Rigger, Husband, Teacher, Friend … Honoring the Life and Memory of the Extraordinary Brion Toss This article was written by Scott Wilson and Ian Weedman, and originally published at 48north.com. It’s cliche to say that they just don’t make them like that anymore, but it’s been something we’ve heard often and from many sources in the days since Brion Toss …
Tribute: Larry Pardey
Written by Lin Pardey “An amazing sailor. He did it all,” wrote one magazine editor. “Raced boats, delivered boats, built two boats, sailed them engine-free around the world, both east about and west about. Rounded the great southern capes against the prevailing winds…” “Amazing boatbuilder,” wrote another. “But he’ll be remembered for his motto, go small, go simple go now, …
Blue Water Medal recipients coming to the Wooden Boat Festival with Vixen!
Bruce Halabisky and Tiffany Loney are the recipients of the CCA’s 2018 Blue Water Medal, awarded for their 11-year circumnavigation in Vixen, a 1952 John Atkin designed wood gaff-rigged cutter, with their two daughters, born during the cruise, as crew. In 2002 Bruce was walking the dock at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat festival and spotted the 1952 Atkin …
Festival Film: One Simple Question
Have you ever dreamed about setting sail on the high seas for an extended adventure living out of a boat? Teresa and Ben Carey certainly did; for them this dream was so vivid and important to their being that they found themselves living a life devoted to the sea. In 2014 the rockstar sailing couple’s passion led them to release …
Adventuress: Not for One, but for All
Written by Susan Brittain and Catherine Collins photography by Elizabeth Becker and Cindy Brittain It’s Maine, the dead of winter. A young shipwright at Rice Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay Maine kneels and applies pressure to the hand brace screw driver and snugs the deck screw into the new plank. The schooner Adventuress must be ready for launch by February …
Brion Toss Added to Maritime Hall of Fame
Written by Jake Beattie If you’ve been to Point Hudson at any point in the past 30 years you’ve probably seen him up a mast or directing from the deck. At the very least you’ve heard his laugh—to call it “booming” papers over the full-body joviality it seems to express in an explosive and often surprising manner to those around …
Wooden Boat Festival Headliner: Lin Pardey
When it comes to circumnavigations, adventure on the high seas, and an expertise in what it means to live a full life led by the sail, there are few whose experience can be bested by Lin Pardey. Having completed over 200,000 miles on the seas including an east-about and west-about circumnavigation, Lin, along with her lifetime sailing partner and husband …
See the Merry Chase at the Wooden Boat Festival
Built by immigrants of Japanese descent in 1929 only to be confiscated by the Canadian government during internment, the Merry Chase is a beautiful seiner with a rich and complicated history. At the time of her construction, Merry Chase represented a golden era in ingenuity at the hands of Japanese boat builders in British Columbia where they excelled in the …
Immerse Yourself in Japanese Boatbuilding at the 43rd Wooden Boat Festival
When you step into the Boatshop at this year’s Festival, you’ll be stepping into the cultural center of our Japanese Boatbuilding theme. Amid the sawdust and shaving are treasures of history and tradition, a culture so different from our own. As the last generation of traditional Japanese boat builders grows older, it is more important than ever to learn about …
