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the grace of her movements in a seaway, and her afterbody tapered to a fairly narrow upper and lower transom. When loaded she would draw perhaps 18 inches. She had no keel, as modem sailors understand the term, yet she possessed remarkable windward ability. In plan view, she was rather fullbowed and parallel-sided at the gunwale, as were most of the ships ' boats, providing unhesitating buoyancy fo rward (and dryness), together with maximum room for rowers. Inside were four rowing thwarts for eight men pulling one oar each, a mount for the swivel gun forward, and a captain's seat near the stem with a steering cockpit behind . Besides the eight oarsmen, the boat normally carried two or three in the captain's party and a helmsman. Her sai ling rig cons isted of fore and main dipping lugsails and, possibly, a standing lug mizzen. These sails were set on unstayed masts stepped through thwarts. In addition to her lines, anchors, oars and sails, she carried food supplies, grog, water, tents, muskets, ammunition, and a chest of trade goods/presents for the Indi-
ans.Navigational and chartmaking equipment included sextants, artificial horizon, compasses, chip log and reel , half-minute glass, telescope, and sounding leads, along with paperanddrafting implements. However, her most valuable aid in surveying was the experienced eye of the master, and Vancouver had the best England could provide in men like Vancouver himself, Joseph Whidbey, James Johnstone, Peter Puget and William Broughton.
Reviving a Tradition With the approach of the Maritime Bicentennial, Northwestemers have not been content to let this subject rest as a purely academ ic concern . Impromptu workshops have sprung up in museums, school s and communities throughout coastal British Columbia, Washington and Oregon to recreate the boats of the explorers and canoes of the natives. Already, 24 replicas of the British, Spanish and American survey boats have been completed, with more coming, and almost as many cedar dugout canoes. All of the ships ' boat replicas have been built with design and construction
assistance from the Discovery Reenactment Society, a non-profit group of researchers, traditional boatbuilders, and small craft mariners who are spearheading the Wake of the Explorers Reenactment Expedition. During the summer of 1992, hundreds of crew members of all ages will retrace many of the original charting expeditions in the replica boats and canoes, under paddle , oar and sa il ... from the bottom of the Puget Sound to the top of Vancouver Island and up the Columbia River. The largest hands-on maritime heritage event ever staged in the Northwest, Wake of the Explorers is being coordinated with community events along the route, exhibits and special publications.
Greg Foster is director of Wake of the Explorers. For information contact the Discovery Ree na ctm ent Society, Whaler's Bay, Galiano Island, British Columbia VON I PO , Canada.
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