Vol. 30, No. 1 - Traditional Small Craft Association

TheA 

B 

Journal 

sh reeze 

of the Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc. 

Volume 30, Number 1 • Spring 2009 • $4.00 

In This Issue: 

First Outing of 2009? • Mighty Napa River Row • Esperanza • Idea Man • More News from the Shop • 

Gardner Chapter Happenings • A Cautionary Tale • Students Aboard Elf • Really Small Craft • Skiff Raffle

The Ash Breeze 

The Ash Breeze (ISSN 1554-5016) is 

the quarterly journal of the Traditional 

Small Craft Association, Inc. It is 

published at 134 E Main St., 

Moorestown, NJ 08057. 

Communications concerning membership 

or mailings should be 

addressed to: 

PO Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. 

www.tsca.net 

Volume 30, Number 1 

Co-Editors: 

Mike Wick 

mikewick55@yahoo.com 

Ned Asplundh 

nasplundh@yahoo.com 

Advertising Editor: 

Cricket Evans 

Editors Emeriti: 

Richard S. Kolin 

Sam & Marty King 

David & Katherine Cockey 

Ralph Notaristefano 

Ken Steinmetz 

John Stratton 

Dan Drath 

The Traditional Small Craft Association, 

Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 

educational organization that works to 

preserve and continue the living traditions, 

skills, lore, and legends surrounding 

working and pleasure 

watercraft with origins that predate 

the marine gasoline engine. It encourages 

the design, construction, 

and use of these boats, and it embraces 

contemporary variants and 

adaptations of traditional designs. 

TSCA is an enjoyable yet practical link 

among users, designers, builders, restorers, 

historians, government, and 

maritime institutions. 

©2009 by The Traditional Small Craft 

Association, Inc. 

Editor’s Column 

The New York Times reports that major 

art museums across the country have 

been hard hit by the economic situation 

which has forced them to reinvent 

themselves, to find new ways to bring 

visitors through the door. Maritime 

museums have the same problem. 

It has been almost a perfect storm. 

Endowments have been hit, attendance 

is hurt by school budget cuts, costs are 

either fixed or rising, and generous 

benefactors will be less able either to 

fund endowments or to fund boatbuilding 

projects. Boatshops linked to 

museums are vulnerable to the ax. 

A few years ago, Mystic Seaport laid off 

10% of their workforce. Now they need 

to make deeper cuts to combat a $2 

million budget shortfall. The economic 

slowdown is playing havoc with their 

budgets and with endowments. 

While I am pleased to hear there are 

plans to reinstate the John Gardner 

Small Craft Weekend in 2010, the 

temporary cancellation of 2008 and 

2009 should stand as a warning. 

In the past, museums gave generously of 

their time and effort, and we boating 

enthusiasts began to take their programs 

Front Cover: For hardier souls, months ending in “r”mean more than good oysters on 

the Chesapeake. To celebrate the Winter solstice, Doug Oeller helms his Joel White 

Marsh Cat, Comfort, on Sinepuxent Bay, with the help of his faithful crew, Jack Tar. 

More Winter sailing photos on the back cover. Photo by Mike Wick. 

Address Changes: 

for granted, thinking “that is what they 

do.” TSCA members, as well as interested 

members of the general public, 

who flocked to museum-sponsored 

events assumed the attraction of “small 

craft weekends” was obvious to everybody, 

that the fees we paid covered 

expenses, and everything would last 

forever. 

It is now obvious that we must prove to 

museum management that we value 

these gatherings. We must be proactive 

in our generosity. We must be active in 

planning and execution. We can’t fall 

back on staff efforts and assume 

everything will take place without our 

efforts. If we don’t do our bit, they may 

be forced to cancel the programs. 

Many of our mentors have either gotten 

their start at, or still work with, maritime 

museums. These are part of our heritage. 

The TSCA would be a poorer 

organization without the likes of John 

Brady, Peter Vermilya, Roger Allen, Geoff 

McKonly, and many others. We owe 

these organizations, because our clubs 

depend on their cooperation. We should 

do all we can to support museums and 

their programs, either through contributions 

or through volunteering. 

If you notify ONLY the US Postal Service of an address 

change, it may not be enough to keep your 

copies of The Ash Breeze arriving on time. To help 

us reduce postage costs and ensure that you don’t 

miss an issue, please send your new or forwarding 

address — 90 days in advance of your move — to 

the TSCA Secretary, PO Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. 

2 The Ash Breeze, Spring 2009

From the 

President 

It appears that even the recent economic 

downturn cannot completely disillusion 

the small-boat crowd! Despite cutbacks 

and layoffs, there is a concerted effort 

underway to resurrect the annual John 

Gardner Small Craft Workshop at Mystic 

Seaport. While a 2009 event is not likely, 

we are more confident we can bring it 

back in 2010. The effort is being led by 

Peter Vermilya and a core group from 

our John Gardner Chapter. They are 

trying to figure out how to best serve the 

desires of us messabouters without 

tapping non-existent financial resources 

of the Seaport. Join the discussion online 

at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ 

Mystic-JGSCW/ 

For those of you planning your travels to 

various boating events this year, please 

include the Philadelphia Wooden Boat 

Festival on June 20-21 in your plans. 

