Volume XVI Number 1 January, 1994
Published for members of the Center for Wooden Boats
The State of The Center Another year has passed into history and the Center for W o o d e n Boats sailed through it's economic d o l d r u m s , political shoals and social storms quite w e l l . Our education programs expanded. A n d that's what we're really all about. W h y have a large collection of boats (or books or bones) if y o u don't utilize it to expand people's horizons? O v e r 200 adults, 20 seventh and eighth graders, 15 at-risk teenagers, 15 Boy Scouts, and 20 physically disabled people completed basic sailing instruction in our classic boats. They k n o w h o w to sail in and out of o u r little harbor. (Once y o u master that, Cape H o r n , even from east to west, is a piece of cake!) A n d they k n o w how traditional w o o d boats handle as w e l l as they k n o w h o w to breathe. O u r education programs are designed to suit the w i d e range of our community. In 1993 we conducted our third annual "SAILAWAY CHALLENGE," a weekend sailing clinic for p h y s i c a l l y disabled people. In 1993 we began intensive skills t r a i n i n g for at-risk teenagers. T h i s project, " A l l A b o a r d , " is about preserving historic skills a n d messed up k i d s . Communities throughout A m e r i c a are witnessing a crisis in public education. K i d s are d r o p p i n g out due to lack of purpose and confidence. Historic small boats merit interpretations as artifacts that were built to be used. The best means of interpretation is u s i n g them. The s u m of a d d i n g high risk y o u t h and historic small craft equals education's highest goals. L e a r n i n g h o w to sail or r o w involves constant factoring of w i n d , w a v e and current vectors for speed, safety a n d navigation. In other w o r d s , applied physics, algebra and
trigonometry. S a i l i n g and r o w i n g i n v o l v e analysis and s o l v i n g of complex variables r e q u i r i n g instinctive solutions based on stored knowledge. Factor in self esteem, leadership, teamwork, and comparative study of historic boats and the result is one of the most d y n a m i c learning experiences anyone c o u l d hope to receive. W e intend " A l l A b o a r d " t o b e ongoing. In order to do this, a predictable source of income for the instructor's salary is needed. C W B remains a d r a w for school c h i l d r e n to visit for shorter periods. In 1993, over 550 youths were g i v e n rides in o u r 100-year-old sailing gillnetter. They all lend a hand at steering, h a n d l i n g sheets and sometimes r o w i n g this 30' vessel back if the w i n d fails. Several historically significant vessels were added to our fleet of w o r k i n g exhibits. They include the 25' Friendship Sloop, a replica of a 1890's fishing vessel and a replica 1929 Hacker 30' runabout. In addition 3 traditional r o w i n g boats, built by our workshop students, have been added to the livery. In 1993, our w o r k i n g exhibit fleet was increased with two 18' San Francisco M e r c u r y sloops, a 1928 Ted Geary 18' sloop, a 33' Garden designed, Blanchard built sloop, 13'peapod, 15' A c m e Skiff and 15' Lake Oswego skiff to our livery fleet. Eleven of our boats were restored and refinished d u r i n g the year. Ours is probably the largest accessible collection of classic wooden boats on the west coast. In order to make more of our g r o w i n g collection usable, we need an additional boatbuilder. We have sponsored more events than before for our members and public. Besides our 17th annual W o o d e n Boat Festival, they included Frostbite, M i d - w i n t e r , S p r i n g and Fall Regattas. In 1993, we began m a i l i n g m o n t h l y newsletters to our g r o w i n g 1
membership. O u r o r i g i n a l b i m o n t h l y Shavings has been supplemented by the n e w b i m o n t h l y Sawdust. We continue to provide monthly speakers. T h i s year we have been v i d e o taping the speakers. In order to administer these expanding activities, C W B has added an assistant director in 1993. We now have two administrative assistants to the director as w e l l as C a r l L i n d , our Maintenance Manager. Roger Coulter's specialty is m a k i n g our computer do tricks that Bill Gates hasn't dreamed up, and Leslie O l d h a m charms and cajoles more volunteers to help us. Daniel Bohn and P a u l H e n r y , our part-time youth instructors, have the knack of k n o w i n g when to be firm, when to be funny and when to just stand back and marvel at what the kids have accomplished. H u n d r e d s of volunteers freely donated over 12,000 hours in 1993. Their w o r k included sailing instruction, phone reception, typing, boat restoration," operating the livery, and a plethora of housekeeping chores. A n d that's not counting the Wheaten Terriers Rose and W i l l y , who ride herd on the resident Canadian Geese, and keep them from eating the flowers. Volunteers are the key element keeping our operations going. C W B is a w a r m friendly and attractive environment. O u r aim is to use our resources of historic boats, waterfront site and knowledgeable staff(paid and volunteer) to serve our community. That commitment is our reason for being. The measure of our success is the number of people who visit us, join us as dues-paying members, take our workshops, purchase our merchandise, give their time as volunteers and give their cash as donors. In all categories we have done better than 1992, and in most cases better than my optimistic hopes. Besides our hands-on activities in