association (WHOA) began. That same year, the WHOA's first race, from Newport to Dana Point, attracted 42 participants.

In 1991, the club voted to rename itself Wooden Hull Yacht Club.

Its membership roster reads like a who's who in Southern California wooden boats: the 70-foot gaff rigged cutter, Bloodhound, now plying the waters of Puerto Vallarta; the 1931 Fellows & Stevens 56-foot yawl Cheerio II; the 65-foot Kelpie - serving as this summer's substitute for Argus at the Newport Sea Base; the Alden 72-foot double top-masted schooner Dirigo II; and Tom Zetlmaier's Coast Rhodes 33 Lanakai, built in 1936 at South Coast Shipyard in Newport Beach.

Some members have hand-built their wooden-hulled vesels. Longtime member Woodson Woods, now living in Hawaii, spent six years building the 122-foot replica ship, Lynx, which now serves as the sail training vessel for the Lynx Educational Foundation. A newer Wooden Hull YC member, Thomas Kulp of Mission Viejo, also built his 24-foot Philip C. Boger-designed catboat, Jillian.

Although wooden vessels may seem to some a specter of the past, members like Peterson look to resurgence in interest for the classic beauties the vessels embody.

"I see our yacht club growing in the coming years - over the past couple years, we've reenergized our club, increased our membership and increased participation in our races," Peterson said. "We're a group of yacht owners who love wood, bronze, tools, varnish, paint and sometimes West System, and Wooden Hull YC provides our members the frequent opportunity to meet, greet and share stories."

For more information on Wooden Hull Yacht Club and its activities, visit its Web site at www.whyc.org.

Coty Dolores Miranda is a freelance maritime journalist who covers Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. She is a frequent contributor to The Log Newspaper.

wooden boat: Life's dream yields winning design

2006-07-11T00:42:00.000-07:00

CHARLES WATERHOUSE
11jul06

ALLAN Witt grew up in a family obsessed with designing and building boats and has now won an Australian Wooden Boat Festival design competition.

Mr Witt, a Hobart-based furniture designer, won the festival's Derwent skiff design competition against 17 Tasmanian, interstate and overseas designers.

He has won $1000 and will work with the selection panel to further develop the design through extending the length and load-carrying capacity to make it suitable for an adult and one passenger.

And expressions are now sought by the festival from local boat builders to build the prototype of the skiff.

The requirement is to build a single prototype for trials and to build a second skiff, demonstrating building techniques, during the festival.

The competition called for designers to submit sketches or drawings and explanatory notes for a recreational rowing boat.

The specifications called for a boat of simple timber construction with unique Tasmanian characteristics.

Several designers presented models of their proposals but Mr Witt's entry was a completed 4.7m craft.

It was built from 6mm cedar ply planks and clinker fastened with glue and copper nails.

It has a raked bow, double chine flared sections and, in the style of a piner's punt, a solid huon pine transom.

Mr Witt, who has degrees in science and theology and is completing a Masters in Business Administration, built the internal parts of the skiff -- the rigger, sliding seat and stretcher assembly -- and his father, Lou, built the hull.

The aim of the competition was to produce a design for a vessel which could be rowed on the River Derwent, which could be constructed without having to be built by a shipwright, was a pleasure to row and would introduce people to wooden boats and could be carried easily.

The design entries will be on show during the festival from February 9-12 next year.

wooden boat: Boat festival widens horizon in 29th year

2006-07-07T02:16:00.000-07:00

DOVER TWP. EVENT BECOMES A CLASSIC
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 07/7/06
BY JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

DOVER TOWNSHIP — The Wooden Boat Festival, renamed the Classic Boat Festival, is not just for wooden vessels anymore.
The annual festival, sponsored by the Toms River Seaport Society, will feature classic fiberglass boats for the first time, according to festival chairman Chet Ehrman.

The 29th annual festival will feature antique, classic and contemporary wooden boats Saturday, and classic fiberglass boats — both sail and power — Sunday.

Judging and awards for the wooden boats will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, with people's choice and chairman's choice awards for the fiberglass vessels to be presented at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The festival also will feature local marine artists, boat rides on the Toms River, music, games and food. Many of the boats will be available for boarding by the public.

The Maritime Museum, at the corner of Water Street and Hooper Avenue, will be open both festival days. The museum is a short walk from the festival area.

The featured boat this year is the Barnegat Bay sneak box, which is celebrating its 170th anniversary. This shallow-draft, round-bottomed boat was used for duck hunting and was first built by Hazleton Scaman of West Creek in 1836, according to information distributed by the Seaport Society.

Other boat builders in the area began designing their own versions of the sneak box. In the last half of the 19th century, Samuel Perrine and, later, his son, J. Howard of Barnegat, began building "improved" sneak box models which established the boat's reputation as a stable craft that glided easily over the shallow surface of the bay.

Originally, the sneak box boats were 12 feet long and 4 feet wide. They were shaped like the bowl of a spoon on the bottom and were able to glide easily through the water, allowing hunters to literally sneak up on flocks of resting geese or ducks.

Water fowl was a major staple in the diet of the bay people, and the sneak box boat was light and could be easily hauled by a solitary hunter.

Modern sneak box boats, which still are sailed on the Barnegat Bay, are 16 feet long and 5 feet wide. Some are now made of fiberglass instead of the native cedar wood used by 19th-century boat builders to construct the craft.

About 30 restored sneak box boats race each August at Mantoloking Yacht Club in the "Duckboat World Championships." Many sneak box boats will be on display at the boat festival.

wooden boat: Wooden-boat fans share passion with landlubbers

2006-07-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

By Karen Gaudette

Adrian Ahlstrom built his first wooden boat in about 15 minutes — masts, sails and all.

His mom, Delmar, wasn't sure it would be seaworthy. She turned it over in her hand to reveal a little secret: a hole where the hand drill had gone a bit too far.

"I think it's gonna sink," she confided with a grin as her 2 ½-year-old clambered onto a giant propeller on the grass nearby.

But no matter. Wooden boats have a long tradition of coming back from the deep, of being rebuilt, repainted, renewed.

Just ask fans at the 30th annual Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, many of whom described owning such a vessel as embarking upon a passionate relationship, one complete with sleepless nights, thousands of dollars spent and a love that requires constant attention.

"It's a love affair, really. You're never done," said Craig Kinnaman, an engineer aboard the Sand Man, a 96-year-old tugboat from Olympia that he helped restore after a failed bilge pump sent it foundering up to its smokestack at the city's Swantown Marina.

The festival runs through Tuesday at the Center for Wooden Boats along the south end of Lake Union. It features tours of historic vessels and speedboats, jaunts around the lake in rowboats, boat-building demonstrations, displays of nautical art and equipment and a model-boat pond.

History floats

Like floating museums, wooden boats reveal their histories everywhere: in the smoky walls of galleys, in the pitted, aging decks where lumbermen stomped around in cleated boots, in the worn spots of captain's wheels where weathered hands once grasped.

"If God had wanted us to have fiberglass boats, He would have made fiberglass trees," said a placard on one boat.

Handmade canoes agleam with varnish sat in the sun, ready to be caressed and ogled. Richard Cleveland of Klamath Falls, Ore., crafts and restores wooden canoes. Nothing glides along the water as quietly, he said. He remembered once he and his wife, Lorena, surprised an otter that glanced up and suddenly realized it had company only an arm's length away.

Walt Plimpton, a festival volunteer and wooden-boat aficionado, likes to admire the design of many boats docked near the center. You can judge a boat's quality by its proportions, Plimpton said, by its blend of form and function. He stops to admire the smooth lines and colors of a fishing boat, the Molle B.

"It's a work boat, but it has wonderful aesthetics," he said.

Landlubber questions

A stroll around the festival grounds offers a tour of some of the more interesting detritus of seafaring: Piles of rusty chains, a propeller the size of a child's sandbox, random anchors strewn about with bits of rotting rope.

Exhibitors at the festival cheerfully explain mysteries to landlubbers. For instance, how do pots and pans cling to stovetops when the boat's afloat? Answer: Usually, they're penned in by little guardrails. One booth offers free temporary pirate tattoos. All the Jolly Roger pirate flags were gone by lunchtime.

Back at the boat-building tent, Ethan Merchant, 10, of Spokane, put the finishing touches on his creation. After cruising Lake Union earlier in the day, he says he wants a houseboat and a sailboat.

What would he name that sailboat?

"Maybe the Waverider," Ethan said.

Karen Gaudette: 206-515-5618 or kgaudette@seattletimes.com

or call 206-382-2628 for more information.

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company

wooden boat: The Wooden Boat Show of 2006

2006-06-30T01:11:00.000-07:00

The public is invited to spend a half-day sailing Narragansett Bay aboard the 12-Meter yachts Gleam or Northern Light during the 15th Annual Wooden Boat Show taking place August 25th-27th at the Newport Yachting Center in Newport, Rhode Island.

This is a wonderful opportunity to explore the great waters, gather history about the Gleam and Northern Light and maybe even get a nice tan.

Both ships have been fully restored and are absolutely breathtaking.

This is fun that does not take place every day.

Now is your chance to sign up and get the feeling of what life is like on the sea.

Tickets are limited and will sell fast.

For more information or what the cost will be for tickers call (401) 624-2828 or visit

www.woodenboat.com.

wooden boat: Town mayor beaten, robbed

2006-06-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Madisonville’s Mayor Gitz, 71, in area hospital

Florida parishes bureau
Published: Jun 23, 2006

MADISONVILLE — The longtime mayor of Madisonville was attacked and robbed of his wallet Wednesday night, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

Peter Gitz, 71, mayor since 1977, was closing his restaurant about 10 p.m. when he was beaten on the head several times with a blunt object, deputies said. The Sheriff’s Office is calling the incident an armed robbery.

Gitz owns Badeaux’s Drive In, a burger stand in the Tchefuncte River community known for its Wooden Boat Festival and small town charm.

Deputy Town Clerk Paulla Nickelotte said it is beyond surprising that something like that could happen in Madisonville.

“Traffic violations, that’s about all you see here. No stop sign and speeding tickets,” she said.

“And most of all because he has been such a gentleman. He has been a part of the community for so long. It’s just shocking.”

The Sheriff’s Office said deputies have no suspects and are seeking the public’s help.

Gitz’s wallet contained an unknown amount of cash and several credit cards, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Madisonville Police Department officials declined comment Thursday.

The Sheriff’s Office and town officials held a news conference about the robbery Thursday.

Gitz apparently suffered several wounds in the robbery.

The Sheriff’s Office said it did not have information on his condition Thursday. Nickelotte, speaking for Gitz’s son, said Mayor Gitz was under treatment at an area hospital. She would not name the hospital.

Those with information in the case are asked to contact investigating authorities at (985) 875-2178.

Story originally published in The Advocate

wooden boat: Lars Trodson, "The Roads to Providence"

2006-06-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

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Fake vs. Real

Lars Trodson archives
I have this phenomenally awful rendering of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” in my office at home. I got it at a yard sale for a buck. It’s garish and lifeless and some of the hands on the apostles look more like baseball gloves than anything a human being would have attached to their wrists.

This is an old reproduction – I’m guessing from the ‘40s or ‘50s, judging by some of the stickers on the back of the matting. But it was actually framed with some care; it’s printed on nice solid material and the frame surrounding the painting really isn’t bad.

I am almost certain these affordable reproductions were sold by the thousands and adorned the homes of people all across this country – the pious first-generation Americans who wanted to recognize their faith. So there’s a weird duality to this piece of mass art; yes, it’s a pretty terrible attempt to replicate the majesty of Da Vinci, but also, at the same time, the art really wasn’t the point. It was undoubtedly looked at as a religious icon, and was meant to reflect the theological sensibilities of the inhabitants of the house rather than their taste in fine art.

So I keep it around because of that. It’s an artifact from another time and place; a modest icon that serves the same purpose for me as it did for the people who bought this mass-produced painting a long time ago.

In another corner of the office there is a reproduction of a Winslow Homer painting. In the center of the canvas is a wooden boat, the oars of which are being pulled by fisherman in silhouette. He’s got two big fish in the boat, and the fisherman is in profile, he’s looking over his shoulder. The sea has gone bad, he’s pulling his little boat over the chop, and he’s looking at the dark, spiky clouds lined up on the horizon and also at the sails of a much larger boat. This boat, he is no doubt thinking, may be able to take him in so he can ride out the coming storm and save his catch.

It is a lonely, melancholy painting; full of emotion and, even though it is a reproduction, you can see Homer’s rightfully famous approach to painting water and its mercurial properties. Within the frame are the elements of fear, hope, faith, daily life, chance and uncertainty.

To the right of that painting is another cheap reproduction of a painting clearly inspired by Homer. A fisherman is in a small wooden boat, pulling on his oars through a choppy sea. He has no fish in the boat but rather a small basket, a creel, perhaps, and he’s looking over his shoulder (in the opposite direction of Homer) and in the background is not a solitary ship but rather a lighthouse on a small island. Same content, same theme, utterly different effect.

The painting is bright and almost cheery. It looks like an inexpensive Christmas card. The spray hitting the shoals behind the fisherman looks like a couple of cotton balls stacked on top of one another, and as it sits next to the Homer painting it is very easy to see the difference between art and artifice. It almost makes you feel bad for the artist of the lesser painting, you wondered why he even bothered.

The artists bothered, of course, because they were both interested in the process, they were both interested in what they could achieve and uncover. Homer, like almost any other artist, may have been bemused by his own promethean talent. You can see him looking at the results of his latest work and thinking, “How do I do it?”

The other guy, well, he may have been like a lot of other artists – a little delusional over his own lack of talent, frustrated over his lack of recognition. Or, he may have been so proud he was able to render anything resembling real life at all that he was inordinately proud of what he could accomplish.

It isn’t really fair to hang the guy next to Homer, but it reminds me of how fine a line it is between inspiration and ability; between artistic success and failure. But that is purely on an aesthetic level.

Each of these odd things brings me their own distinct pleasure. I look at them and wonder about why anyone went to the trouble of reproducing these paintings in the first place – and in the case of the Da Vinci painting it’s not only a reproduction but of course a fake. Somebody had a copy of the Da Vinci painting and was hired to reproduce it for a mass audience. You have to wonder what was going through that artist’s mind.

But they’ve been in my office for a long time now, and once in a while – along with my American flag that hangs right next to an old print of the Norman Rockwell painting “Freedom From Fear” – I look at them and smile, and find new details in each that I hadn’t really seen before. I often wonder what the name of the painting is of the fisherman headed toward the lighthouse, because there is no marker or sticker to tell me. I’ve never looked up the name of the Homer painting because it is oddly irrelevant to me; it has its own meaning for me.

I bring this up because these strange things are helping to train me look at the world.

I have been dismayed, like a lot of people, at the cutting up of my New England landscape with these anonymous-looking houses, and these mass productions of bank branches and chain stores, and the appearance for more “Land for Sale” signs that surely means fewer trees and blocked streams and less square footage of the messy natural terrain.

But just as in my little copies, surely of which there must have been thousands and thousands made, just like the banks and the homes we seen being built right before our eyes, I am trying very hard not to see what is the same, but rather what is unique and different.

Lars Trodson can be reached at larstrodson@comcast.net

wooden boat: The ‘Antonia’ - resurfaced and salvageable

2006-06-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

Monday, 19 June 2006

Reporter: Kathy Cogo

For 10 days the celebrated icon of the lucrative pearling and trochus shelling industry of the Torres Strait sat on the bottom of Ross River Creek in Townsville, Queensland.

The 'Antonia' sank after vandals disconnected the power supply to the bilge pump while tied to the wharf beside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Cultural Centre.

Her supporters - wooden boat enthusiasts and Torres Strait Islanders - waited with fingers crossed for the right weather conditions to refloat her.

The 18-metre boat was employed in the multi-million dollar pearling and trochus shelling industry in the Torres Strait in the 1950s and was donated to the Townsville Wooden Boat Association over a year ago by the Museum of Tropical Queensland.

Townsville resident Francis Ebui had a tear in his eye when he saw the boat for the first time in 50 years.

Francis worked on the boat diving for trochus shells when he was 19 and remembers fondly the work that was involved. "Most of those boats got about 10 to 13 tonnes of shell. Well if we got that amount of shell then you'd come in say about three or four weeks time and unload the shells and be in port for about a week and a half/ two weeks and then away you’d go again.

"We had three rowing dinghies out in the reef. While the boat was anchored, we'd row the dinghies upstream and get some shells and bring them to the boat."

Francis says he loved the work because he preferred being out on the sea then on land.

But the work of the ‘Antonia’ and its crewmen came to an end with the arrival of plastic. Synthetically made buttons ruined the 100-year-old shelling business. There are two small shelling businesses, however, that are still operational in Western Australia and Queensland.

ABC Rural News and Information celebrated the pending salvage of the 'Antonia' by broadcasting live beside the boat. With Castle Hill in the background work got underway to raise the vessel while people looked on and told stories of yesteryear.

Peter Whalley-Thompson from the Townsville Wooden Boat Association spoke of the Torres Strait Island Cultural Centre's plans to restore the 'Antonia' back to survey standard for use as a training vessel.

