Our so-called “bateau” boat is not yet five minutes away from the dock before we spot our first gator. It isn’t very big–maybe four or five feet. I glimpse the crest of its head and the black, reptilian eyes glaring at me above the brown water. Then there’s the flash of a tail, and it is gone. I remember what “Mr. John” Benoit said after the fog had lifted this morning and J.B. Castagnos had launched our 20' cypress-planked bateau at Mr. John’s camp on Bayou Pidgeon.
John Lisicich bounds into Bruce Bronson’s boatshop—literally bounds, like a kid running into a bike shop on his birthday—and hails his friend with unrestrained joy. “Happy Wednesday! Happy Happy Wednesday! How ya doin’?”
After being fully restored to sailing condition by professionals with the help of a group of volunteers, PIRATE sails out of The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, Washington, not far from where she was originally launched.
More than 500 boats were displayed on land and in the water at the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in February. The biannual event covers the sprawling waterfront of Hobart, in the island state of Tasmania.
Boating in fresh air may be invigorating, but there’s nothing like settling into a cozy cabin at the end of the day. It soothes the spirit and is one of the great pleasures of being out on the water.
Among the dramatic changes during the MAYFLOWER II reconstruction has been the complete replacement of her rigging, reducing weight aloft by about one-third. The standing rigging is of Mystic Three Strand, made by New England Rope.
CAPRICE and GHOST were part of the 28-boat Sound Interclub fleet built by Henry B. Nevins during the winter of 1925–26. The class raced on Long Island Sound for more than a decade before being eclipsed by the larger International One Design.