The TSCA Annual Meeting will be held 

during the festival, and we would like to 

see as many members there as possible. 

We don’t have the specific event schedule 

yet, but you should be able to find it 

online soon — www.phillyseaport.org/ 

wooden_boat_festival.shtml. Roger Allen 

from the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter and 

the members of the Delaware River 

Chapter will be working to enhance our 

presence there. 

Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find a 

ballot and explanation of the proposed 

changes to the TSCA National Bylaws. 

The Council unanimously endorses and 

recommends the changes. Please vote, 

either by e-mail or snail mail. 

Finally, even though I have received 

several pictures showing Mike Wick 

goofing off in his boats this winter, it 

appears he spent a lot of quality time 

with this, his first effort as Editor of The 

Ash Breeze. Many thanks to Mike, his 

trusty sidekick Ned Asplundh, and the 

rest of the publishing crew! 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-CHANGES! 

by John Weiss 

In this issue you will find a centerfold 

ballot for the TSCA National Council 

nominees and a change in our Bylaws. 

We didn’t want to take space 

from your stories and pictures to print 

the entire change proposal, so we 

posted it on our web site at 

www.tsca.net/bylaws.html for your 

review. For those who don’t want to 

slog through, I offer a summary…. 

At the TSCA Council meeting at St. 

Michaels last October, we discovered 

that we could not take up Roger 

Allen’s offer to have our annual 

meeting at the Great Florida Gulf 

Coast Small Craft Festival in April. 

Our bylaws currently restrict the 

meeting to the months between June 

and October, inclusive. As we were 

discussing yet another Bylaws change 

to accommodate Roger’s offer, we 

also found a few other issues that 

need clarification. The changes will: 

Increase the “window” ” where we 

can hold the Annual Meeting to 

April-October 

October, , inclusive. The 

original bylaws specified June as the 

only month for the meeting; in 2007 

we expanded that to June-October to 

accommodate (we thought) most 

viable boat festival venues that could 

host the meeting. We do not want to 

expand the window too far, in order to 

keep meetings from getting too 

frequent or too far away in time. We 

concluded that April-to-October would 

be the best compromise. 

Specify the term for the Council 

and Officers. This was easy when the 

Annual Meeting was “always” the first 

weekend in June, at the JGSCW in 

Mystic. With the current variety of 

meeting venues, the dilemma was 

whether the Officers and Directors 

would serve from meeting to meeting 

or for a specific term. We decided it 

would be better to specify an annual 

term, which will go from/to noon, 

June 30. This will maintain consistency 

from year to year, and give 

enough time for the outgoing Officers 

and Directors to complete their 

reports for the Fiscal Year (June 1- 

May 31). We also specified turnover 

procedures to help future Councils 

ease the transition in the case of April 

or May meetings, or in the absence of 

a face-to-face turnover. 

Formalize requirements for some 

annual reports. To correlate with the 

newly specified terms of office, we 

specified all annual reports of Officers 

to the Council be for the Fiscal Year. 

Previous bylaws did not specify. 

Clean up the language regarding 

ongoing “meetings” of the Coun- 

cil. Most of the Council’s routine work 

is done via e-mail throughout the 

year, and not at the Annual Council 

Meeting. These “remote meetings” 

had been formally authorized in a 

previous (2006) bylaws change. This 

revision cleans up the language and 

allows the President to “convene” 

these remote meetings without formal 

prior notice. 

If approved by the membership via 

the ballot, these changes will become 

effective as of the conclusion of the 

Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. 

Please call or e-mail me — 206-484- 

0372, or jrweiss@attglobal.net — or 

talk with any Council member, if you 

have any questions. 

Volume 30, Number 1 3

Active 

TSCA 

Chapters 

Adirondack Chapter TSCA 

Mary Brown, 18 Hemlock Lane, Saranac 

Lake, New York 12983, 518-891-2709, 

mabrown214@hotmail.com 

Annapolis Chapter TSCA 

Sigrid Trumpy, P.O. Box 2054, Annapolis, 

MD 21404, hollace@crosslink.net 

Barnegat Bay TSCA 

Patricia H. Burke, Director, Toms River 

Seaport Society, PO Box 1111, Toms 

River, NJ 08754, 732-349-9209, 

www.tomsriverseaport.com 

Cleveland Amateur Boatbuilding 

and Boating Society (CABBS) 

Hank Vincenti, 7562 Brinmore Rd, 

Sagamore Hills, OH 44067, 330-467- 

6601, quest85@windstream.net, 

www.cabbs.org 

Connecticut River Oar 

and Paddle Club 

Jon Persson, 17 Industrial Park Road, 

Suite 5, Centerbrook, CT 06409, 860- 

767-3303, jon.persson@snet.net 

Delaware River TSCA 

Tom Shephard, 482 Almond Rd, 

Pittsgrove, NJ 08318, tsshep41556 

@aol.com, www.tsca.net/delriver 

Down East Chapter 

John Silverio, 105 Proctor Rd, 

Lincolnville, ME 04849, work 207-763- 

3885, home 207-763-4652, camp: 