Peter also gave a description of how the vessel was to be resurfaced.

In the first stages of the resurrection a crane from a salvage company hung a metal frame over the boat and secured slings under the hull. Professional divers experienced in marine salvage were geared up and took turns in the water preparing the boat and securing the slings.

The divers spent hours in the water and could communicate with the salvage crew on the barge via radio. They were also connected to oxygen on the barge by an air hose and carried a small air tank on their back in the case of an emergency.

The Townsville Port Authority funded the tedious operation, which cost close to $10,000.

Local Torres Strait Islanders, Aicie Day, Alma Pilot and Maman Martin sang two songs written about the 'Antonia' by their ancestors.

Aicie says being present for the raising of the 'Antonia' was a proud moment. "But it's very sad seeing it under water. Hopefully it's repairable?"

The good news – the ‘Antonia’ is repairable! Following a 10-hour rescue effort, which involved a crane and a barge, the 'Antonia' was resurfaced and any fears of damage were allayed with only minor work needed on the engine.

wooden boat: Around the region

2006-06-13T01:33:00.000-07:00

Want to build a boat?

Then enter Cape Fear Community College's first Build-A-Boat contest.

The contest is part of the seventh annual Wooden Boat Festival downtown from July 29 to 30.

Boat builders will get the chance to construct a 12-foot wooden row boat with the help of expert supervision on July 29. No experience is required.

Teams can consist of two to six people, who will have eight hours to build the boat. The price to register is $400, which covers the cost of materials. Proceeds from the event will benefit CFCC's boat building program.

After they're built, the boats will participate in a rowing regatta on the Cape Fear River.

The deadline to register is July 14. To register, contact CFCC spokesman David Hardin at 362-7020or Ed Verge at 362-7151.

BB&T has donated $60,000 to Cape Fear Community College to start a lecture series.

In return, the auditorium in the McKeithan Center on the college's North Campus will be called BB&T Auditorium, said spokesman David Hardin.

The money donated by BB&T will be placed in an endowment fund to support a public lecture series. The college currently doesn't have funds to bring in well-known public speakers, Hardin said.

The donation was announced at a fund-raising luncheon May 24 held at the North Campus. The event raised $175,000 for CFCC scholarships, the largest amount ever made by the college at a single event, according to a press release.

The Cape Fear Volunteer Center is accepting nominations for the 2006 North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service as well as for the New Hanover County Volunteer of the Year Award.

Applications forms are available at the Cape Fear Volunteer Center, 925 South Kerr Ave., Suite K, Room 2, or by e-mail at cfvc@bellsouth.net. The deadline is 5 p.m. June 20.

Anyone can nominate an individual or group, and teenagers are eligible. Special medallions will be presented to the state's Top 20 volunteers for the first time. A statewide panel will select the Top 20 volunteers from local award winners. Only individuals not recognized in the past 10 years are eligible.

For more information, call Annie Anthony, director of the Cape Fear Volunteer Center, at 799-9321 or e-mail cfvc@bellsouth.net.

- From staff reports

wooden boat: A Glass Boat and a Stone's Throw

2006-06-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

By Kelly-Anne Suarez and Garrett Therolf, Times Staff Writers
June 13, 2006

It took a good 800 feet of water to separate Rick Parker from his dream of turning a historic glass-bottom boat into a Cajun eatery.

City officials in Martinez had rejected the idea. They noted that their dilapidated marina near San Francisco Bay had some of the murkiest water in the state and therefore perhaps one of the worst sites for a glass-bottom boat.

ADVERTISEMENTBut, gambling that he could win over city officials, restaurateur Parker bought the Phoenix anyway, becoming the owner of a 109-foot, wooden-paddle boat with a glass hull, 76 years of history and no home.

On Saturday, he and three crew members began the 450-mile voyage from Newport Harbor to Martinez, north of Oakland. The boat sank off of Malibu.

"At the time that the boat sank, Rick was on a last-ditch mission to bring the boat and show us how wonderful it was," said Rob Schroder, the mayor. "He was convinced that we would finally buy into the plan if he could just show it to us."

Parker wouldn't have had much time to make any converts. Martinez officials had denied his request to berth the Phoenix in the marina. Instead, he planned to use a guest site available to him for only two or three days.

The Phoenix's long journey to Davy Jones' locker began in 1930, the year a massive windstorm destroyed a glass-bottom boat that ferried tourists around Santa Catalina.

Materials for a new boat — commissioned by the Wrigley family's Santa Catalina Island Co. — included parts salvaged from the wreck, earning it the name Phoenix, according to Balboa historian Jim Fournier.

The ship was reported to be the world's largest glass-bottom boat, weighing 112 tons and accommodating 200 passengers. Its churning side-wheels and train-whistle horn gave the boat added charm.

For 63 summers, the vessel ferried tourists on 40-minute tours of Catalina's abundant marine life.

About 10 years ago, the Fun Zone Boat Co. bought the Phoenix and gave it a new home in Newport Harbor. The boat then embarked on a second life as a venue for weddings, corporate parties and other chartered events.

But age wasn't kind to the Phoenix. In its final years, the boat had become "a rust bucket" and "an eyesore," Fournier said.

Finally, with the 70-year-old Balboa Fun Zone undergoing a major face-lift, the Phoenix was no longer part of the site's future, and the boat was put up for sale.

Parker brought a copy of the advertisement to Schroder and asked about bringing the Phoenix to the Martinez marina.

"For the entire 10 years that I've held elected office here, we've been struggling to reinvent the marina," Schroder said. "So everyone said, 'That's great, that's wonderful.' "

The city hired a consultant to analyze the business plan. It was the subject of at least five meetings of the mayor and City Council.

Schroder said officials were encouraged by Parker's previous business experience, the successful operation of Le Beau's Louisiana Kitchen in Martinez.

"It's one of our finest restaurants," he said.

But the marina, where salt water and fresh water collide, has a chemistry that keeps an uncommon amount of silt suspended in the water.

"Overall, it just wasn't a business deal that they decided would be good for the city," said Richard Pearson, the city's community development director.

But Parker persisted, paying a six-figure sum to purchase his dream.

City officials said they weren't completely surprised.

ADVERTISEMENT"I guess you could say Rick is a dreamer," Schroder said. "He's not the kind of a businessman who would sit behind a desk, talk on the phone and send e-mail in a suit and tie. He's a free spirit."

The Phoenix's send-off Saturday was modest. Only the three crew members, Parker and Fournier were there to witness it.

Parker slammed a bottle of champagne into the bow of the ship. It didn't break — in boating lore, a bad omen — and required a second try.

As they sailed off, Fournier said he called out to Parker: "Are you going to rename the boat?"

Parker shook his head.

"Bad luck!" he shouted.

By the time the boat reached the coast of Malibu early Sunday morning, one of the 6-by-2-foot glass panes began to loosen, Schroder said Parker told him later.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ray Lechner said Parker and his crew tried to pump out the incoming water.

"After four hours, they lost the battle," Lechner said.

A Los Angeles Fire Department search-and-rescue team responded to the crew's distress call and plucked the men from a lifeboat as the boat slowly sank.

The boat was up to date with its inspections, but it had not been certified to carry members of the public outside protected waters.

Since only crew members were on board, Parker's voyage to Martinez was within the law, Lechner said.

Lechner is investigating the cause of the sinking but said the boat was so deep that it would be difficult to send divers, and the boat would never be recovered.

Nevertheless, news reports said Parker hoped to find a way to raise the Phoenix.

He could not be reached for comment Monday. The mayor said Parker's cellphone went down with the ship.

wooden boat: Recreation programs & classes

2006-06-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

CFCC seeks participants for boat-building day
Cape Fear Community College is seeking participants for it's first-ever "Build-A-Boat" event as part of the seventh Wooden Boat Festival July 29-30.
Hosted by CFCC's Boat Building program, the college welcomes the public, area businesses and civic clubs to participate in this unique and fun event.
During the event, participants will have the opportunity to build a 12-foot wooden row boat under the supervision of a boat-building expert. No previous boat building experience is required.

All boats will be built by two- to six-person teams and will take a full eight-hour day to complete. Construction will begin early July 29.
All completed boats will then take to the water for a rowing regatta on the Cape Fear River. The registration fee for each team is $400 to cover supplies and materials.

The Wooden Boat Festival serves as an annual celebration of the tradition and craft of wooden boat building in downtown Wilmington.

This year, the event will feature over 50 wooden boats of all shapes and sizes. All proceeds from the event will benefit CFCC's Boat Building program.

For more information, call David Hardin at 362-7020 or Ed Verge at 362-7151.
Mayor Bill Saffo will meet two kindergarten classes from the Cape Fear Center for Inquiry at the Anne McCrary Park on Randall Parkway at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The students are representing the school in presenting reading benches and a birdbath to the City of Wilmington in an effort to enhance the park. The school purchased the benches, birdbath and sign for the park with funding from the National Geographic Society. The society awarded the money for promoting awareness of the need for water conservation and increasing public awareness of stormwater runoff issues..

Anne McCrary Park is a stormwater demonstration site for the City of Wilmington, and features rain barrels, pervious pavement, native plantings and an overlook of the Burnt Mill Pond, which is part of a watershed fed by a creek and stormwater runoff from the Burnt Mill Industrial Park. Students at CFCI use the greenspace at the park for physical education activities, environmental studies, class parties and egg hunts..

The kindergarteners will invite Mayor Saffo to read them a story while he sits on one of the newly dedicated benches.

countywide
Symphony Golf Tournament: The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra will hold its ninth golf classic June 19 at Eagle Point Golf Club. Proceeds benefit the Orchestra's operating needs including educational programs and the Youth Orchestra. Format is best ball with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. A luncheon and brief awards ceremony will follow play. Cost is $300 per player and includes a caddied round of golf, continental breakfast, beverages, snacks during play, lunch, prizes and gratuities. Details: 791-9262. Entry form; www.
wilmingtonsymphony.org.

Carolina Beach Junior LIfeguard Program: Designed to teach ages 12-15 beach and ocean rescue skills. The two-week program provides instruction in water safety, physical conditioning, competition skills, first aid, lifesaving, rescue techniques, CPR and the use of professional lifeguard equipment. There is a $200 program fee which includes tuition, uniform and membership in the United States Lifesaving Association. Applications for the program can be picked up from the Town of Carolina Beach, Carolina Beach Police Department or the Carolina Beach Recreation Department. Details: Officer Charles G. Smith Jr., Ocean Rescue Director, Carolina Beach Police Dept., 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Carolina Beach, NC 28428; 458-7054; charles.smith@carolinabeach.org.

Community Boys and Girls Club summer programs : Registration for summer programs for ages 6-18 is held 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday at 901 Nixon St. Weekly sessions run 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, June 19-Aug.18. Details: 762-1252.
Skateboard clinics for beginners: For ages 7-12 at Greenfield Grind Skatepark. Class will be split into small groups and be taught by Skate park staff. Cost is $15 for half hour instruction, one hour of student-instructor training and a free pass to skate for the day. Schedule: 10:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, and June 24; July 8, 22; Aug. 5, 19. Details: 362-8222.

Father's Day Basketball Classic: 1-4 p.m. June 17 at Maides Park, 1101 Manly Ave., off Princess St. Food provided. Everyone that can, bring a three liter soda and bag of ice. Details: 792-9233; www.sncyba.com.
Kidz Flix at Thalian hall: A summer movies series just for children at 11 a.m. Concessions will be open. Tickets: $4. Details: 343-3664; www.thalianhall.com. Schedule: June 17: "Adventures of Brer Rabbit," "Hansel and Gretel." June 24: "Dora the Explorers First Trip," "Harold and the Purple Crayon." July 15: "Barbie Mermaidia," "Lon Popo" (Chinese Red Riding Hood). July 29: "The Big Boom," "Pete's a Pizza." Aug. 12: "Pete's Dragon." Aug. 26: "Mary Poppins."

CAMERON ART MUSEUM
3201 S. 17th St.; 395-5999. Free for members; $5 nonmembers.
Tai Chi: Noon June 21; July 5, 19. Yoga: Noon June 15, 29; July 13, 27.
GRACE GRIDIRON TACKLE FOOTBALL LEAGUE: Forming at Grace Baptist Church for grades 9-12. Details: Ron, 784-9046.
pool information
Admission: $1 per child; $2 adults. All pools handicap accessible and equipped with bathhouses and lifeguard staff at all times.
Operation schedule: 1-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, June 10-Aug. 26.
Locations: Northside, 750 Bess St., 341-7865; Robert Strange, 410 S. 10th St., 341-7864; Southside, Legion Sports Complex, 2131 Carolina Beach Road, 341-7863.
wilmington parks and recreation

HALYBURTON PARK
4099 S. 17th St.; 794-6001
Preregistration required
Yoga for Kids: 3-4 p.m. Wednesdays, June 21-Aug. 9 for ages 6-10. Cost: $55 by June 14. To register: 341-3237.
Fit for Fun Center
302 S. 10th St.; 341-4630
Toddler Olympics: 10 a.m.-noon June 23. Crawl, jump and run to victory. Cost: $4.50.
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH PARKS and RECREATION
1 Bob Sawyer Drive;
256-7925; www.towb.org
Concerts in the Park: 6:30-8 p.m. June 29, July 27, Aug. 17.
Ladies singles tennis ladder: Fee: $15 Wrightsville Beach residents; $20 others.
Shag lessons: Call for details. Surfing lessons: For ages 10 and over. Covers safety, wave catching, paddling, basic maneuvers, local regulations and surfing etiquette. Fee: $45 Wrightsville Beach residents; $60 others.
Tennis lessons: For ages 6-8, 9-12, 13-16 and adults. Small group clinics are offered for all skill levels. Private and semi-private lessons available. Call for details and fees.

YWCA
2815 S. College Road;

799-6820;
ywcareso@wilmington.net
Classes
Preschool tumbling: 8:45-9:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, September-May for ages 3-5; $32 per month for 1 day; $48 per month for 2 days.
Karate: Tuesdays and Thursdays, September-May; $45 per month.
Modern Jazz: 6:30-8 p.m. Wednesdays; $3 per class members; $5 per class nonmembers.
Tap Dance: Adult and teen intermediate and advanced classes Mondays, September-June.
YWCA RESOURCE CENTER: Programs include family and individual counseling, legal access and New Choices for Displaced Homemakers. Details: 762-7886.

wooden boat: Kayak building class is planned

2006-06-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

A kayak building class will be taught by Brain Schultz of Cape Falcon Kayak on August 14-20 at the Port of Toledo. Class size is limited to five people. The cost is $1,100 and includes all class instruction and supplies for building a kayak. For class registration or further information about the class contact Schultz at capefalconkayak@yahoo.com or call (503) 320-2169.

This class will be in conjunction with the Port of Toledo Wooden Boat Show which will be held August 19 and 20, with the opportunity to use the kayaks in Depot Slough. For more information about the Wooden Boat Show call the Port of Toledo at 336-5207.

wooden boat: Boat takes shape in Dry Valley attic

2006-06-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

Boat takes shape in woodworker's attic
By Eric Mayes
The Daily Item
June 05, 2006
DRY VALLEY — Dan Newton knows first hand the trials of Noah. Mr. Newton too is building a boat, though his mission isn't to save mankind but just to have a little fun.

A tall, jovial man, topped with a jumble of dark hair, the Dry Valley craftsman talks easily but, uncharacteristically, he was unable to say just why he chose to build a boat.

"Anybody can buy a boat," he said. "It's kind of like, why hike to the top of a mountain when you could have a helicopter drop you off at the top?"

His love of sailing started first with a love of boats. He was seduced by the beauty and mystique of the sail boats he saw and the romance of travel.

"They're so beautiful," he said. "It's just a beautiful form. Boats are associated with a sense of adventure. They all just have the ability to take you somewhere for nothing. You can go almost anywhere."

But wooden boats in particular appealed to the artist in him.

An accomplished cabinet maker, Mr. Newton is building the boat in the attic of his shop.

"I really have a love of wooden boats as an extension of what I do," he said.

Pieces of the 12-foot catspaw dinghy are scattered casually throughout the building. The Douglas fir spars, described by Mr. Newton as "runaway Christmas trees," are propped just outside the door. On one work bench are the tiller and rudder hand-crafted from white oak. A knee, a support used in the stern of the boat, was tucked under a table.

Building comes naturally to Mr. Newton. He built the shop himself using traditional mortis and tenon methods.

"I'm just doomed to be anachronistic," he laughed.

Its broad, plank floors are covered with a fine coating of sawdust, the air slightly sweet with the scent of freshly milled wood. Classical music fills the silences and a sign hung over one window reads: "Labor until ye bring your spirit to be satisfied."

Mr. Newton seems satisfied.

Though hurried is probably not an adjective that applies to him, Mr. Newton seems always to be moving from one project to the next. He owns his own cabinet making business, Dry Valley Joinery. In one corner a case for a grandfather clock is under construction. Design books on Shaker furniture rest on drawing table. A couple of sailboat models decorate the few shelves.

