For The Boat Builders

[AgGEM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3trjLLZees

My dad loved Skipjacks. We vacationed on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and visited the town of Oxford Maryland for vittles at the Robert Morris Inn, and to visit the shipyard where Skipjacks were still built. Mid 1960's. I think the builders name was Applegarth, but I am not certain about that. But dad figuratively drooled over the shipyard and the skipjacks. So of course, I like them too. Woodworking begins around 3:50. Enjoy!

[Hank Knight]

Thanks for posting this! I'm a skipjack fan too, and have been for many years. I've been to Oxford and seen the Nathan of Dorchester. Some years ago my wife and I were sailing the "Inside" passage in the Exumas, one of the southernmost island chains of the Bahamas. The "Inside" is the West or the leeward side of the island chain and is very shallow as opposed to the "outside" or the ocean side. We were in a 40 foot sailboat that drew about 7 feet. We had been carefully picking our way through the shallow reef for hours and had run aground several times. It was very tedious work. On the horizon appeared a sail that was moving in our direction at a pretty good clip. We watched enviously as it approached and passed us with a waive from the helmsman. It was a skipjack under full sail. It could have cared less that we were sailing in 4 feet of water.

Another story similar to the Nathan is the Bluenose II that sails out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It is a modern replica of the original Bluenose, one of the legendary schooners of the great Canadian fishing fleet in the latter part of the 19th Century. I first saw Bluenose II in Charleston in the 1980s as part of the wonderful Tall Ships event there. I visited it in Lunenburg in the '90s and enjoyed learning about the Canadian fishing tradition and this famous schooner. The Nathan and Bluenose II are wonderful stories. Thanks to them and many dedicated people, the great sailing traditions of North America remain alive. Here's a photo of Bluenose II. I have a poster of it hanging in my workshop.

[Timberwolf]

Thanks for posting this! I'm a skipjack fan too, and have been for many years. I've been to Oxford and seen the Nathan of Dorchester. Some years ago my wife and I were sailing the "Inside" passage in the Exumas, one of the southernmost island chains of the Bahamas. The "Inside" is the West or the leeward side of the island chain and is very shallow as opposed to the "outside" or the ocean side. We were in a 40 foot sailboat that drew about 7 feet. We had been carefully picking our way through the shallow reef for hours and had run aground several times. It was very tedious work. On the horizon appeared a sail that was moving in our direction at a pretty good clip. We watched enviously as it approached and passed us with a waive from the helmsman. It was a skipjack under full sail. It could have cared less that we were sailing in 4 feet of water.

Another story similar to the Nathan is the Bluenose II that sails out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It is a modern replica of the original Bluenose, one of the legendary schooners of the great Canadian fishing fleet in the latter part of the 19th Century. I first saw Bluenose II in Charleston in the 1980s as part of the wonderful Tall Ships event there. I visited in in Lunenburg in the '90s and enjoyed learning about the Canadian fishing tradition and this famous schooner. The Nathan and Bluenose II are wonderful stories. Thanks to them and many dedicated people, the great sailing traditions of North America remain alive. Here's a photo of Bluenose II. I have a poster of it hanging in my workshop.

........................
I spent a few days in Lunenberg sometime around 1998 and was too late to take a short ride on the Bluenose II..Beautiful tall ship..They were having the annual Dory races at that time and the place was crowded..The Fisherman's Museum was interesting also.. ..Speaking of tall ships, we had the Bounty "replica" docking at the Municipal Pier in St.Petersburg for many years....open for touring...During WWII, the tall ship Joseph Conrad was berthed at the Maritime base as a training vessel. I remember seeing it all the time..last time I saw it was at Mystic Seaport where it was undergoing major repairs, but the Charles W. Morgan, last of the American Whalers, was open for touring. I could have spent days there......I like all maritime museums and anything to do with the sea.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Back years ago, as a young Marine, I loved to read the Bolitho series.  The historical fiction series followed a young Englishman from midshipman in the 1800s, up thru the ranks, to Captain of his own warship, to Commander of his own fleet.  Imagine how I felt when our NATO cruise hit the docks in Portsmoth, England and I was able to tour Lord Nelson's Flagship, the HMS Victory.  Brits in period dress explained each job aboard the ship, and I saw first hand how small and crowded it could get. I still have the brass engraved plate in my trophy case.

[Hank Knight]

Back years ago, as a young Marine, I loved to read the Bolitho series.  The historical fiction series followed a young Englishman from midshipman in the 1800s, up thru the ranks, to Captain of his own warship, to Commander of his own fleet.  Imagine how I felt when our NATO cruise hit the docks in Portsmoth, England and I was able to tour Lord Nelson's Flagship, the HMS Victory.  Brits in period dress explained each job aboard the ship, and I saw first hand how small and crowded it could get. I still have the brass engraved plate in my trophy case.

Jim, have you read the "Master and Commander" series by Patrick O'Brian? If not you should, You would enjoy it. It follows a British naval officer, Jack Aubry and his ship's surgeon-friend, Stephen Maturin through Aubry's rise to prominence as a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. O'Brian did tons of research in the British Naval Archives and used the details of many battles recorded there as the basis for his stories. One movie "Master and Commander" was made from the series and it was pretty good, but it didn't capture the scope of O'Brian's novels. Read them, you'll like them. Start with the first book in the series and follow it through. Excellent!

[proSummus]

Thanks for posting this! I'm a skipjack fan too, and have been for many years. I've been to Oxford and seen the Nathan of Dorchester. Some years ago my wife and I were sailing the "Inside" passage in the Exumas, one of the southernmost island chains of the Bahamas. The "Inside" is the West or the leeward side of the island chain and is very shallow as opposed to the "outside" or the ocean side. We were in a 40 foot sailboat that drew about 7 feet. We had been carefully picking our way through the shallow reef for hours and had run aground several times. It was very tedious work. On the horizon appeared a sail that was moving in our direction at a pretty good clip. We watched enviously as it approached and passed us with a waive from the helmsman. It was a skipjack under full sail. It could have cared less that we were sailing in 4 feet of water.

Another story similar to the Nathan is the Bluenose II that sails out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It is a modern replica of the original Bluenose, one of the legendary schooners of the great Canadian fishing fleet in the latter part of the 19th Century. I first saw Bluenose II in Charleston in the 1980s as part of the wonderful Tall Ships event there. I visited it in Lunenburg in the '90s and enjoyed learning about the Canadian fishing tradition and this famous schooner. The Nathan and Bluenose II are wonderful stories. Thanks to them and many dedicated people, the great sailing traditions of North America remain alive. Here's a photo of Bluenose II. I have a poster of it hanging in my workshop.

https://www.hazegray.org/features/tallships2000/


This was the most spectacular show I have ever seen. On the last day there was a sail past, led by the Bluenose II, out of the harbour. At the time I lived on the ocean just outside of Halifax harbour and got to see it from a lawn chair in my back yard. There were a hundred or more small vessels on both sides of the sailing lane. With the exception of a few zodiacs and a couple of helicopters, it looked very much as I imagine it looked in the 19th century.

John