Return to the Salish Sea

[David Patterson]

The barge-tug (for lack of a better designation) HENRY ISLAND heads out to start the day's work. The mountains at the horizon seem to segment the sunrise with their far-extended shadows in the sky. High tide slack in San Jan Channel at the moment. Calm, 42*.

[Jim Walsh]

Another great shot. It was 6F here this morning at 8:00am. I could use a shot of Salish, neat.

[Skeep]

David:

Thanks for reminiscing. Wow

I have a main halyard (red), a Genoa halyard (green), a spinnaker halyard (blue) and a topping lift (white). The only "spare" is the spinnaker halyard which I have NEVER used. I donated the spinnaker (and a bunch of other used sails) to Sails for Haiti. Go to: http://sailsforsustenance.org/
With my skill level I will not be deploying a spinnaker anytime soon.

Roberto, that reference to "sailsforsustenance" I checked out last year and could not make any contact with that organization either by email or by telephone. Are you connected to them and have phone or email which does work? I'm not certain they are in operation?

ps: Great photos David!

[tjr818]

Skeep, the link works for me.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Skeep:

Here is some contact information. The Coconut Grove Sailing Club has a large box labeled "Sails For Sustenance". Club members routinely deposit old/used sails. They are periodically collected by Mike or his assistants. I can try to reach Mike next week and make sure they are still doing this good work.

Thanks for considering this worthy cause.

Phone: Michael Laas @ 786-423-7849
E-mail: info@sailsforsustenance.org or mlaas@sailsforsustenance.org

[David Patterson]

For myself, at least, cruising is also about art, the arts of humanity, unintentional or deliberate. The medium might be wood, the intention seemingly practical. Or the medium could be glass, ceramic, food, words, plantings. Here is a little burst of photos regarding art I've recently observed. First, an old-school Whitehall pulling boat, crafted on Salt Spring Island back in the early '60s. This boat was the usual winner of an annual rowing race for a couple of decades, I was told. The detail photo, though not the best illustration, is to draw attention to the hand-carved cleats (I guess they are called) port and starboard. Elegantly practical. Unique. The last photo is of ceramic art, intended for use, observed at a Farmers' Market. Friday Harbor's is still food-oriented yet includes artists. A much larger one, during tourist season up on Canada's Salt Spring Island, seems primarily to be arts and crafts. I'm hoping to catch the Canadian one again this year, if only to enjoy the frequent French conversations here and there. Every place seems exotic, if different than where I came from.

[David Patterson]

And then "real" art, in blown glass...almost unbelievably. The Art Museum in Friday Harbor has been rebuilt. The first display booked was fortunately a glass artist named William Morris, clearly a genius of the medium. His Raven "mask" could be mused on for hours, I think. Raven was the Trickster God of local indigenous cultures, one with a certain malevolence, whose attempts also frequently back-fired on him. Like the totem I showed recently, this Raven has a decided presence. Another artist featured is local, I believe. Raven Skydiver. (I didn't make that up!) Her or his theme is more of the sea, including this piece, Mother, of a whale and calf. Another is of a predator fish emerging from bull kelp, a hapless smaller fish about to be swallowed up the food chain. Again, incredibly, these pieces are blown glass. Stunning. (Just a small sample of the showing. Sorry I haven't included anything to establish the scale of these moderately large pieces.)

[Sea Hunt Video]

My Dear Friend David:

PLEASE do not tell us you took these recent photos (especially the Whitehall rowing boat) with that darned IPhone you referenced many months ago. If so, I may just have to buy one. You are producing some outstanding photos - excellent color, depth of field, composition. Amazing stuff, made especially so by your claim that you are an "amateur". Please tell us you are using a Nikon or Canon with extra lenses. PLEASE

[David Patterson]

Can't do it, Roberto. Sorry. Still using my iPhone 5S and the most recent (ProCamera version 8?) app, which now has an "HDR" option. More bytes to deplete the data plan when posting, but better electronic zoom. So yes, I've upgraded for an extra $1.99 to a higher definition, or some of those other factors you mentioned. Pretty satisfactory, no? I've no connection with ProCamera, nor Apple, and I've never sold a photo nor even taken a class, to my regret. Now, if I just actually had a real lens and better capabilities in low light, how pleased I would be. Other priorities, however. Thanks for sharing your enjoyment. David, Friday Harbor

[Jim Walsh]

If you'd have stated the Raven sculpture was of basalt and several hundred years old I'd never have been the wiser. Beautifully executed. The Whitehall is a piece of sculpture in its own right.
I'm not surprised with the iPhone 5S results. That's all I ever use anymore.

[David Patterson]

Fog cutter: 36' or so Atkin double ended cutter NORSEMAN, at dawn in the fog. Black and white because, well, the whole world was depicted that way, back in the day. She is a frequent subject of mine, since stored on the hook near one of my customary anchorages. I get to study her in varying light conditions. Whether a William Atkin design, or one from his son John, I don't know. The plans are still available though, in case anyone desires a multi-year boatbuilding project. Not I, for I need the time to cruise. Tempis fugit, and so on. (FOGCUTTER sounds like a wry (rye?) boat name, doesn't it?)

[tjr818]

...Black and white because, well, the whole world was depicted that way, back in the day.

Another beautiful shot David, and a beautiful boat, but I could not find it on the Atkin & Co. website.
I tell my grandkids that color wasn't invented when I was a little boy. Some of them don't believe me, at first, but then I show them pictures to "prove" it. i wonder how much longer that will work.

[David Patterson]

In the port, a brand new fishing boat being delivered to its hailing port in Alaska. Aluminum, I assume. I was taken by that roomy observation platform above, and the fact that the boarding ladder was actually a ladder. The boat is larger than the photo angle suggests. I'll bet it cost a royal fortune. And then outside the harbor, in San Juan Channel: provisioned for three weeks (though I won't stay out that long this time) my wake from the anchorage barely disturbs the near-slack currents. CLOUD GIRL moves at 3.5 knots on a starboard tack broad reach in only Force 2 winds, after the sun burns away a fog. (Notice the white duct tape repair of the Lifesling cover, after a winter exposed.) Looking NW up the channel I see, left to right, San Juan Island, a brown bit of Spieden, then Flattop, Jones, and Shaw Islands. Beyond Flattop is Boundary Pass and the Canadian Gulf Islands, where am yearning to go soon, when all is ready. [Tim, I only knew that Atkin plans were still available, presuming that boat was among them. Sorry.]

[tjr818]

Wow, I'll bet that aluminum boat is a sight to see in the bright sunlight. Low maintenance for sure, but not my cup of tea. Don't worry about the Atkin's plans. No need to apologize, I have no plans to build anything larger than a dinghy.

[David Patterson]

Cruising Impressionism. Alone at 8 AM in a favored San Juan anchorage. 49* and calm. 3/12/15.