The downstairs is a place of work, of business. Upstairs, its more leisurely. A rug molders on the floor near an easy chair and a lamp. It is there work takes place on the skeleton of the boat, lying upside down in the center of the loft.

He's been working on it for three years but admitted the project should have taken about six months.

"I really haven't touched it for two of those years," he laughed.

He's spent about $3,000 in materials but buying a wooden boat of the same design would cost about $10,000.

The design he's chosen is one by Nathanael Herreshoff, an 18th century sailboat designer legendary in sailing circles for his fast and beautiful yachts, built for a string of robber barons turned sailors. His boats were raced under the name of owners like: Jay Gould, William Randolph Hearst, John Pierpont Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, William Kissam Vanderbilt II, Harry Payne Whitney.

Mr. Newton's vessel will be more modest, it was likely designed for use as a tender, a smaller boat that ferried people to a larger one anchored in deeper water.

While the craft itself is small the job of building it has not been.

"I love it but only do it when I feel I love it," chuckled Mr. Newton.

He's taken his boat from a paper design to reality.

Before construction could start, a full-scale drawing had to be made. Mr. Newton ordered his plans from a company based in Brooklin, Maine, called Wooden Boats. From those he generated the larger drawings which would serve as a template for each piece. The plans he purchased were accompanied by a table of measurements used to create the pieces.

"That was really hard, taking the numbers off the table and making the pieces," he said.

But, at a more basic level, Mr. Newton had to learn the rather obscure language of boat builders. In their lingo a seat became a thwart, its support a thwart riser.

"The hardest part for me was the language," he said. "You have to learn the language first."

Once that was mastered, Mr. Newton started work on the mold around which the hull would be formed. He worked in sections, creating a series of U-shaped ribs to which horizontal stringers were attached. It was here the difference between cabinetry and boat building started to become obvious.

"There are no right angles on a boat," he said.

To start, a plumb line, marked with the boat's water line, was hung from a cable centered over the spot where the hull would rise from the floor. The water line is the only horizontal plane consistent throughout the boat and it was from this that final measurements were derived. As each rib was put into place the water line was marked on it and then lined up with the preceding and following ribs. The ribs where then connected with a series of stringers, thin strips that run the length of the hull.

It was here that Mr. Newton's work paused.

Ultimately, the hull will be made up of three layers of the eastern white cedar covered in a polyester cloth which in turn is covered with a fairing used to provide a smooth surface. The first layer of planks will be laid at an angle to the stringers. The second, at an opposing angle to the first layer and the final perpendicular to the second. Then, the structure will be covered with the fabric which is use to discourage small leaks. The material should then be coated with a fairing to seal it.

Eastern white cedar was chosen for its lightness, strength and flexibility coupled with the fact that it swells when it's wet.

"It seals up the joints by itself," Mr. Newton said.

When the hull is formed the ribs will be removed. The mast will be 15 feet and made of Douglas fir, the rudder white oak strengthened with bronze rods hammered through small holes in its center.

Then it will come the true test of any boat — its launch. This craft will be christened the Carol E. after Mr. Newton's daughter.

"You put them in the water you just have to see how they do," he said. "When you build them you don't really know what they're like."

Where he finally uses the boat will depend on its performance.

The Newtons keep a 27-foot cruiser in Baltimore. He may take the dinghy there to use as tender or he may keep it here for use on local lakes or the river. With a top speed of about 3 knots the boat will certainly never be a racer. That's fine with Mr. Newton. He considers himself what sailors call a cruiser. He enjoys the wind in his face, the water and spending time with his wife Rebecca, 6-year old daughter Carol and son Danny, 2.

"It's so amazingly peaceful and beautiful," he said. "It just slows down the pace of your life."

nE-mail comments to emayes@dailyitem.com

wooden boat: Ahoy Mates! The Wooden Boat Show Sails this Weekend

2006-06-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

BY MICHAEL P. NEUFELD

Twenty-one years ago, a group of about a dozen wooden boat owners, gathered at the dock of the Hilton Hotel (now Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa) to stage a boat parade around Lake Arrowhead.

It was July 6, 1985, when approximately nine wooden boats cruised around the lake, to the delight of people in Lake Arrowhead Village as well as other boaters on the lake.

“It was such a good feeling showing off these beautiful boats from yesteryear,” Betty Hueber recalled. Huebner and her husband, Roger, were among that original group who launched the Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Show on Lake Arrowhead.

This weekend (June 3-4), the 22nd Annual Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Show, sponsored by the Southern California Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, Inc. (ACBS), will be held at Lake Arrowhead Village. The Village will also welcome over two-dozen classic “woodies” on Saturday.

Show hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday (June 3) and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday (June 4). The “woodies” will be available from 10 a.m. and there is no charge to view the classic vehicles on Saturday. The $5 dock admission will allow visitors to talk with boat owners about their boats and learn more about the careful preservation of the wooden boats.

A special Skippers' meeting with Arrowhead Lake Association's Lake Patrol will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, followed at 6 p.m. by a welcome and get-acquainted gathering at a local residence.

“Presented at this year's show,” according to chapter president John Maddox, “is a wonderful collection of beautiful boats representing the various classic boat manufacturers of days gone by-Chris Craft, Century, Gar Wood, Hacker Craft, Thompson, Trojan, and a few other lesser known but equally impressive companies.”

Over 50 boats are expected to be available for viewing, including Healey Passions, a 1958 Healey Sportsboat Model 55 owned by John and Deborah Hunt from Santa Maria. Last year, Healey Passions collected some of the top honors, including “Best 1958 and Older Utility.” The Mountain News and Mountain Shopper sponsored the award.

LAKE ARROWHEAD BOATS

Several Lake Arrowhead area residents are among those showing boats this weekend. Tom and Mary Seabold will showcase Merry Chris. “The boat is named after my lovely wife, Merry Christine, who was born on Christmas Day,” Tom Seabold explained. The boat is a 1952 Chris-Craft 19-foot Racing Runabout.

Jim and Lynne Miller of Lake Arrowhead will display a 1957 Century 18-foot Resorter named Temptress. Restoration of the boat has just been completed, and it is equipped with the original Dearborn Marine Interceptor engine. The Millers will be debuting Temptress at the Lake Arrowhead show.

A 1965 Chris-Craft Super Sport owned by Lake Arrowhead's Jim Ball will also be on display. The boat is affectionately named Bahama Mama.

Miss Lizzy, soon to be named Ter-Jer, was purchased by Teri and Jerry Wilcut at the Lake Arrowhead Marina in 1977. The only water the Chris-Craft boat has ever been on is Lake Arrowhead.

Lake Arrowhead's show is the premier wooden boat show in Southern California and the only one in the area that is judged. The judges are members of the ACBS Southern California Chapter and are headed by Brian Robinson. The actual judging will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday.

The banquet and awards ceremony will be held at the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa beginning with cocktails at 6 p.m. Saturday and is limited to members of the ACBS.

ACBS International judging criteria will be utilized in Lake Arrowhead. Awards will be for best Pre-War Runabouts (Class I), Post-War Runabouts (Class II), Outboards (Class III), Utilities (Class IV), and Open (Class V).

At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the boats will parade in front of the Village docks much like they did 21 years ago. There is no charge to view the boat parade.

Other groups participating in the 2006 show include the Outboard Motor Club and the Inland Nautical Society, who will have displays. The McKenzie Water Ski School will offer a water ski show at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and the Rim of the World Historical Society will be selling commemorative items.

The Inland Nautical Society will be displaying and demonstrating the organization's models alongside the real classics. The group is based in Riverside and hosts two official regattas each year at Fairmount Park. Visit www.inland-nauticalsociety.com for more data on the club.

“WOODIES”

Many classic “woodies” will be displayed at various locations throughout the Village. Among the classic cars set for the one-day show is last year's “Best of Show,” a 1950 Ford owned by Mick and Robin Carolan.

One of the cars expected to participate is a 1941 Ford owned by Mark Henzel. The story goes Henzel's wife's grandparents once owned the old Top Hat Bar in Lake Arrowhead (1933-1955) and so Henzel was anxious to return to Lake Arrowhead.

One car, owned by Larry Ginsberg, is sure to capture the hearts of “woodies” lovers. His 1947 Ford Super Deluxe Sportsman convertible has attracted attention at several other shows.

Members of the Southern California Woodie Club and the National Woodie Club own many of the cars scheduled to appear in Lake Arrowhead this Saturday. The National Woodie Club exists to promote interest in woodies; to educate owners and the public on their history, beauty, usefulness and uniqueness; and to provide an association through which woodie owners and enthusiasts may exchange information on history, building, restoration or modification techniques and share experiences.

“Woodies on the Lake” is being coordinated by Tom Parson from Orange and David Stuart of Lake Arrowhead. The Saturday show is now in its 15th year and will conclude with a 4 p.m. award ceremony at Center Stage in Lake Arrowhead Village.

This year, awards will go to the “Best ‘39 or older Woodie,” “Best 40s Woodie,” “Best 50s Woodie,” “Best Lakeside Woodie” and “Best of Show.”

Sunday morning at 10 a.m. there will be a “woodies” car parade around the lake.

SPONSORS

The 2006 Lake Arrowhead Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Show is sponsored by Windermere Fine Properties. Windermere is working in partnership with the Lake Arrowhead Communities Chamber of Commerce, the Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Society, Arrowhead Lake Association, and Lake Arrowhead Village.

During the show, Arrowhead Lake Association members receive a 2-for-1 admission to the boat docks. The two docks that will be used are in front of Woody's Boathouse Restaurant and the McDonald's dock. The Village convenience dock for ALA members will be in front of the Children's Museum both days.

For additional information, contact the chamber at (909) 337-3715 or visit www.lakearrowhead.net.

wooden boat: Ahoy Mates! The Wooden Boat Show Sails this Weekend

2006-06-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

wooden boat: Fishing In Jamaica

2006-05-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Fishing in Jamaica is part of a dream vacation for many. There are many excellent fishing spots, as is evidenced by Jamaica's international popularity as a fishing destination and tournament site. Deep-sea fishing trips are easily chartered, as are fishing tours of the region ...

by Ryan Larson 574

Fishing in Jamaica is part of a dream vacation for many. There are many excellent fishing spots, as is evidenced by Jamaica's international popularity as a fishing destination and tournament site. Deep-sea fishing trips are easily chartered, as are fishing tours of the region. As an island nation, fishing is important to the local economy, a part of the local culture. Thus, the savvy visitor may be able to arrange to do his fishing outside of the usual tourist spots, and instead enjoy a few of the places known and loved by local fishers.

Suzie-Q Deep Sea Fishing Charters operates out of Falmouth, which is close to Montego Bay, offers both 8-hour and 4-hour charters for up to 12 people. There are a wide variety of fish available in the fishing region, including blue marlin, white marlin, mahi mahi, wahoo, black-finned tuna, yellow-finned tuna, skipjack, kingfish, mackerel, and sailfish. Reservation must be made 48 hours in advance, and rates are $500 for 4 hours with up to 8 people, $900 for 8 hours. $30 per extra person, up to a total of 14, will be charged.

Jamaica Deep Sea Adventures, found at the Port Antonio marina, prides itself on the fine equipment it provides for its fishers. One of the special items is a chair designed specifically for supporting the fisher while he is struggling with large fish. Fishers can expect to be dropping their lines up to 6,000 feet into the beautiful salt waters that are home to numerous species of fish, including barracuda, tuna, and marlin.

Montego Bay is home to No Problem Fishing Charters. They offer half day charters for $360 and full day charters for $690. Also in Montego Bay are Pier One Marina, where chartered fishing excursions can be arranged, and North Coast Marine Charters, which operates out of Half Moon Hotel and Wynham Rose Hall Hotel.

Families will enjoy using Salty Angler Fishing Charters of Montego Bay, because children are welcomed and beginner's lessons are readily available. It should be noted, however, that this is catch and release fishing only. They have a variety of fishing experiences available, including open water fishing, coastal fishing, night fishing, fly fishing and light tackle fishing.

At the Lost Beach Resort, located in Negril, a different sort of fishing trip can be arranged. For a fee, a trip with a local fisherman can be set up. Fishers will accompany the local fisherman in his wooden skiff and fish by line or by pot. It is a fascinating experience and a wonderful way to learn a bit about the local culture.

Near Treasure Beach and also around Port Antonio, small wooden boats can be chartered or rented for hand-line fishing. As with most fishing expeditions in Jamaica, the local hotels can help to locate and arrange the most suitable fishing experience.

Jamaica has a broad range of fishing opportunities, from adventurous and exciting to relaxing and peaceful. Tours and charters are not only for the sports fisherman, but also can be enjoyed safely by families. Jamaican waters draw fishers from all over the world, and for good reason. Each fishing day has the potential to be a one-of-a-kind experience.

About The Author:
This article provided courtesy of http://www.fishing-vacation-guide.com

Copyright Ryan Larson - http://www.fishing-vacation-guide.com

wooden boat: Traditional Ship Finds Work in Modern Era

2006-05-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Brought to you by www.discovereronline.com - Educational research - 305.293.8514 The Discoverer Ketty Lund is a classic Danish North Sea trawler supporting scientific research on the sea. 73 feet lo...

by Eric Smith

Brought to you by www.discovereronline.com - Educational research - 305.293.8514

The Discoverer Ketty Lund is a classic Danish North Sea trawler supporting scientific research on the sea. 73 feet long and built of oak, her charter is to assist all manor of scientific endeavor, from underwater archaeology to the study of deep ocean currents or the breeding habits of whales.

Cruising just off the shore off Hillsboro Inlet, Florida, this week to support the work of Beach Restorations INC investigating coastal erosion issues is an example of Discoverers participation in research projects. Under the direction of Beach Restorations president Tim Engle, the Discoverer and crew will assist in the deployment and recovery of scientific equipment used to collect information about coastal erosion on Floridaís famous coastline.

ì There is no comparison to making a model in a lab verses actually diving the site with working with a crew that you know and trust.î Said Beach Restorations coastal engineer Dr. Kelly Rankin. It is much more difficult to deploy this equipment ( wave gauges and current meters) in the surf zone than it is to make a computer model, thatís why nobody has ever measured the wave forces here before. By using the Discoverer as a platform and her crew as divers, we were able to record information that will tell us exactly why the beach is being eroded, and how we can best mitigate it.î Another benefit of actually getting in the water to install the gauges was Rankins ability to observe the coral reef condition on the site. Although not a healthy , thriving reef, the coral was there. ìImagine these tiny organisms ( coral polyps) are able to build a reef structure that can protect these giant man made buildings from the oceans harm during a storm. If we can help them to do that it certainly would be better than burying them under millions of tons of sand fill over and over againî

HISTORY:

The Discoverer Ketty Lund was originally built to fish the North Sea for Cod out of Denmark. Fisherman Kai Lund commissioned and named for his wife Ketty to be constructed in heavy oak the style and technique that the Danish fishermen had always used and had descended from the Viking ships. Among her few concessions to modernism include the slow turning Burmeister-Wain engine, with a range of 2,000 miles, and a modern sailing rig to steady her in rough seas.

According to her retired captain Hamilton Carter, The Ketty Lund was built to massive specifications with help from the Danish government to survive a 60-year fishing life.

She fished for 20 years out of Esbjerg, Denmark, when the formation of the European Union required that the old wooden fishing boats be retired, destroyed, and replaced with steel ships. Ketty Lund escaped the wrecking yard when some Swedes took her to Gothenburg and converted her to a diving support vessel. After many years of exploring the coast of Scandinavia, they crossed the Atlantic via the Azores in search of paradise in the Caribbean,

Captain Hamilton Carter, the famous veteran of countless research voyages in the Antarctic and Arctic, rebuilt her interior completely in 1999 based on his experiences during a lifetime at sea in harsh environments, with accommodations for 12, including a large gourmet galley and dry facilities for working on equipment. He made several excursions into the iceberg-infested waters of northern Labrador before handing over command to Captain Eric Wartenweiler Smith in a ceremony at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg Nova Scotia in 2002.

THE PRESENT:

Edward Little, a NOAA scientist who assists Captain Smith in connecting with various agencies in need of marine science-related services, said that the Discoverers program would likely fill a valuable niche in the scientific community because of its versatility and small size. ìAlmost as soon as I first toured the Ketty, I could see that it offered possibilities as a ëvest pocketí research vessel. She was seaworthy, roomy, and cheap to run. Thatís something that many other ëresearch vesselsí often fall short of,î Little said. Ed Little can be contacted at

Ken Hayes, president of Aqua Survey, a scientific research and consulting company based in Kingwood Township, N.J., has sponsored several scientific missions. ìAqua Survey is looking forward to a long-term relationship with the Discoverer and with their vision of substanceî. Hayes said.

Dr Kelly Rankin of Beach Restorations, Inc. has been a frequent member of the crew of the Discoverer for science related voyages, and occasionally just for the pleasure of a sailing voyage.

