Getting Started

Monday, April 29, 2013

AWOL

Winter Lodgin's

 AWOL

Hello, friends!

I've got to apologize for my disappearing act. I had planned a smooth transition, but life intervenes. I left you hanging without so much as a fare-thee-well!

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but we have been caretaking a lodge every other winter (alternating with another couple) for the past several years. It's a mixed blessing... we trade freedom for freedom chips (Lynn and Larry Pardey's term). 

A fringe benefit has been time for writing, and access to the internet. When the job ends, we sail back off the edge of the known world. And we're in this phase, now. Thus posts will be spotty until October 2013.

Last summer, we sailed south among the "Inner Channels", extending our range by another 100 or so miles. Saw old friends and made new ones. There is really no end to the beauty of our archipelago!

This last winter (our nominal year off), we caretook a second lodge, as a (paid) favor. In this case, time, but no internet or phone. Plenty of wildlife in another glorious spot. Lots of tidal and estuarial shoals, fractally arranged, make this little stretch of coast particularly appealing to us. The bay opens directly onto Chatham, looking south, and across to the mountains of Baranof Island, looking west. Wild and wooly and gorgeous!

I did get a lot written on my long delayed book, TriloBoats DIY: Design and Build Your Own, so its horizon is considerably closer. I solved the illustration problems that have been stonewalling me for years, which has really helped move the project along.

I've started a video channel on YouTube... it's unpolished and sparsely populated, right now. We'll be updating, in the coming months. Right now they're more scenic than informative, but you can see a bit how a box barge sails. Eventually, I hope to get some handling videos out, and showcase the junk sails and yuloh.

We're starting to look toward building our next and last boat. SLACKTIDE has proven the concept, so we'll (most very likely) build a longer TriloBoat. We're waffling between two forms in the 32-36x8 range. I'll get a post together on some of the thinking going into them, soon.

Last spring, we got to visit Erik Andrus of the Vermont Sail Freight Project, who is building a TriloBoat variant of his design. They plan to carry locovore goods from Lake Champlain, down the Hudson River to New York and return organic imports (e.g., French wines and cheeses). They just concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise $16K for the project. As kind of a crazy uncle to the project, I'm both proud and humbled!

So lots doing! I hope you check in, and I'll try to do my bit.

Fair Winds!

Dave and Anke


One of the views we had to endure.

7 comments:

  1. Welcome back! Glad you guys are fine. Looking forward to new posts, but no pressure. :)

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  2. I had wondered if you'd given up on the blog! Glad you haven't. Following illness for both my wife and I, I have started to build a boat. A flat bottom scow, 36ft long, It will be more of a river boat than a sea going one, but I am happy with that!

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  3. Glad to see you back-Been an avid reader of Mark's blog since you guys were last active-also keeping up with the Vermont project. Looking forward to reading your blog.

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  4. Ahoy! Glad to see a post finally make anchor. ;) My wife and I are planning to build a 32x8 Triloboat in the relatively near future. I'm a bit of a rusty sailing novice, and she hasn't sailed before, so we're building a scaled down 16x4 to test the proverbial waters with. I look forward to your future posts and am gladdened to see you've been well!

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  5. Miss that place! Lots of great memories and friends. Where to next?

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  6. Great to hear from you again Dave, I really enjoy your posts, but no pressure. I know what it's like and writing posts takes a lot of time (or at least it does for me!). The vernon freight project looks good. Cheers

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  7. I've been hoping you'd be back - Love the blog and really looking forward to the channel too! Keep up the good work!

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