ìOne of the unique aspects of going to sea on a small ship like the Discoverer Ketty Lund is that every one pitches in together, be it on the deck or doing dishesî says Captain Smith. In fact the galley seems to be the second main attraction keeping the little ship in work. Recognizing that life at sea builds a big appetite, the Discoverer never sails without a well-stocked galley and an exceptional chef. ìJust because we are studying the food chain doesnít mean we canít enjoy participating in it,î says Discoverer chef Teresa Willis. Fresh fish and local delicacies influence the menu. Crew members come from all walks of life, most having a background in science or diving, but all sharing a common love of life aboard the Discoverer,

††On a recent mission, they hosted a Film crew making a TV documentary on the slave ship wreck Henrietta Marie. The crew was able to contribute to the success of the filming due to their considerable experience in shipwrecks and diving.

††ì Until they see her, people often donít get why a classic wooden boat is even in this field.í says Captain Smith. Maintaining an older vessel is time consuming and expensive, and the number of days at sea need to be matched up well with those in port for care of her hull and almost antique engine. Her small size means she is just not capable of handling some equipment now standard in the marine sciences, and limited bunk space essentially means only a few scientists at a time can come aboard.

THE FUTURE:

The Sailing itinerary for the Discoverer Ketty Lund includes spending the rest of 2005 in the Caribbean before making the return trip to her native Denmark via Greenland and Iceland. This voyage will be spread out over several years to allow participation in exploration as well as maritime museums along the way.

Brought to you by www.discovereronline.com - Educational research - 305.293.8514

About The Author

Eric Smith

Copyright 2005 www.discovereronline.com - Educational research - 305.293.8514

info@discovereronline.com
Copyright Eric Smith - http://www.discovereronline.com

wooden boat: What You Need To Know Before You Sell Your Boat

2006-05-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

As the owner/operator of a full service boat detailing- yacht maintenance business I can't help but chuckle sometimes at seeing the extremes that otherwise bright, intelligent, successful, people wil...

by James "Doc" Lewis

As the owner/operator of a full service boat detailing- yacht maintenance business I can't help but chuckle sometimes at seeing the extremes that otherwise bright, intelligent, successful, people will go to in a misguided attempt to save a few dollars.

One of the biggest mistakes that we see is that people will decide to sell their boat without first having her completely detailed.

According to Rob Scanlan, a well known and respected Master Marine Surveyor;

"Detailing a boat is the single most important investment of time, energy and money a seller can make because a clean and shiny boat sells faster and for a lot more money. I strongly recommended that a seller enlist professional assistance to do a quality job."

yacht1ship@aol.com (Email)

www.mastermarinesurveyor.com (Web site)

We at BoatDocs1, do a lot of work here on the Emerald Coast with local yacht brokers and know what the standards are for a "ready to show" boat. These professionals know that the cosmetic appearance says everything to the prospective buyer as to the overall care and maintenance that the previous owner has given the yacht. Add to that the universal wisdom about first impressions and it's not hard to see the importance of this vital first step.

Even if you intend to do most of the work yourself we can offer the expertise to assure that your time and money are spent wisely. Our trained eyes will often pick up the little details that only a prospective buyer would notice and likely balk at.

Here is an outline of the standard procedures we use when preparing a yacht to be put up for sale:

1. Thoroughly Wash and Dry the Boat

Note: For this part, pay attention to everything you see and unless your memory is a lot better than mine, make notes on a piece of paper for later.

Wash and chamois-dry your boat top to bottom including transom.

clean Isenglass and other ports/windows

wipe down and dress all aluminum/stainless

clean and dress vinyl seats

wipe down fly bridge and cockpit

vacuum exterior carpet

clean and dress nonskid

2. Stand Back and Survey the Boat

Note: Bring your list and organize it with the following outline

Put yourself in the buyers shoes, be critical, the buyer will.

a) Is it shiny? It's the first thing most people notice.

b) What about the smell? People have a way of getting used to almost anything. Get a second opinion and see the hint below.

c) Is all hardware intact and presentable? Just because you've used that broken table for years and are rather fond of it, to anyone else, it's just a broken table.

d) What about dings, any damage to the fiberglass? Aside from the fact that broken gelcoat can let water into the core of the lay-up and delaminate the fiberglass, it just plain looks BAD.

e) What about rust? You are probably thinking right now; (what's a little rust on a boat?) Let me tell you. A little rust on a boat is a sure sign that the owner let's little things go by unnoticed and if there is one thing there are always more. What about oil changes? I wonder if he flushed out the outboard after use? The object of this little exercise is to make the boat look like you are conscientious and a stickler for having everything perfectly "SHIP SHAPE."

f) One more little tip that you have probably already thought of. Take a look around the boat and remove EVERYTHING that isn't part of the boat.

EXAMPLE:

Engine controls, compass, life jackets, flare kit, and a first aid kit ARE part of the boat. Knick-knacks, fishing tackle, cutesy wall plaques, and half full paint cans are NOT part of the boat-and look tacky. A few cleaning supplies, in their own locker is probably all right as long as they're kept neat and clean.

g) Make a list of things that need attention, and get it taken care of. A few dollars spent now will pay back in spades when the time comes to show your boat. Anything that isn't right will stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, be noticed and start the price spiraling down. (if it doesn't just send them scurrying off shaking their heads)

Hint: If you are not a woman reading this and don't have a wife of your own, ask your mother or sister, or see if a friend will loan you his for a few minutes. For some reason women can smell things that a man would never notice. You may think that men buy boats but in my experience they buy the boats their women like.

Along this same line, pay particular attention to the cabin and heads.

3. Prioritize the Job

With your list you are in good shape to decide what needs to be done and whether or not you want to do the work yourself or have it done by a professional.

Most of the professional yacht maintenance companies we are familiar with, would be happy to take a look and give you an estimate of what it will cost to have the work done right. We can do part of the job, for example the compounding/polishing and will gladly help you choose the best wax to finish the job yourself.

What about those little chips and dings in the gelcoat?

Many books have been written on fiberglass repair and it isn't the intent of this article to cover the subject in any depth but many small repairs are well within the reach of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like anything else though, if you have never done it before, "consult an expert."

I've been building and repairing in fiberglass since I was 14 and while the first wooden boat I glassed was water tight and lasted a good many years, it was far from pretty. The small investment you lay out for expert repair now will pay big dividends when your boat sells at the price you want.

In the Emerald Coast region the standard fees for compound/waxing run between $15.00/ft. and $18.00/ft. for the topside (rub-rail up) which includes a thorough cleaning and treatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass, and metal. In other words, for the price of doing the "hard" part we'll detail the entire topsides and leave it in "ready-to-show" condition. Hulls (rub-rail down) run about $8.00/ft. but, of course, the boat must be out of the water in order to do it. (This walking on water with a hi-speed electric buffer in hand is still beyond me, but I'll let you know;-)

Fiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to $65.00 per hour and in general as with most everything else, one gets what one pays for. The up side to this is that when approached in a professional manner the dents and dings of ten years hard use can be repaired and made to look like new in an amazingly short time.

All too often we have seen people save $300.00 or $400.00 on a detail only to loose $Thousands$ on what their boat could have sold for. Then too, our local marinas are clogged with many examples of boats with "For Sale" signs which were never given the least bit of attention to make the passer by want to stop and think, "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to call that boat mine." Some of these boats have sat for years when all they ever really needed was a little T.L.C.

I remember, years ago, someone saying something about being penny wise and pound foolish? Let's not let them be saying that about us.

About The Author

James "Doc" Lewis has been "messin about in boats" for as long as he can remember. He is owner/operator of BoatDocs1, a full-service boat detailing-yacht maintenance business serving the Emerald Coast region of Florida. To learn more about boats and keeping them looking their best visit his web site at: http://www.boatdocs1.com/

You are welcome to distribute this article via Email or on the Internet. The only provision is that it be published in it's entirety including this resource box. Related articles can be found at www.boatdocs1.com

©2004 BoatDocs1

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wooden boat: An Unforgettable Story About Bali Diving

2006-05-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

In 1982 I worked as an English speaking tour guide, but during my free time I learned Italian language by my own method autodidact using English –Italian; Italian – English dictionary and grammar book.. I spent about 2 hours a day to learn it, sometime early in morning, in the afternoon and sometime late at night ...

In 1982 I worked as an English speaking tour guide, but during my free time I learned Italian language by my own method autodidact using English – Italian; Italian – English dictionary and grammar book.. I spent about 2 hours a day to learn it, sometime early in morning, in the afternoon and sometime late at night. I succeeded to keep in my mind 2 words a day but I found much difficulty in learning the grammar because it is very different with my mother language Balinese and Indonesian, but I insisted to meet with success. Day by day, week by week and month by month, and ….. finally I got it.

In October 1982 one of my friend who run a travel agent in Bali asked me to handle his clients, they were Italian and speak a little English. That was my first time to practice my Italian tongue. When I met them at Bali International Airport, the first question I must answer was "where is the best place to dive". With honesty actually I didn't know the answer, but I promised them for the good news the day after.

I visited my friend's house and meet Bli Monyoh, a fisherman live in Sanur the village on the southeast coast of Bali. I knew he was a good fisherman and very smart in shooting fish, diving with his own talent using very simple dive equipment.

We talked about diving places and he told me that in order to discover most enjoyable dive, must visit 2 o 3 different places of the fascinating underwater world among the coral reefs. Mr. Bli Monyoh looked at his Balinese calendar to see a good day to go to the sea. My clients were crazy about dive.

The first day he brought us to Semawang at Sanur by his outrigger sail boat. Located in front of Sanur Tourist Beach. Dives at a few meters depth was rewarded by beautiful underwater panoramas, table and trophy shaped coral and sponges, a thousand of colorful fishes swim by in kaleidoscopic profusions. I am not a swimmer or a diver, I just sit on the boat and prepared the needs when they go up. Was a wonderful day.

The second day Bli Monyoh brought his companion a smart diver named Agung Toya, together with them some gun (exactly an arrow) unwound by a strong rubber band made of tire. Before living Sanur, Bli Monyoh laid an offering and perfumed incense in front of a temple and prayed to God. Along the road about one and a half our drive, he stopped several times for praying where there are temples for God's blessing, safety and luck. Even before touching the water he did so.

When we arrived at Buitan was a very traditional fishing village, located at the district of Manggis Karangasem eastern Bali near Candidasa, I was amazed by the beauty of the nature, a spectacular panorama or the terraces ricefield, rural ambience and the Majestic Mount Agung at the far back, for Bali it is the place of the Supreme God "The Navel of the World". The sea was magnificent, clear blue water, remained untouched by modern influences, seduce everyone especially beach and dive lovers. Now Buitan boast a luxury 5 stars hotel and some small accommodations in Balinese style bungalow.

When we were preparing everything for dive a cordial local man came close to us and gave his own wooden boat used for free in the hope of us catching a lot of fish. We sailed at 09.00 a.m in calm sea. About 50 m from the beach we arrived on the coral reef where the wave breaks itself. Under very good weather we could see a wonderful underwater world among the coral reefs.

My Italian clients brought their own dive equipments because they were the holder of PADI license. While the native divers used their own talent. Wow, wow, wow, what a great day, we fished a lot (only selected fish), one thing surprised me that Bli Monyoh got 4 king lobsters. At 11.00 a.m. we finished our adventure and the local man was waiting us on the beach ready with his woods fire, chili, onions, garlic, salt and coconut oil. We grilled our fish in relax atmosphere on the beach with nice breeze of the ocean, than enjoyed a delicious gala lunch in cowboy style. Wow amazing, we really celebrated and enjoyed a great day.

Now in Bali there are some exciting and fascinating, world renowned dive sites: Nusa Dua, Sanur, Padang Bay, Gili Tapekong, Tulamben, Amed, Nusa Penida and Lembongan and Menjangan Island.

So if you are a sea and dive lover why don't you choose Bali for your next destination, this enchanting island is waiting for you with its fascinating underwater world. Plan your travel and book your preferred hotel or contact your travel agent. The quickest and the easiest way is, go online and choose Bali Dive. One of the most reliable dive center on the island now is Ena Dive Center (www.enadive.co.id).

About The Author:
Made Dertha was an English and Italian tour guide for many years in Bali, writes for Bali Turista Tours where he is the Managing Director now. Bali Turista is the rising tour operator on the Bali island focusing on Bali hotels and villas reservation. For more information, please visit http://www.baliturismo.com and http://www.baliturista.com

Copyright Made Dertha - http://www.baliturista.com

wooden boat: A Taste of Tahoe

2006-05-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

Just as the majesty of the tall pine trees complement the beauty of the crystalline waters of Lake Tahoe, so does the cuisine of the many fine restaurants visitors can expect to find from Stateline to South Shore. Whether it's grabbing a burger and fries or relishing a savory bit of filet mignon, the dining options at the lake are limitless and can accommodate any appetite ...

Just as the majesty of the tall pine trees complement the beauty of the crystalline waters of Lake Tahoe, so does the cuisine of the many fine restaurants visitors can expect to find from Stateline to South Shore.

Whether it's grabbing a burger and fries or relishing a savory bit of filet mignon, the dining options at the lake are limitless and can accommodate any appetite.

Atmosphere is essential to any successful restaurant and for such establishments as the Riva Grill, Llewellyn's, and the Fresh Ketch Restaurant, mesmerizing lakeviews and exceptional cuisine complement each other like the perfect wine selection at dinner.

Known for a classic, Tahoe style ambiance, The Riva Grill located at the Ski Run Marina, has a generous redwood deck that allows its guests to soak in the smell of the tall pine trees and of course the hypnotic view. Entrée selections can range from coconut prawn appetizers and chicken sandwiches for lunch, to herb crusted halibut or a generous steak for dinner. What attracts patrons even more is the "Wet Woody" a frozen concoction of seven different kinds of rum, named after the classic wooden Chris Craft boats that once dotted the lake's shore. Sipping on one of these tropical sensations while gazing out at the snow-capped mountains and pale blue water indeed provides the perfect backdrop for a relaxing day of leisure.

The paradise feel can be captured once again, in a sleek and sophisticated bar known as the Coco Havana Club. Located at the top of Harvey's Resort and Casino Hotel, the Coco Havana Club is akin to a 1940s nightclub. Situated inside of the resort's culinary high point, Llewellyn's, this smart bar complements the innovative continental cuisine patrons have come to expect from this elegant restaurant. Boasting spectacular views, both the Coco Havana Club and Llewellyn's provide an intimate and relaxing ambiance with the idea of luxury in mind.

For a more casual dining experience, the Fresh Ketch Restaurant at the Tahoe Keys Marina, offers the perfect blend of nautical décor with sunny decks and succulent seafood. From fish and chips to fish tacos, the lunch menu is informal. Weather permitting customers can enjoy a cool glass of iced tea on the sunny deck, while watching the peaceful lull of sailboats sitting peacefully in their slips. For that yacht club feel dinner is hosted in a formal dining area.

With so many restaurants and so little time, it is impossible to list every establishment that puts the "taste" in Tahoe, but if sushi is a favorite, then the Naked Fish, is one of the most popular sushi bars in the area. For those looking for the perfect ravioli, Passaretti's Italian Restaurant has authentic dishes and leaves its patrons feeling full and satisfied.

Just as skiing through untracked powder or jet skiing on the lake are the perfect activities for making a memorable Lake Tahoe vacation, so does ending the day with a great meal while watching the sun set on another perfect day at Lake Tahoe. Be sure to visit: www.LakeTahoeLodging.com and http://www.LakeTahoeLodging.com/article_taste.asp to find out more about these fine places and to view an enhanced web enabled copy of this article.

About the Author

About the author: Travel writer, Ronda Moll has experience as a business editor, staff reporter and licensed Realtor in the Lake Tahoe Area. If you're planning your next vacation or want to learn more about things to do and places to go in Lake Tahoe, please visit http://www.LakeTahoeLodging.com to get vacation planning and vacation rental information and tips.
Email: tahoe@clientbydesign.com

Copyright Ronda Moll - http://www.laketahoelodging.com

wooden boat: Mr. Outdoors, Seabury Blair Jr.: Boats Abound With the Start of the Season

2006-05-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

May 2, 2006

What with more than 300 miles of shoreline stretched all around our neck of the woods, it may come as no surprise that a whole bunch of folks say boating is their favorite outdoor pastime.

More than 60 million Americans have gone boating — in one form or another — in the past 12 months. That’s roughly one in every five Americans.

Around here, boating is an even more popular form of outdoor recreation. You can hardly turn around without seeing a boat, running into a yacht club or marina, or witnessing a sailboat race from the deck of a ferry boat.

Come Saturday, you can witness first-hand just how popular boating around here really is. It’s the Opening Day of Boating Season in Seattle and throughout the Northwest.

Here’s some good news: You don’t have to own a boat to enjoy the official opening day of the season. Boatless folks who would like to see a yacht parade have a number of choices.

Head toward the Montlake Cut at the University of Washington and watch the parade from the shore. You’ll join a crowd of boating fans to see hundreds of yachts — many decorated in a Caribbean theme — that move through the Cut from Lake Union to Lake Washington.
You’ll find public parking at the university and a spot along the north bank of the Montlake Cut from which to watch. The Windemere Cup rowing races precede the yacht parade at 10:20 a.m. and feature teams from Washington, Michigan and Russia. The parade is scheduled for noon.

Or drive to the Hiram Chittenden Locks, over in Ballard. Many of the boats headed toward the parade must go through the locks and you’ll see boats of just about every size and shape.
For information about the opening day parade, visit www.seattleyachtclub.org.

Now, the parade might be the big boating deal, but it’s not the only thing taking place in May. For a view of some muscle-powered boats, head for the Renton Boathouse, where they’re holding the Race for the Cookies on May 13.

That’s an open race for all canoes and kayaks up to 21 feet long. Paddlers stroke a 2,000-meter course beginning at 10 a.m., and their efforts are rewarded by a cookie. For information, check www.canoe-kayak.com.

Boating events blossom in May just like rhododendrons. Head for the Olympia Wooden Boat Fair May 13 and 14. The fair, held at Percival Landing in downtown Olympia, features some of the finest wooden boats in the Northwest, with a number of "open house" boats.

Besides hundreds of wooden boats, the Port of Olympia hosts a boat swap on May 13 at the Swantown Marina from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information, call (360) 528-8000.

The wood boat festival is scheduled from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 13 and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. May 14. Information: (360) 866-1315.

Another popular nautical event is the Anacortes Waterfront Festival, scheduled May 20 and 21. A highlight of the boat show is a Marine Swap Meet and small used boat sale; for information, visit www.anacortes.org/waterfrontfestival.

wooden boat: Cycling Laos for charity

2006-05-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

17 May 2006

Anna Chalmers pays a lot of money to sweat it out on a cycle ride through Laos. But it's all for a good cause.

Thirteen out of 14 managed the short distance from the Mekong riverbank to the boat waiting to take us to Laos. Not only did I miss, but I ended up ankle deep in mud that stuck like glue.

To a backdrop of laughter, I wrestled my foot free, but there appeared no hope for my jandal. I had to fish for it. Battling against the Mekong mud, the humiliation grew till I defeated the brown sludge.

I was thankful no one was there the previous night when the aging wooden veranda at our Thai guesthouse gave way and my foot thundered through.

It was not the best way to introduce myself to the 12 Kiwis and one Australian I would sweat it out with over the next 10 days. Our common bond was that we'd spent months fundraising and training to cycle 415 kilometres through Laos to raise money for charity Oxfam.

Loading the boat took far longer than the ride. Within minutes of leaving Thailand's shores we docked in Laos - a big moment since we had focused so much time on this place we'd never seen before.

Nights and weekends were consumed with raising the $5500 needed to take part in the event, with proceeds going to Oxfam's work in the area, which is mainly small-scale irrigation and sustainable agriculture projects.

In a frenzy of fundraising, I barely sat on my borrowed mountain bike before Christmas. There were pub quizzes, sausage sizzles, a raffle, garage sale and garden party crammed into the five months before the December deadline. Trip notes posted on a website recommended a minimum 12-week training programme. On New Year's Day, I began a strict training schedule. It started well, but as the departure date drew nearer there were obstacles galore - mainly social events, I admit, but my good intentions were sunk.

Laos is one of the most mountainous countries in the world. We passed through part of the Golden Triangle, named after the once infamous opium trading areas of Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Thailand. It is made up of steep, broken mountain ranges, some towering more than 2800 metres.

After arriving in Laos, getting visas sorted and our heads around the money - $NZ20 buys a stack of kip (local currency) - we spent the day on a wooden boat gently gliding down the Mekong. Women squatted at the river edge panning for gold, while young children played in murky waters among the tall rocks left bare by the dry-season drought. By late afternoon, thirst-quenching Beer Lao was the perfect accompaniment as the sun set, before we docked in Pak Beng, where our cycling began.

Rising before dawn the next day, we were on our bikes shortly after 7am in an attempt to escape the heat. It was late winter but the humidity was high and the temperature about 30 degrees celsius.

Immediately we were greeted with our first hill and I could only think of the hundreds more kilometres ahead. But the slog was relatively short and we were soon soaring through a small village, bustling with people going about morning chores. Throngs of children on their way to school lined the road, shouting "sabadee" (hello) and waving at this odd-looking group of tourists.

by bicycle provided a magnificent view of the countryside. By late morning we had cycled through a river valley with thick-forested mountains and a rural plateau with villages dotted with bamboo huts on stilts. Every 20km we had a rest stop - and soon an audience of fascinated children. At lunch our tour leader Jason delighted a group of more than 100 kids when he performed an impromptu show. His ability to balance a three-metre pole on his nose and walk on his hands provided great delight. It also demonstrated how best to overcome the language barrier.

After travelling in Vietnam and Cambodia I expected terrible roads, but I was wrong, and we had sealed surfaces all the way. According to our Lao guide, the Chinese paved the route from Pak Beng to Luang Prabang in the late 1960s as communist forces combined to fight the royalist ruling faction.

Like its neighbouring countries, Laos has a bloody history, particularly following French colonisation and the subsequent "Secret War", involving United States and Vietnamese forces. About 200,000 Laotians were killed and three million tonnes of bombs dropped before the Pathet Lao (Laotian communists) took control in 1975. The monarchy was abolished and the Lao People's Democratic Republic formed, which still exists.

I was in awe of the sights, but exhausted by the end of the first day. It was hot work, especially the undulating terrain - up and down, up and down - though none of the hills was much over 100 metres.

This was, after all, billed as a challenge and, thankfully, it did not get much tougher - bar the day when I had been up the previous night with a stomach bug and faced the longest (7km) and steepest (1.2km) climb of the trip.

From Pak Beng to Vientiane, children called out and waited eagerly to slap our hands as we rode by. Cheeky schoolboys raced us on their bikes, sometimes not giving up till they were a long way from home.

At times Laos appeared to be swarming with children, particularly during the day when adults worked the fields and they were left to get to and from school, or carry out village tasks.

The beauty of Laos is that it has not been overrun by tourists or development. It is a quiet place, inhabited by gentle people who genuinely appeared interested in us, not just our tourist dollars.

We spent a day off our bikes exploring the Unesco World Heritage town of Luang Prabang, scattered with crumbling French colonial architecture and wats (Buddhist temples). At dawn the streets were electric orange as robed monks collected their daily food offerings. Hand-crafted quilts, pillows and silk wares were on sale, and French-influenced coffee and cake were walked off with a 300-step climb up Mt Phu Si.

We did not see any Oxfam projects but we witnessed the need for foreign help. In rural areas, where most people live, life is incredibly basic. Huts stand on stilts with pigs, chickens and dogs underneath.

Our group's first aid kit was pulled out on more than one occasion to re-dress a wound that had gone septic. After helping an eight-year-old boy in pain at a Hmong village where children ran half naked and two-year-olds lapped up the most basic attention, I left feeling despondent. How many lives could you save travelling in Laos with a medical kit, I wondered? It was good to hear that our group had raised $60,000.

On the final day of cycling, as we neared the capital of Vientiane, most of us felt sad. We had grown close, encouraging one another in the sauna-like heat - sharing the highs, the odd low and plenty of laughs.

Awards go to fellow Wellington participants Paula Cody for continuing to cycle despite vomiting episodes, Ruth Hill for surviving her encounter with a leech, and to Hagen Hopkins for flying off his bike, fracturing his shoulder and being evacuated before finishing - and smiling all the while.

Getting there: Flights depart regularly from Thailand to the Laos capital, Vientiane, or there are border crossings from Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. A visa is necessary.

Basics: Travel is largely by bus or river, with limited connections. Travel times are slow due to the lack of highways and modern buses. There are no ATM machines.

Staying there: Accommodation includes comfortable guesthouses in tourist areas, and hotels in larger cities such as Vientiane and Luang Prabang.

Oxfam: It's an international non-government aid organisation, which largely works to get basic infrastructure in place in developing countries.

Oxfam charity challenges: Fundraising trips by charities are hugely popular overseas, but in New Zealand they are a relatively new phenomena. Participants fundraise to go on the trip, with a significant portion - in Oxfam's case just over half - going to the charity and the rest covering the challenge's cost. The next cycle challenges are to Vietnam and Cambodia next January; to Thailand and Laos next March; and to Yunnan, China, in September next year. Trek challenges are planned to Ladakh, India, in June next year; and to Machu Picchu, Peru, in August next year.

Website: www.oxfam.org.nz

wooden boat: A Year Ago Today

2006-05-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Briefs for 05/06/2006
May 06,2006

Wooden Boat ShowThe North Carolina Maritime Museum’s 32nd annual Wooden Boat Show continues today and Sunday in Beaufort.

Today, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors to the waterfront between Turner and Orange streets and the museum grounds can see a variety of wooden boats on display.

There will also be tours today of the museum’s traditional North Carolina watercraft collection, skills demonstrations, radio-controlled model boats, a ship model exhibit in the museum auditorium and a model-building workshops for kids. And, for those who want to get really hands-on, there will be a “Build A Boat in a Day” class will from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. The cost is $280 per team who will learn how to build a rowing skiff.

Boat races on Taylors Creek will include a Spritsail race at 11 a.m., a Beaufort Oars Rowing Club rowing race at 2 p.m. and sailboat races at 3 p.m.

The public is also invited to the Wooden Boat Show dinner from 7 to 10 tonight at the museum. Admission is $10.

Sunday’s highlights include the annual boat race around Carrot Island from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

‘Battle of the Bands’

USA Weekend Magazine and The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, along with Max Entertainment Magazine, will present the inaugural “Battle of the Bands” competition today. Gates open at 11 a.m., and the competition begins at noon at Riverwalk Crossing Park in downtown Jacksonville.

The five finalists for this weekend’s contest are Lynchburg representing South Lenoir High, Ambivalent representing White Oak High, Broken String representing East Duplin High, Searching for Safety representing Havelock High and Teens at Risk representing Fort Lee (N.J.) High.

Wristbands will be sold for $4 at the gate.

In addition to the music, the Jacksonville Youth Council will provide a variety of rides, including the giant slide, rock wall and “Twin Spin.”

wooden boat: Sea change a clinker of an idea

2006-05-25T21:15:00.001-07:00

By Philip Hopkins
May 26, 2006

JAMES Frecheville openly admits he's a wooden boat crank, and somehow manages to make a living from it.

He repairs, restores and builds wooden boats in Paynesville, in Gippsland Lakes in eastern Victoria. "I've got no attraction for fibreglass — I'm only interested in classic wooden boats," he said, although he uses modern technology to build them.

Mr Frecheville is not alone; the village on the water is home to businesses such as shipwrights, marine surveyors, marine engineers, mechanics, upholsterers and riggers.

Each business does its own thing, but this is about to change. They have got together to create a shipping and marine industry cluster.

"The aim is to create a cohesive unit to help build the marine industry," said Mark Reid, a boat repairer and a convener of the cluster.

"We want to create a culture and in this way, keep the young people interested and not have them leave town," he said.

To help nurture shipping as a local career, the Paynesville Marine Industry Association is sponsoring two Paynesville boat-building apprentices — Daniel Wallis, 22, and David Ashworth, 19 — in the Atlantic Challenge, an international contest of seamanship in Genoa, Italy, in July.

One driving force of the development has been the explosion of Paynesville as a boating centre. Canals have replaced paddocks, and are adorned with quality houses, many of which have a little jetty at the front.

"Sea changers realise that we have a pristine boating region," Mr Reid said. "There is now a waiting list for berths."

The increased population has helped create a boating culture and underlined the potential economic benefits.

An analysis by East Gippsland consultant Bruce Connolly has shown that the marine industry employs 65 people directly and 35 indirectly in Paynesville.

Industry turnover is $7.5 million locally, with the multiplier impact on the regional economy about $19 million.

Cluster members have begun to put together a plan to establish a marine centre on the Slip Road area next to the water.

The plan includes parks and parking space for cars and boats while building what Mr Reid said lay at the heart of the vision, a centre for wooden boats.

A key aim of the centre was to preserve local marine heritage, probably by building a museum.

The centre would have an area for restoring or building indigenous wooden boats, and an area for accredited training with an education provider such as a TAFE.

Short courses would be held for hobby and wooden boat enthusiasts.

An area would be set aside for a major project, such as building a replica of a local steamship.

Part of the plan is to hold a boating expo with a special focus on the Gippsland Lakes.

The Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development has given $50,000 in seed funding.

wooden boat: Learning to keep bonds afloat

2006-05-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

By Joni Guhne
Special to The Sun
Originally published May 24, 2006

When Joe Cater was 12 years old, his father helped him build a Penguin, an 11-foot wooden dinghy, and launched his lifelong love affair with sailing.

After arriving from Washington in 1987 and living in Annapolis aboard his 30-foot sailboat for two years, Cater bought a home and began to consider ways in which he might give back to the city that brought him so much pleasure.

The 2001 death of his father, Joseph Cater II, a retired United Methodist minister, gave him the impetus to do just that.

"I had a strong feeling of wanting to do for others what my father did for me," said Cater, 47, an economist who owns Market-Economics Inc. in Annapolis.

A member of the Eastport Yacht Club since 1994, Cater was joined in his mission by the club's foundation. "They approached me," he said, "and wanted to help me make this happen."

Annapolis Family Boat Building is now in its fourth year, and six local families with no sailing experience have signed on to spend Memorial Day weekend learning how to build a boat and sail it.

On Friday afternoon and all day Saturday and Sunday, the families will gather at the former Trumpy Boat Yard in Eastport, where each will build an Eastport pram from a kit produced by Chesapeake Light Craft of Annapolis.

Under the watchful eyes of instructors Cater and David Murphy - a resident of Eastport, a mason by trade and a "longtime" sailor - the families will assemble the kit of computer-cut components, complete with a Dacron sail, life vests and oars, by Monday afternoon.

During the boat-building course, parents and children will learn how to "stitch" copper wire through small holes in the wooden boards to temporarily connect them.

When the boards are woven together and the boat has taken shape, glue is applied in the seams with a syringe and the entire boat is covered with resin to make it waterproof.

Then the new owners can paint their boat with clear epoxy or choose a color.

It normally takes about 65 hours to complete this boat kit, said Cater, but because of the limited time, he and as many as 20 volunteers are working to pre-assemble some parts.

When completed, the little dinghies made of okoume, a tropical hardwood, weigh 55 pounds and are easily transported by handles on each side and on the stern.

The kit for an 8-foot wooden dinghy normally sells for nearly $1,500, but it's discounted to $1,099 for the event. Sponsors offer scholarships that reduce that cost for some participants to as little as $300.

Michael and Ireti Burrell and their children, Kyle, 11, and Zoe, 3, are one of this weekend's participating families.

Burrell is a service manager at Koons Toyota, and his wife teaches first grade at West Annapolis Elementary School.

Kyle is up for the challenge, said his father.

"My son sails during the week in Annapolis with a program at Jones Elementary School in Severna Park. We thought it would be a great idea since he's already doing it."

About 4 p.m. Monday, said Cater, the boat builders will test their vessels' seaworthiness during a ceremonial launch on Spa Creek in the vicinity of Chart House restaurant.

A safety boat will keep close contact with the dinghies. A dignitaries boat will be filled with event sponsors, including representatives from the Annapolis Sailing School, the Eastport Yacht Club Foundation and marine gear manufacturers like Helly Hansen, North Sails and UK-Halsey.

"It's never too late for volunteers," said Cater, "and never too late to sign up as a participant for next year."

There are at least 50 other similar family boat-building events taking place during the spring and summer throughout the country.

According to Wooden Boat magazine, said Cater, Annapolis Family Boat Building holds the national record for the largest number of boats built by families in a single event. Since the project began four years ago, participants have built 27 boats.

To volunteer or to apply to build a boat next year, contact Joe Cater at 410-626-1413.

wooden boat: Going to Town

2006-05-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Old-time wooden boat class goes to battle for National Championship

With about six boats each year, just enough to get their own start at the Land's End NOOD Regatta at Race Week, the Town Class is present but not dominating in Marblehead.

The "Townies," which they are affectionately referred to as, are an old wooden boat with a local history going back 74 years. This year, on the weekend of Aug. 19-20, Corinthian Yacht Club will be the host of the Town Class National Championships.

"We are very proud in Marblehead harbor and especially at Corinthian to have the Townies," said Dennis Esposito, of the Corinthian Yacht Club Race Committee. Corinthian Yacht Club ran the 2002 Nationals, when the Town Class celebrated its 70th year.

The Town Class, originally built by Pert Lowell and Company of Newburyport, which still manufactures both fiberglass and the old wood style Townies, has always been a generally local fleet. The first organized racing for Town Class sloops took place in Nahant in 1939.

"The Town Class was designed as an affordable boat for the townspeople, thus the name," said former fleet captain Jonathan Tilton, in 2002. "The history is very long on these boats."

The 2002 Nationals brought in 18 boats, and Esposito is hoping for "20-plus Townies" this year.

"We'll run them closer to shore," Esposito said. "They'll race in the vicinity of Cat Island around regular racing marks on windward-leeward courses. This a class with sturdy boats and hardy sailors."

Wooden glory

Just before the Town Class comes to, uh, town, the Corinthian Yacht Club will host its annual Classic Wooden Boat Regatta, on Saturday, Aug. 12.

What started four years ago as a regatta to celebrate the arrival in Marblehead of Carribean musician Foxy Callawood has evolved into a yearly opportunity to show off some old masterworks.

This year, Esposito said, the Classic Wooden Boat Regatta will be combined with a circuit of similar wooden boat regattas along the New England coast.

"It's scheduled in such a way that it will take place after a Maine regatta and before the Nantucket race," Esposito said. "There should be an increasing number of folks who will come out and see the boats."

wooden boat: Golden years bring O.C. man gold medals

2006-05-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

By ERIKA I. RITCHIE
The Orange County Register

A 92-year-old man in a blue Speedo and purple neoprene swim cap focuses through tinted goggles.

He's clinging to the side of the pool waiting for the 50-yard backstroke at the Senior Games. Woody Bowersock of Laguna Woods Village takes a look at his rival in the next lane.

Bob Christians, 90, has trained hard to stop his friend and neighbor's incredible winning streak.

But Bowersock has trained in the backstroke rigorously for three weeks, knowing that this was his vulnerable event. His strategy: Sprint all-out at the start and finish fast.

Since turning 90, he has set more than 20 world records in his age group.

Today, the race starts in the water. Advantage: Christians.

The horn sounds, and Bowersock pushes off. Christians is to his left. Both submerge for a few yards before surfacing - arms windmilling through the water.

Bowersock can't see Christians as they approach the turn. He has no idea how close this race really is.

CONQUERING FEAR
Woody Bowersock was afraid of water.

At 5, on vacation at his family's summer cottage at Wind Lake, Wis., Bowersock was standing on a wooden boat dock when he fell face forward into two feet of water.

"I had a rush of fear when I hit the water," he remembers. "I felt my head go under and I couldn't breathe. The ground was squishy and I couldn't push myself up. My brother pulled me out."

It wasn't until he was 12 that his family persuaded him to get his feet wet in Wind Lake.

"It was shallow enough I started to get my body wet," he says. "Then when I was in the water one day, I jumped back to shore, fell and got my face wet and it wasn't frightening anymore."

To get into the high school physical education class with the athletic boys, Bowersock had to swim a pool length.

"At first I stayed in the shallow end and just dog-paddled around," he says. "It took me the whole semester, but I built my confidence and one day swam the whole length."

After graduating from high school at 16, the once-scared kid made the swim team at Milwaukee State Teachers College. In 1936, he swam in the first ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate swim meet.

It was the Depression, and his ability to swim helped get Bowersock a job. He became head lifeguard at Grant Park Beach on Lake Michigan.

FAMILY LIFE
His interest in swimming waned when he started a family. He and his first wife, his childhood sweetheart, Vera, moved to Arizona, where Bowersock earned his master's degree. The couple had three daughters.

Bowersock, with a budding career as a school principal, came to Orange County in 1953. He started at Mildred Morrow Elementary, opened Arroyo Elementary School and then went to Sycamore Elementary. He retired 28 years ago.

Vera died in 1998. Today, Bowersock is a grandfather of five, great-grandfather of seven and great-great-grandfather of one.

And he's a swimmer.

RETURN TO THE WATER
Bowersock decided to get back into the water to stay in shape. But he soon discovered he was pretty fast for his age.

"I realized I was capable of holding my own against guys more than 10 years younger."

At 65, he joined the Long Beach Masters swim team and set a world record in the 50-meter freestyle. For the next 25 years, he would keep setting records in his age bracket.

"When I started setting a couple of records, I really got charged up," he says. "I felt like I wasn't over the hill."

At 75, he entered a meet in Los Angeles for the 100-meter freestyle. He out-touched his opponent by a fraction of a second but knew something was wrong.

"I felt logy in the water," he says.

At home that night, he could barely move.

"The doctor said I had arthritis," he says. "He told me, 'You may as well take your Advil and sit in your rocker.' I had no energy, my body ached and I thought, 'This is how it's going to end.'"

Eleven months later, he won the 50-meter freestyle at the Masters World Meet in Tokyo.

After turning 76, Bowersock had a year he will never forget. He won 13 gold medals at the Masters Regional Championship in Mission Viejo, but later that evening he had a heart attack.

"The doctor said I had a tear in the outer layer of my heart," Bowersock says. "He told me, 'When it heals, you'll be as good as new.'"

At 80, Bowersock set a world record for the 50-meter freestyle at the World Masters Meet in Oregon that stood for 12 years.

In the late 1990s, Bowersock needed more swimmers to participate in a senior race, so he took out an ad in the newspaper. One person who responded was a woman named Lousje, who wasn't a technically great swimmer but had a lot of determination.

Lousje didn't really like Bowersock, and he eventually set her up with his friend, Bob Christians.

But like a competitive swim meet, things changed quickly.

Lousje says Bowersock began pursuing her. She didn't think it would work out. He is a Republican, a Baptist and rarely drinks wine. Here's what she liked about him: He has a great character and unending drive to win.

FINAL PUSH
Lousje runs along the pool as Bowersock races the final few yards against Christians in the Laguna Woods Village Senior Games.

With 30 yards to go, he glances at Christians, almost a body length behind.

He feels himself pulling ahead.

When his hand hits the wall, he has the gold medal, one of eight he wins that day.

"He's a phenomenon," says Lousje, who is now Bowersock's wife.

His charm and character finally won her over.

"Once when I was swimming, he was lying on the diving board and wanted to kiss me when I made my turn," she says. "I thought, 'He's like a teenager.'"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT US: (949) 454-7307 or eritchie@ocregister.com

wooden boat: Labor of Love

2006-05-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

When Paul and Janet Pletcher discovered the boat they were looking for in 1996 it was 250 miles from their home in Nashville, Tenn., and it needed work. By the time it reached Nashville by truck, it needed even more work because the headliner had blown out, horns had ripped off and windows had broken. But the Pletchers were used to working on boats—they were wooden boat fanatics who had been restoring old models for years. At least this hull wasn't wood. It was the first fiberglass cruiser model ever built by Chris-Craft.

The Chris-Craft 38 Commander first debuted at the New York Boat Show 42 years ago. Like most boat shows, this one had an unveiling, a defining tradition. Yet few debuts have ever aroused the applause that greeted the Chris-Craft 38—the builder's first fiberglass cruiser. Even the dealers in attendance were blown away by the boat, having been kept in the dark about the project. Chris-Craft was charting new waters with the 38, and the voyage had been top-secret.

Designed by Dick Avery, a Ford Motor Company veteran who put his mark on a succession of Chris-Crafts from 27 to 58 feet, the 38 Commander had wooden boat motifs, but flowed from stem to stern with a stylistic flexibility unachievable in wood. And, pound-for-pound, it was the strongest Chris-Craft ever built, with an inch-thick glass bottom reinforced with heavy roving and transverse box beams. It was constructed out of three main pieces: a deep-V bottom, and the two hullsides that were bonded to the bottom and joined at the bow and at the transom, which was pointed to create a more comfortable ride in a following sea.

The 38 Commander changed Chris-Craft's course, ushering in the modern era of man-made materials in place of wood, although the firm continued to build wooden boats. The 38 Commander's "pioneering" status, plus its lines and its strength, made it an icon, an almost instant classic, a collector's boat. The 38 was recognized as a "modern classic" by the Antique & Classic Boat Society in the 1990s. Two-hundred and eighty-four of them were built from 1964 to 1972.

The boat's most impressive legacy, however, is a Web site that's been created in its honor: www.chriscraftcommander.com. The site contains what could be the most voluminous collection of information, tips, documents, images and postings about a single boat model ever assembled. The development of the site was a labor of love undertaken by Paul Pletcher, who is a quick, lean, soft-spoken man of myriad talents. He started the site after he and his wife, Janet, began work on their 1966 38 Commander. For Paul, the 38 "represents one of the major milestones in fiberglass boat manufacturing history."

The Pletchers named their Commander Tradition because they've owned only Chris-Crafts. The first was a 1957, 17-foot Sportsman that Paul bought in 1978 for $350. In 1986 Janet bought Paul two more 17s for his birthday—a 1956 model, now in their basement, fully sanded and ready for varnish, and one built in 1939 that they turned into a full-size half-model, finished like a Steinway piano and installed on a reinforced wall of their 1,000-square-foot living room. Paul can climb into it and steer—the wheel actually turns the rudder. "If I get tired of it, I'll need a chain saw to get it out," says Janet.

Next in line was a 35-foot Sea Skiff in 1992—another restoration project. "When you have boat-itis, there is no cure," says Paul. "All you can do is make the patient more comfortable with a larger boat from time to time."

Tradition is powered by original, solid-lifter Ford 427 gas engines—NASCAR racing motors detuned from a street rating of 425 hp to 300 hp for marine use. It's a 32-knot boat built to withstand three times the stress of heading into six-foot seas at full speed. "The engines were built to satisfy Henry Ford II's ego—he won 101 races with them in three years while Chevrolet won only nine," says Paul. "They have cross-bolted main bearings and are made of high-grade iron. They're the product of millions of dollars of racing development and are virtually indestructible if you take care of them." He recommends synthetic oil—namely, Mobil 1 15W-50, "although the manual says to use straight 30-weight."

Pletcher is a purist: "I believe in retaining the original engines in classic boats if possible rather than installing new engines. Mine have 2,700 hours on them. They've been rebuilt, but they run so well that I have no thought of repowering."

He and Janet still consider wooden boats the ultimate classics, but he's acquired great respect for fiberglass, too. "Once you've lain on your back for days replacing planking, you appreciate the advantages of fiberglass," says Paul. "Plus, the 38 is one-of-a-kind. Dick Avery's penmanship is superb. As an architect I appreciate the proportions he achieved and how he distributed the mass. The 38 is the '57 Chevy of the boating world. People put hundreds of thousands of dollars into restoring them."

Tradition now sits under a tin shed roof at the sleepy Commodore Yacht Club off the Cumberland River just outside Nashville. This is where the boat was when I photographed her last spring, and met with the Pletchers. A green mist—incipient leaves—had settled on the bluffs and ridges of this hilly area.

The Pletchers are proud of all the improvements they have made. The interior and exterior mahogany was sanded, re-varnished and replaced in some areas; new lights and new blinds were installed; a granite counter, stainless steel sink and electric range modernized the galley; the electrical system was upgraded with a new battery bank, a charger and an inverter. There's a new headliner over the lower helm and a new Bimini top over the bridge. Most impressive, Paul has done all the work himself.

Paul is very fond of the design and layout of the 38. "The big aft deck provides plenty of room for entertaining. With the windows, the large deck makes the 38 a truly open boat. I'm not a sedan kind of guy. It gets hot and humid here in Tennessee, and we open the forward windshields and get a great breeze through the helm level.

"I'm very enthusiastic about everything I do, and I want to know everything about it. Whether it's boating or cars [he collects water-cooled Porsches], I try to find out as much as possible about a subject."

This insatiable curiosity, coupled with his penchant for clubs—he was a charter member of the Dixieland chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society—led him to help found the Chris-Craft Commander Club and to mastermind his extraordinary Web site. "The site has two purposes," he says, "fun and sharing. It's free and open to anyone in the world. No registration is required and nothing is for sale. I just want to get the word out about these boats." For Paul, who works on the site instead of watching TV, its educational value is a two-way street."The amount I've learned about Commanders has alone made it worthwhile."

The Pletchers' Chris-Craft is a true classic, but the Web site is unique. It gets as many as 1,500 hits a day by people from virtually every continent. "I just thought I'd give it a try, and it grew into what it is," explains Paul matter-of-factly. "I'll fund it until hell freezes over. For me, it's become a matter of pride, not profit. Watching it continue to grow is a real kick—it's almost as great as the boat itself."

Story and Photography by John Clemans

wooden boat: A day for chowder, wooden boats and nautical trading

2006-05-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

Annual Wooden Boat Fair and Boatswap & Chowder Challenge drew the crowds

The name of the boat is Two Sue’s, and the sign outside the cabin reads, “If God meant us to have fiberglass boats, he would have planted fiberglass trees.”

Six years ago, Kevin Gordham and Don Seely bought the wooden boat and named it in honor of their wives, Susan Gordham and Susie Seely.

Two Sue’s was one of nearly 50 wooden boats at the Olympia Wooden Boat Association’s 26th annual fair, which began Saturday at Percival Landing and continues today.

“Wooden boats have character,” boat owner Kevin Gordham said.

Tacoma residents Renee and Terry Paine brought their boat, Red Jacket, to the fair. It was built in the 1920s, and has been through quite a bit, Terry Paine said. In the 1930s, the boat caught fire and its owners at the time — who were into big-game hunting — shot holes in the hull so the boat would flood, putting the fire out.

Paine became interested in wooden boats when he joined the Sea Scouts, a branch of Boy Scouts, at age 15. After that he was a skipper with the program. He remembers riding the Red Jacket at a young age.

“I kept my eye on it,” Paine said as he stood on the boat’s deck. “This boat’s 86 years old. It’s part of history.”

Olympia residents Judy and Ray DeBuse showed a Chamberlain gunning dory boat that Judy’s father, Craig Perrott, made in his retirement. The boats originally were designed in the early 1900s in Massachusetts for duck hunting, Ray said.

“He was a carpenter all his life,” Ray DeBuse said of Perrott. “He loved rowing, and once he retired, that’s what he did.”

Judy’s father has since passed away, but Ray said he is proud of the boat.

“We just want people to be able to enjoy it,” he said.

The Wooden Boat Fair included a free children’s boat-building booth where children can make their own wooden boats.

Riley Campbell, 8, and her mother, Amy, were on their way to the market when they saw the fair packed with hundreds of people.

About 45 arts, crafts and food vendors are at the fair, along with musical entertainment provided by local bands.

“We saw everything and stopped to take a look,” Riley said, hammering a nail into her miniature wooden boat. “I like the sea, and sometimes I go boating.”

The fair began in 1979, when a group of seven wooden boat owners decided to throw a party for Olympia in a way that would further awareness of the historical and cultural significance of wooden boats in Puget Sound, according to the organization’s bylaws.

“It highlights Percival Landing,” association member Chyma Miller-Smith said. “It gives the public an opportunity to realize what an asset the Puget Sound is for the community. You can’t find this everywhere.”

Boats were also the subject — and just a shuttle ride away — at Swantown Marina Boat Swap and Chowder Challenge.

The event was sponsored by the Port of Olympia and allowed people to sell or swap boating supplies as well as boats. It also gave people a chance to sample clam chowder from 11 different restaurants. The public taste-testers then voted on their favorite chowder.

This year, first place went to Fire Creek Ale House, second was Vern’s Restaurant, and third place was Riverbend Restaurant. Anthony’s HomePort was recognized as having the best decorated booth. Fire Creek also won the chef’s choice award.

The Boat Swap and Chowder Challenge is in its 10th year, but this is the first time it has taken place in conjunction with the Wooden Boat Fair,

“We felt there would be some synergy,” said Patti Grant, Port of

Olympia’s communication manager. She said she hopes this turns into a fun, waterfront event for the community.

©2006 Knight Ridder

wooden boat: Greek authorities detain 105 illegal migrants:

2006-05-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

THESSALONIKI - The Associated Press

Greek authorities have detained 105 illegal migrants and arrested three suspected smugglers in two separate incidents near the country's eastern borders, police said on Monday.

Border guards found a total of 73 migrants hidden in a refrigerated truck during a road check late Sunday near the northern town of Xanthi, some 200 kilometers east of Thessaloniki, police said.

The truck driver escaped, but police arrested three people in two cars accompanying the vehicle, suspected of being part of a gang that smuggled the migrants into Greece from Turkey.

Police said the migrants -- who included 16 women and a boy -- were from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Palestine.

Also Sunday, the coast guard detained 32 illegal migrants found on a leaking wooden boat near the eastern Aegean Sea island of Chios, the Merchant Marine Ministry said.

The migrants' nationalities were not announced.

wooden boat: Over 140 migrants nabbed

2006-05-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Authorities said yesterday that they have detained 142 illegal immigrants trying to sneak into Greece in three separate incidents within a day, all along the country’s borders with Turkey.

Police said they found 73 illegal immigrants late on Sunday who had been crammed on board a refrigerator truck in Kavala, northeastern Greece.

Three suspects traveling in cars escorting the truck were arrested in connection to the operation. The driver of the truck managed to escape, police said.

The immigrants — including 16 women and a boy — were from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Palestine.

A second incident involved 32 people who were caught off the island of Chios as they tried to cross into Greece in a wooden boat that had started to take on water.

None of the immigrants were hurt, authorities added, but were taken for precautionary medical checks.

Lastly, another 37 illegal immigrants were detained on the island of Samos early yesterday aboard a 10-meter wooden boat.

wooden boat: A missing piece of history

2006-05-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

By ERIC WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
EASTHAM - Hey, you with the oxen! Looking for some free hay? Well, lucky for you, Nauset Marsh is full of the stuff - but you're going to need a boat.

That kind of thinking likely inspired a hard-working Cape Codder of the 1850s to build a double-pointed, flat-bottomed, 31-foot hay barge and get busy in the salty pastures of plenty.

Back then there were likely scores of these boats - a precursor to pickup trucks - but there may be only one left in New England, or beyond for that matter. Behold the Cape Cod National Seashore's historic hay barge.

The barge - known by some as a ''scow'' and by others as a ''gundalow'' - was exhibited to the public for the first time last week, part of a Seashore project to research the history of the vessel and eventually install it as a permanent display at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham.

Historian Jim Mitchell has spent the last several months ferreting out the available facts on the barge.

While speaking with a crowd at the visitor center, Mitchell made it easy to see why skinflint Yankees of yore were attracted to salt hay.

''It grew every year,'' said Mitchell. ''You didn't have to fertilize it. It was great for the cattle, it was great for the horses, it was great for the oxen. In 1850, you had all three. So you had to feed 'em somehow.

And there it was, free for the taking.''

Kept in storage
When the boat was given to the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1969, an accompanying letter from Richard Nichols of the Orleans Historical Society included the following passage: ''As far as I know, this is the only Hay Scow now in existence and dates back to around 1850. ''¦ There were a number in use at that time and they were rowed or sailed to the Salt Marshes to pick up the Salt hay which had been mowed and raked by hand. ''¦ The Scows were then sailed or rowed back to the farm and the Salt hay fed to the cattle. ''¦ I used to taste salt in the milk when I was young and it was not unpleasant.''

Originally used for salt haying and possibly trap fishing, the boat had a second career laying and repairing the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable in Town Cove in Orleans.

The boat was a workhorse for more than 100 years, according to Mitchell's research. It was eventually donated to the Orleans Historical Society, then passed along to the Seashore in 1969.

In 1973, the Seashore commissioned stabilization work to keep the barge from falling apart, then stored the vessel at the old North Truro Air Force base.

Researchers believe the boat's second career with the cable company saved it from being pulled up on a beach or marsh to rot away. Salt-haying, once common along the New England coast died out by the 1930s, said Mitchell.

''A great find''
Recently, Seashore personnel started thinking about bringing the boat out of the shadows. They commissioned Mitchell and marine surveyor Paul Haley, a wooden boat expert, to examine the vessel.

Haley recalled that he was instantly struck at first sight.

''You've got something here,'' he said. ''This is unbelievable.''

Haley pointed out the use of wooden pegs, also known as ''tree nails'' or ''trunnels,'' instead of nails or bolts, as well as the use of curved braces, called ''knees'' cut from a naturally curved root or branch of a tree. ''It's a great find,'' he said.

But lest you think salt-haying was all beauty and free money, we provide this cautionary tale from John Hutchinson of Salem, historian, artist and flat-out salt hay nut.

Hutchinson recalled a conversation several decades ago with a certain Farmer Brown of Rowley, an older fellow who was perhaps the last of the salt-hayers on the North Shore.

''I'm telling you, it was hell,'' said Hutchinson, recalling Farmer Brown's testimony. ''Mosquitoes, horseflies, falling in, and it was so (darn) hot out there. Terrific greenhead fly problems. The horses would be pestered by them all day. The horses would come home bloody.''

William Burke, branch chief of cultural recourses for Cape Cod National Seashore, said he hopes to have the barge on display at the Salt Pond Visitor Center within a year.

Eric Williams can be reached at ewilliams@capecodonline.com

(Published: May 22, 2006)

wooden boat: Wooden boat restoration is his passion and work

2006-05-22T00:48:00.000-07:00

BY CRAIG McCOOL

mccoolrecordeagle@sbcglobal.net

CHARLEVOIX — The shop smells like varnish and wood dust. William Dreyer II paces anxiously, cell phone pressed to his ear.

"You have it?" he says into the phone. "I just need one. Ship it ... Yes. Overnight."

After months of hard work, the 1957 Century Resorter is nearly done. The varnish is beautiful. The boot stripe, bright white.

But a crucial piece of hardware is late from the replating shop, and the boat is to be delivered in less than two weeks.

In the wooden boat restoration business, spring is a busy time.

"Everybody wants their boat by Memorial Day," Dreyer said.

Dreyer, 31, seems an unlikely wooden boat enthusiast.

His fashion sense leans more to hemp necklaces and Doc Martens than dock loafers.

Chris-Craft abandoned mahogany for fiberglass years before Dreyer was born.

The boats he works on generally predate him by at least a few decades.

Dreyer graduated Charlevoix High School in 1993 — his favorite class was wood shop — and went on to Hope College, where he earned degrees in biology and psychology. Then, to his parents' dismay, he decided he'd rather be a woodworker.

Dreyer answered a newspaper ad for a boat-building company in Saugatuck. He worked there more than four years, learning the trade.

In 2004, he moved back to Charlevoix with his wife.

He leased a large pole building and set out looking for people who might be willing to trust him with their expensive investments.

"I came up here with no clients, no contacts," he said. "I went to marinas ... I jumped in my parents' boat and went around Lake Charlevoix. Anytime I saw a wooden boat, I chased them down."

The tactic worked. Jobs started coming in. His first complete restoration, a year-long custom overhaul of a 1962 Chris-Craft Sea Skiff called Kawliga, hits the boat show circuit for the first time this summer.

Dreyer's shop accommodates about three projects at a time.

There currently: the Resorter, a Century Coronado and a rarer 1938 Chris-Craft runabout.

Dreyer's own boat, a 1957 Sea Skiff, is outside under a tarp.

He has no employees but sometimes has help. He keeps an open-shop policy, meaning clients, if they are inclined, can stop by and work.

"Some really like to learn. They want to be here when I work on their boat," Dreyer said.

He returned his attention to the Resorter. Months earlier, the owner, in the spirit of helpfulness, mislabeled all of the wiring in the boat's electrical harness — another last-minute dilemma.

But not insurmountable, and Dreyer's favorite phase of the project was coming up: "I water test each boat," he said, smiling. "To make sure everything is working just right."

© Traverse City Record-Eagle, 1998-2006

wooden boat: Percival Landing OK for Wooden Boat Fair

2006-05-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

BY KATHERINE TAM

THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA — Percival Landing is sturdy enough to hold the thousands of people expected to descend on the downtown boardwalk for next week's Wooden Boat Fair, officials said.

Tests this week involving garbage cans filled with water show that the landing, which is aging and starting to deteriorate, can support the weight and will remain open, said Dave Okerlund, a parks planner.

The annual Wooden Boat Fair, set for May 13 and 14, draws up to 6,000 people on a sunny weekend for its wooden boat display and popular children's boat-building booth, said Hal Van Gilder, who heads the organizing group. Most of the activities stretch from The Oyster House to the grass field by Olympia Avenue. That's also the oldest stretch of the boardwalk and dates back about 30 years.

The most recent evaluation of the landing cited ongoing concerns with a piling under the now-closed wooden vehicle pathway and a support beam near the Motherhood statue. The boardwalk is supported by some 600 pilings that share the load so it's not disastrous when one deteriorates, but officials need to keep an eye on the deterioration, Okerlund said.

A consultant suggested a load test using garbage cans filled with water to see if the areas can support the weight.

So this week, officials placed 40 garbage cans of water on one part of the landing and 50 garbage cans of water on another, Okerlund said. The load was equivalent to 80 pounds per square foot. They measured the difference in elevation before and after. Both tests passed, he said.

“In one case, there was zero change, zero deflection,” Okerlund said. “And in the other, the landing deflected by less than one-16th of an inch. We are confident the landing is safe for the throngs coming with the Wooden Boat Show.”

A study in 2004 found that some of the pilings that support the landing need to be replaced. The observation deck that extends beyond the boardwalk was closed because the pilings are being eaten by marine borers. The city banned cars from the wooden vehicle path off State Avenue a year later.

Last month, officials cut power to the public boat docks because the aging electrical system is no longer up to standard and might be dangerous. The change affects the docks off Olympia Avenue, where 841 people moored last year.

The power shutoff won't disrupt the Wooden Boat Fair, Van Gilder said. Most of the boats are self-contained, and they will likely have generators.

The city is lobbying the Legislature for $9.6 million to finance reconstruction of the landing. A redesign has been developed that would have less of the boardwalk hanging over the water and use nonwood material that could better withstand the marine setting.

Meanwhile, officials are going after a $1 million grant to replace the electrical system, make the gangway to the docks more wheelchair accessible and replace some floats that have started tilting, said David Hanna, associate parks director. They'll know in September if they get the grant. If the grant doesn't win approval, they'll probably tap the $125,000 a year in city funds earmarked for inspections and interim fixes.

Katherine Tam covers the city of Olympia for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-704-6869 or ktam@theolympian.com.

wooden boat: 2007 Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong

2006-05-22T00:43:00.000-07:00

Anchors are up, the foredeck is clear and planning has commenced for the second biennial 'Whyte Just & Moore Lawyers Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong'.

Hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, the Festival has been set down for the Victorian Labour Day holiday weekend of 10/11/12th of March in 2007.

The program will duplicate the very successful 2005 Festival format and comprise a full range of on-water and hard-stand displays including a Concourse d’Elegance, racing for the Corio Bay Classic Wooden Yacht Cup and the Couta Boat Trophy on the waters of beautiful Corio Bay.

The very popular Grand Parade and Cavalcade of Sail will also be featured, together with a Presentation Dinner and many social events.

With limitations on mooring and marina pens, entries from on-water exhibitors will be limited to 75, and will be accepted on a first-in first-served basis. There are no limitations on entries for hard-stand displays.

Entry forms and Notice of Race will be available from September 2006 from the Royal Geelong Yacht Club Office, or they can be downloaded from www.rgyc.com.au

Those who were entrants in last year's (2005) Festival, will automatically receive 2007 Entry Forms by mail in or around September. All entries will close on Friday 15th December 2006.

Full details of the Festival are available from the Royal Geelong Yacht Club website www.rgyc.com.au or from the R.G.Y.C. Office: Telephone (03) 5229 3705, Fax (03)5223 2768 or info@rgyc.com.au

by Bob Appleton OAM

wooden boat: Travel Seattle - Visit Seattle Festivals throughout the Year! Seattle Area

2006-05-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Festivals - If you are the kind of person who enjoys a wide array of festivals, then Seattle is the place for you. Whether you want to celebrate the summer solstice or Nordic Yulefest, there is sure to be a Seattle Festival for you.

Summer Festivals:

June Solstice Parade - The Solstice Parade is the official kick-off of the Fremont Fair. Over the past 20 years, the Fremont Arts Council has been a non-profit organization celebrating art and creative expression. The Solstice parade has become popular not only with the locals in Fremont, but with hundreds of people from Seattle and beyond. The parade celebrates not only the beginning of summer, but a love of art and community. Location: Fremont

Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival - The Wooden Boat Festival is an annual event celebrating one of the most favorite pastimes of Seattlites - Boating. The festival includes a regatta and people's choice awards. Location: Lake Union

July Summer Nights - Summer Nights at South Lake Union Park is the relocated venue of Summer Nights at the Pier. The park itself is 12 acres of waterfront with amazing sunsets and views of downtown Seattle. These outdoor concerts are a great way to celebrate summer. Location: South Lake Union Park

Seafair - Seafair has been celebrated in Seattle for over 50 years and has become part of the fabric of Seattle life. Events begin in July and continue through August, including a milk carton derby, marathon, triathlon, pirates landing, fleet arrival, hydroplane racing, and air show. Most of the events revolve around planes and boats - two Seattle staples - hence the name, Seafair. Location: Lake Washington and throughout Seattle

August Evergreen State Fair - While not located in Seattle, the Evergreen fair is close enough for a visit. There is all kind of entertainment available at this fair - dancers, jugglers, animal shows, home ec contests, a rodeo, carnival and more! There is plenty to do for everyone, whether you enter yourself in a contest, ride a roller coaster, or watch the dancers do their thing. Location: Monroe

Fall Festivals:

September Bumbershoot - Bumbershoot is the festival to end all Seattle Festivals. For over 30 years, Bumbershoot has been The labor Day weekend host to cutting edge bands and artists. The Seattle Center becomes a meeting place for artists, locals, and visitors. This four day festival offers amazing music, art, and friends. Visit and you won't be disappointed. Location: Seattle Center

Salmon Homecoming Celebration - Beginning with a Native American canoe celebration, the Salmon Homecoming is an ancient festival which has been slightly modified for modern times. Historically, the local Native Americans would celebrate the return of the salmon to their home and celebrate another plentiful year. Take some time to enjoy watching the Native American basket weaving, carving, canoeing, and a 1000 pound salmon bake. Location: Piers 62/63

November

Green Lake Frostbite Regatta - Green Lake is a popular destination year-round. Surrounded by parks and walking paths, the lake is a great place for some outdoor exercise and fun. The Frostbite Regatta is perhaps the last boating event of the year at the Lake. Grab a scarf, some hot coffee, and enjoy watching the races! Location: Green Lake

Yulefest - Many people don't realize that there is a significant Nordic population in Seattle, particularly in Ballard. This fact becomes evident annually at Yulefest. Every year, Yulefest is held at Nordic Heritage Museum, celebrating Scandinavian Holiday Celebrations including food, crafts, music, and tradition. Location: Ballard

Winter Festivals:

December Christmas Ship Festival - For over 50 years, carolers on boats have been singing to Seattlites warming themselves around huge bonfires. The decorated boats parade up and down the Puget Sound, creating one of the largest holiday flotillas. Warm yourself around the fire, and enjoy the carols. Location: Puget Sound

February Chinese New Year - Seattle's International District is one of the most vibrant areas of Seattle, offering all kinds of culture and entertainment. Traditionally, this celebration has been one of the most popular events in Chinatowns across the country - Seattle is certainly no exception with its vibrant parade. Location: International District

Spring Festivals:

March St. Patrick's Day Parade - The St. Patrick's Day Parade on Bainbridge Island is one of the many popular annual events. Take the ferry over to the island and celebrate your Irish heritage - even if you're not Irish! Location: Bainbridge Island

April Skagit Valley Tulip Festival - Believe it or not , Washington is a larger producer of tulips than the Netherlands. This is celebrated every year at the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Not far from Seattle, the beauty of Skagit's tulip fields will amaze you. The festival runs the month of April, but the tulip blooms depend on seasonal changes. Check the weather before you go! Location: Skagit, Washington

May Seattle International Film Festival - This film festival is actually the largest film festival in the United States. Running for three weeks, this film festival offers options for everyone. Buy a pass and see as many as possible, or simply try out a few of the films. Location: Throughout Seattle

Syttende Mai - This annual festival celebrates Norwegian Independence Day. Imagine July 4th with a Scandinavian flair. Location: Ballard

For more information on Seattle and other fabulous destinations check out our site

Also check out Our Trip of the Week Destinations!

Michelle is a travel, art, and architecture buff who has recently moved to Seattle after living in Honolulu, Chicago, Gloucester Massachusetts, and Delft Netherlands. In between studying and working in design, she dreams travel and works to help others compare and select vacation options via the Your Life Passion Website!

wooden boat: An Unforgettable Story About Bali Diving

2006-05-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

In 1982 I worked as an English speaking tour guide, but during my free time I learned Italian language by my own method autodidact using English - Italian; Italian - English dictionary and grammar book.. I spent about 2 hours a day to learn it, sometime early in morning, in the afternoon and sometime late at night. I succeeded to keep in my mind 2 words a day but I found much difficulty in learning the grammar because it is very different with my mother language Balinese and Indonesian, but I insisted to meet with success. Day by day, week by week and month by month, and ..... finally I got it.

In October 1982 one of my friend who run a travel agent in Bali asked me to handle his clients, they were Italian and speak a little English. That was my first time to practice my Italian tongue. When I met them at Bali International Airport, the first question I must answer was "where is the best place to dive". With honesty actually I didn't know the answer, but I promised them for the good news the day after.

I visited my friend's house and meet Bli Monyoh, a fisherman live in Sanur the village on the southeast coast of Bali. I knew he was a good fisherman and very smart in shooting fish, diving with his own talent using very simple dive equipment.

We talked about diving places and he told me that in order to discover most enjoyable dive, must visit 2 o 3 different places of the fascinating underwater world among the coral reefs. Mr. Bli Monyoh looked at his Balinese calendar to see a good day to go to the sea. My clients were crazy about dive.

The first day he brought us to Semawang at Sanur by his outrigger sail boat. Located in front of Sanur Tourist Beach. Dives at a few meters depth was rewarded by beautiful underwater panoramas, table and trophy shaped coral and sponges, a thousand of colorful fishes swim by in kaleidoscopic profusions. I am not a swimmer or a diver, I just sit on the boat and prepared the needs when they go up. Was a wonderful day.

The second day Bli Monyoh brought his companion a smart diver named Agung Toya, together with them some gun (exactly an arrow) unwound by a strong rubber band made of tire. Before living Sanur, Bli Monyoh laid an offering and perfumed incense in front of a temple and prayed to God. Along the road about one and a half our drive, he stopped several times for praying where there are temples for God's blessing, safety and luck. Even before touching the water he did so.

When we arrived at Buitan was a very traditional fishing village, located at the district of Manggis Karangasem eastern Bali near Candidasa, I was amazed by the beauty of the nature, a spectacular panorama or the terraces ricefield, rural ambience and the Majestic Mount Agung at the far back, for Bali it is the place of the Supreme God "The Navel of the World". The sea was magnificent, clear blue water, remained untouched by modern influences, seduce everyone especially beach and dive lovers. Now Buitan boast a luxury 5 stars hotel and some small accommodations in Balinese style bungalow.

When we were preparing everything for dive a cordial local man came close to us and gave his own wooden boat used for free in the hope of us catching a lot of fish. We sailed at 09.00 a.m in calm sea. About 50 m from the beach we arrived on the coral reef where the wave breaks itself. Under very good weather we could see a wonderful underwater world among the coral reefs.

My Italian clients brought their own dive equipments because they were the holder of PADI license. While the native divers used their own talent. Wow, wow, wow, what a great day, we fished a lot (only selected fish), one thing surprised me that Bli Monyoh got 4 king lobsters. At 11.00 a.m. we finished our adventure and the local man was waiting us on the beach ready with his woods fire, chili, onions, garlic, salt and coconut oil. We grilled our fish in relax atmosphere on the beach with nice breeze of the ocean, than enjoyed a delicious gala lunch in cowboy style. Wow amazing, we really celebrated and enjoyed a great day.

Now in Bali there are some exciting and fascinating, world renowned dive sites: Nusa Dua, Sanur, Padang Bay, Gili Tapekong, Tulamben, Amed, Nusa Penida and Lembongan and Menjangan Island.

So if you are a sea and dive lover why don't you choose Bali for your next destination, this enchanting island is waiting for you with its fascinating underwater world. Plan your travel and book your preferred hotel or contact your travel agent. The quickest and the easiest way is, go online and choose Bali Dive. One of the most reliable dive center on the island now is Ena Dive Center (www.enadive.co.id).

Made Dertha was an English and Italian tour guide for many years in Bali, writes for Bali Turista Tours where he is the Managing Director now. Bali Turista is focusing on Bali hotels and villas reservation. Just visit www.baliturismo.com and www.baliturista.com

wooden boat: Wooden Fishing Boats - From Traditional Marsh Pirogues To Wide-Bottomed Drift Boats

2006-05-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

So you've inherited that somewhat dubious old wooden fishing boat from your grandpa! You're feeling proud to be the one to carry on the family fishing tradition, but you're also experiencing just a little trepidation at the though of setting out on the wide open expanses of the lake this spring on a boat that has clearly seen better days...

Well, if your newly acquired old wooden fishing boat is looking a little worse for wear, you might do well to remember that wooden boat owners generally accept the fact these kind of boats were not built to last forever.

In fact, some were probably built with the intention that they would be replaced within five or ten years, and not kept going lovingly for decades by well-intentioned descendents of the original owner.

Constant maintenance is probably the key concept here, and you will need to do some serious checking out of the boat's structure before setting out to haul in those prize catches.

Of course, nowadays - with newer wood-based, penetrating epoxy - dry rot has become much less of a problem, but you will still have to keep up the work to keep your boat in shape for the fishing waters.

Apart from the gleaming, grand old dames of yesteryear, contemporary wooden fishing boats are still being built, and you may be surprised at the workmanship and variety available.

You may want to have a look at the beautifully crafted boats such as wide-bottomed drift boats, or the graceful curves of a special viking-type rowing-and-fishing boat.

Some wooden fishing boat builders specialize in traditional Louisiana marsh pirogues and rowing skiffs, and for these you will even be able to find building plans should you be tempted to make a project out of it!

If you just want to have the experience of fishing from a wooden boat on your next fishing trip, you can head out to Ontario, where some fishing resorts have a special wooden fishing boat supplier building them to order.

These beautiful spacious, quiet boats are hand built out of cedar and oak, and equipped with swivel seats, a fishfinder, and all the necessary emergency equipment to make your trip an unforgettable experience.

Back to that old lady grandpa used for his outings on the lake: It may be well worth remembering the saying: "Nothing works on an old boat but the owner"...

For more information visit Fishing-Things.com

Rika Susan of Article-Alert.com researches, writes, and publishes full-time on the Web. Copyright of this article: 2006 Rika Susan. This article may be reprinted if the resource box and hyperlinks are left intact.

How do I connect my iRiver to my home stereo?

2006-05-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

If your stereo has a 3.5mm (1/8”) line input

First, determine whether your home stereo has a line-in port. If it does, use a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male (1/8” male to 1/8” male) stereo cable to plug one end into the line-out port of your player. Plus the other end into the line-in port on your home receiver. Set your stereo to "AUX" or “LINE IN” mode and you’re set to go. Note that the H1xx and H3xx series of players come bundled with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm (1/8” to 1/8”) cable. If your player did not include such a cable, you can get them at most electronics stores, including Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-2387) and Maplin (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=28113&TabID=1&source=15&WorldID=&doy=3m3).

2. If your stereo does not have a 3.5mm (1/8”) line input

Where do I connect to my stereo? If your stereo doesn't have a line-in port (and most do not), then you can connect your iRiver player through any of the following types of audio inputs, which may be located either on the front or the back of your stereo receiver/amplifier:

--an auxiliary input (often labeled “AUX” or “AUDIO”)
--a tape input (often labeled “TAPE,” “TAPE IN,” or “TAPE PLAYBACK”)
--a CD audio input
--a VCR audio input
--a DVD player audio input

Where do I connect on my iRiver? For players with a line-out jack (e.g., the H1xx series and H3xx series of players), you can connect to either the line-out jack or the headphone output. For other players, use the headphone output.

How should I set the volume on my iRiver? Some Mistic River members have found a volume of 35 on the player to be appropriate, but to avoid unpleasant surprises and potential damage to your speakers, it’s always best to start with a low volume and raise the volume gradually until you find a comfortable level. You may find it helpful to switch back and forth between the input you are using for the iRiver and another input device, like a CD player, and raise the volume on the iRiver until the two inputs are the same volume. If you hear distortion in the output, try backing off the volume of the iRiver player and raising the volume on your stereo.

What cable do I use? The audio inputs on most receivers use a type of plug known as an “RCA plug,” which is sometimes also called a “phono plug.” Thus, to connect to these inputs, you will need a 3.5mm (1/8”) stereo to RCA (phono) stereo audio cable. This cable can be picked up on the internet, or in your local electronics shop and cost around £5-10 / $5-10 USD. The price varies with cable length and quality of the jacks.

Here are some examples of appropriate cables from Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-2551) and Maplin (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=31700&TabID=1&source=15&WorldID=&doy=3m3).

Another option is to use an adapter in conjunction with your existing 3.5mm-3.5mm cord which came with your iRiver. These can be picked up for around £2-5 or $4 USD. They are an adapter which fits onto one of the 3.5mm jacks and "converts" it to 2x phone/RCA plugs. Although this is a cheaper option, please note the general rule of "The more connections made, the greater the deterioration of sound,” so you may want to avoid this if possible.

How to tell an audio input from a video input? Note that RCA plugs can be used for video inputs as well as audio inputs, and you want to be careful to plug your player into an audio input and not a video input. There are two ways to tell the difference between the two. First, video inputs are usually clearly labeled as such on the receiver. Second, many manufacturers, particularly in recent years, have color coded their inputs. Audio inputs will be color-coded red (for the right channel) and white (for the left channel), while video inputs will be coded yellow.

Can I use the “PHONO” or “TURNTABLE” input on my receiver? This is generally not recommended. Certain types of turntables historically had a lower output level than what later came to be standard for audio devices. Those turntables required the use of a pre-amp to raise the signal before it was amplified. Some manufacturers of audio components included a pre-amp in their “PHONO” input so that a separate pre-amp was not required. As a result, these inputs expect to see a much different input signal than what is standard for most of today’s audio devices. If the only input that you have available to you is a "phono" or "turntable" input, it generally will not hurt to try it, but be aware that the result is likely to sound unpleasant. If you do try such an input, start with the volume on both your player and the stereo set very low and raise both volumes gradually to avoid any surprises.

What if my stereo does not have any audio inputs? Some lower-end home stereos do not have audio inputs. For such stereos, use the cassette adapter or FM transmitter methods described below in the car audio section.

Copyright ©2000-2006, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

Samsung HT-P1200

2006-05-13T00:05:00.000-07:00

Samsung’s HT-P1200 is one of the cleverest new all-in-one systems. It’s fully specified for CD and DVD, yet by including a PC-style USB Host port, this system also hooks up with content from MP3 players, digital cameras and other multimedia devices. The HT-P1200 handles almost all optical disc formats, including DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. Its High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) permits connection to High Definition displays; and with the additional benefit of a built-in Faroudja DCDi chip, its output video signal can be adjusted for optimal display on a wide variety of display resolutions. Even though it is undeniably affordable, Samsung’s latest home theater system looks as though it should cost much, much more

COPYRIGHT © 1992 - 2005 EISA

Roulette Guide

2006-05-09T02:13:00.000-07:00

Rules for Playing Roulette

Roulette consists of a wheel with 38 numbers, including the numbers 1-36, 0, and 00.
The numbers on the wheel alternate pairs of odd numbers with pairs of even numbers and alternate between black and red. The two zeros are green in color and are placed at opposite ends of the wheel.

The object of the game is to determine which number or color the ball will ultimately land on.
In Roulette the player places a bet on a number, color, or group of numbers on the Roulette table.
The more numbers they bet, the lesser the odds and therefore winnings. The dealer will always announce "No More Bets" when he or she is about to spin the wheel.
The dealer spins the roulette wheel in one direction, while rolling a ball into the wheel in the opposite direction and winnings are determined by the slot on the Roulette wheel where the ball finally stops.
The amount of the payoff depends on how the bet was placed.

There are two types of Roulette bets:

*inside bets and outside bets.

There are 6 inside bets:
straight bet, split bet, street bet, corner bet, five number bet, and a line bet. There are three basic

outside bets:
even-money, column, and dozen bets.

You can place as many different types of bets at any time. There are no limits to the number of wagers placed on each spin.

*Inside Bets

Straight Bet:
You can bet on one number by placing a chip in the center of the number you want to place your bet on (1-36, 0, 00). If that number wins you are paid 35 to 1.

Split Bet or Two Number Bet:
You must place your chip on the line between two separate numbers. If the ball lands on either of these numbers you win. The pay out is 17 to 1.

Street Bet or Three Number Bet:
This allows you to cover three numbers in a row with one bet. To make this bet place your chip in the outside line of the row you want to bet on. If one of these three numbers comes up, you win. The pay out is 11 to 1.

Corner Bet:
Place your chip in the center of four numbers and if one of these numbers comes up you win. Pays at 8 to 1.

Five Bet:
The only five number bet you can make is on the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. Place your chip on the outside line that divides the 0 and 1. If any of these 5 numbers comes up you will be paid 6 to 1.

Six Line Bet:
Allows you to bet on two rows of three numbers. Place your chip in between the outside line of the last numbers of the two rows. If any of the 6 numbers come up you will be paid 6 to 1.

*Outside Bets

The following 3 outside bets all pay at 1 to 1.

Any Red or Black Bet:
Bet on either red or black. Place your chip on either the red spot of the black spot.

Any Number or High Number Bet:
Bet on whether the next number will be 1 through 18 or 19 through 36. Place your chip on either 1 to 18 spot or on the 19 to 36 spot. You lose if either the 0 or the 00 come up.

Any Even or Odd Bet:
Bet on whether the number will come up as even or odd. Place your chip on the even spot or the odd spot. You lose if either the 0 or the 00 come up.

1st 12, 2nd 12, 3rd 12:
These bets divide the Roulette table into the numbers 1-12, 13-24, and 25-36. Place your chip on one of three spots: 1st 12, 2nd 12, or the 3rd 12. This bet pays 2-1.

0 and 00 Bet:
Bet the number 0 or 00 by placing your chip on the corresponding spot. This bet pays at 35 to 1.

Column Bets:
A column bet is a bet on any one of the three long columns of numbers. To make the column bet place your chip on any one of the 2 to 1 spots. This bet pays 2 to 1.

2006, All rights reserved. OnlineCasinoReports.com

The sushi experience

2006-05-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

I do not cook. Absolutely not. It’s boring, messy, time-consuming and just generally unpleasant. That said, I had a great time at the sushi workshop put on by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Asian American/Pacific Islander Association. It took everything that sucks about cooking out of the picture, leaving only the fun parts for the class to do.

The food was measured out, the vegetables were cut, the rice was cooked and it was all put out in front of us in neat little piles. All we had left to do was to create our norimaki sushi, which, until cut, looks like a big log.

To make sushi, start with a rolling mat and put the nori (dried seaweed) on top of it. Then use your hands to spread out the rice. Add egg, carrots, cucumber and tuna, then use the mat to roll.
I usually hate making a mess while I cook. I walk around cleaning up any little piece of food that may have spilled, but this time I enjoyed making a mess. My hands, cutting board and work space got messy and I didn’t care.

I have never seen anything prettier than my sushi after I cut the big log into little pieces. The colors of all the ingredients blended perfectly in a nice little rainbow swirl. It looked too good to eat. The masterpiece I had just created deserved to be framed, not ruined in one greedy bite.

Alas, sushi is made to be eaten, so, after staring at my work, I ate it. To my surprise it was really good. I rarely make anything that I consider to be really good, yet there on my plate were these pretty little rolls of sushi that actually tasted great. It is way more fun to cook when it is actually appealing to eat the dish.

Next came the temaki, or hand-rolled sushi. It is made with nori, rice, sesame mayonnaise, Krab and cucumber. Instead of a big log, it is shaped like a little cone. The cones weren’t so pretty and it’s a lot harder to make cones than it is to roll logs.

Even if they weren’t as pretty, they tasted just as good. The mayonnaise was unexpectedly delicious and the cucumber gave it a nice crunch.

After the workshop was over, the worst part was taken care of. Apparently the $10 registration fee included cleanup. I felt kind of bad about letting people clean up after me, but hey, they offered.

I left and brought my amazing sushi treats home to share with a friend. When I told her I made them she said, “Well, if you can make this, I definitely can.”
It’s true — if I can make sushi, the kind of stuff that actually tastes and looks good, anybody can.

The class gave me a needed boost of cooking confidence. I am ready to break in my kitchen. All I need is someone to pre-cook and measure my ingredients before I begin.

Written by Ryli Hennessey

Prince Edward Island

2006-05-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

Prince Edward Island also known as PEI or just The Island is one of the three Maritime Provinces. The crescent shaped island is separated from the mainland by the Northumberland Strait. Its neighbours are the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia both on Canada's mainland. Its total size is 2184 square miles making it Canada's smallest province. No place in the Province is more than 16 km (10 mi) from the sea.

The 9 mile long Confederation Bridge, which opened in 1997, joins PEI with New Brunswick and is the longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world. There is a toll payable when leaving the island. The Province is in the Atlantic Time Zone which is Greenwich Meantime -4 hours. Between the months of April and October Daylight Saving is in effect and the difference is GMT -3 hours.

There is a population of 135,294 people (2001 census). The Province is divided into three counties; in the middle is Queens County, to the east Kings County and to the west Prince County. The Provincial capital of Charlottetown is located in Queens County and the second city of PEI is Summerside located in Prince County.

There are many smaller communities throughout the Province. The terrain is mostly gently rolling hills, there are no mountains on the Island, the highest point of land is only 152 metres (499 feet) above sea level at Springton, Queens County. The Northern shores are predominantly white sandy beaches and in the south it is mostly red sandstone cliffs. There are many small lakes, rivers and Parks PEI's climate is normally milder than the mainland due to the warm waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence that surround it. It receives an average of 868mm of rainfall annually and an average of 340cm of snowfall. Winters are generally cold with an average of -7 degrees Celsius in January. The snow usually comes in November and stays until late April. Summers are usually warm, with an average temperature of 19 degrees Celsius in July.

The Provincial Government of Prince Edward Island is led by Premier the Hon. Patrick George Binns who is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. The Province is responsible for administering the Healthcare System which provides a basic care system for the PEI residents.

The Education System and the Driving Regulations are also regulated by the Province and have differences from other parts of Canada. The Provincial Revenue Tax (PST) is a 10 per cent tax applied to the retail sale or rental of most goods and certain services in Prince Edward Island. The tax is calculated on the selling price, after the Federal GST (Good and Services Tax) is applied. Residents of PEI are subject to Provincial and Federal Taxation.

The Government is actively seeking new residents and has a dedicated Provincial Nominee Program for both Business people and Skilled workers with a profile of high demand jobs.

They offer a very informative section on immigration on the government's Website that can offer advice on employment standards, minimum wages, arrival info and assistance to name a few. The PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada is an organization that help immigrants settle in Prince Edward Island. I'd recommend contacting them if you plan on living in PEI as they can offer invaluable advice and assistance.

For more, detailed information please go to http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/prince_edward_island.html

Dave Lympany emigrated to Canada in 2003 and has used his family experience to develop a onestop information resource for Canada and Canadian Immigration - http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com

by Dave Lympany

requested for your free CD yet?

2006-04-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

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