207-763-4671, jsarch@midcoast.com 

Floating the Apple 

400 West 43rd St., 32R, New York, NY 

10036, 212-564-5412, 

floapple@aol.com 

Florida Gulf Coast TSCA 

Roger B. Allen, Florida Maritime Museum, 

4415 119th St W, PO Box 100, 

Cortez, FL 34215, 941-708-4935 or 

941-704-8598 (cell), 

Roger.Allen@ManateeClerk.com 

Friends of the North Carolina 

Maritime Museum TSCA 

Brent Creelman, 315 Front Street, 

Beaufort, NC 28516, 252-728-7317, 

maritime@ncmail.com 

John Gardner Chapter 

Russ Smith, U of Connecticut, Avery Point 

Campus, 1084 Shennecossett Road, 

Groton, CT 06340, 860-536-1113, 

fruzzy@hotmail.com 

Lone Star Chapter 

Howard Gmelch, The Scow Schooner 

Project, PO Box 1509, Anahuac, TX 

77514, 409-267-4402, 

scowschooner@earthlink.net 

Long Island TSCA 

Myron Young, PO Box 635, Laurel, NY 

11948, 631-298-4512 

Lost ost Coast Chapter—Mendocino 

Stan Halvorsen, 31051 Gibney Lane, 

Fort Bragg, CA 95437, 707-964-8342, 

Krish@mcn.org, www.tsca.net/LostCoast 

Michigan Maritime Museum Chapter 

Pete Mathews, Sec’y, PO Box 100, 

Gobles, MI 49055, 269-628-4396, 

canoenut@bciwildblue.com 

North Shore TSCA 

Dave Morrow, 63 Lynnfield St, Lynn, MA 

01904, 781-598-6163 

Oregon Coots 

John Kohnen, PO Box 24341, Eugene, 

OR 97402, 541-688-2826, 

jkohnen@boat-links.com 

Patuxent Small Craft Guild 

William Lake, 11740 Asbury Circle, Apt 

1301, Solomons, MD 20688, 410-394- 

3382, wlake@comcast.net 

Pine Lake Small Craft Association 

Sandy Bryson, Sec’y., 333 Whitehills Dr, 

East Lansing, MI 48823, 517-351-5976, 

sbryson@msu.edu 

Puget Sound TSCA 

Gary Powell, 15805 140th Ct. SE, 

Renton, WA 98058, 425-255-5067, 

powellg@amazon.com 

Sacramento TSCA 

Todd Bloch, 122 Bemis Street, San 

Francisco, CA 94131, 415-971-2844, 

todd.sb@comcast.net 

Scajaquada TSCA 

Charles H. Meyer, 5405 East River, 

Grand Island, NY 14072, 716-773- 

2515, chmsails@aol.com 

South Jersey TSCA 

George Loos, 53 Beaver Dam Rd, Cape 

May Courthouse, NJ 08210, 609-861- 

0018, georgeowlman@aol.com 

South Street Seaport Museum 

John B. Putnam, 207 Front Street, New 

York, NY 10038, 212-748-8600, Ext. 

663 days, www.southstseaport.org 

TSCA of Wisconsin 

James R. Kowall, c/o Door County 

Maritime Museum, 120 N Madison Ave, 

Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, 920-743-4631 

Chapters Organizing 

Cape Cod 

Don Chapin, PO Box 634, Pocasset, MA 

02559, 774-392-1833, 

Don@Coastalrower.com 

Eastern Shore Chapter 

Mike Moore, 5220 Wilson Road, 

Cambridge, MD 21613, 

estsca@mail.com 

North Idaho 

Joe Cathey, 15922 W. Hollister Hills 

Drive, Hauser, ID 83854, 

caadnil@roadrunner.com 

St. Augustine Lighthouse 

and Museum Chapter 

Maury Keiser, 329 Valverde Lane, St. 

Augustine, FL 32086, 904-797-1508, 

maurykeiser@bellsouth.net 


John Gardner Grants 

“To preserve, continue, and expand the 

achievements, vision and goals of John 

Gardner by enriching and disseminating 

our traditional small craft heritage.” 

In 1999, TSCA created the John Gardner 

Grant program to support projects for 

which sufficient funding would otherwise 

be unavailable. Eligible projects are 

those which research, document, 

preserve, and replicate traditional small 

craft, associated skills, and those who 

built and used them. Youth involvement 

is encouraged. 

Proposals for projects ranging from $200 

to $2000 are invited for consideration. 

Grants are awarded competitively and 

reviewed semiannually by the John 

Gardner Memorial Fund Committee of 

TSCA, typically in May and October. The 

source of funding is the John Gardner 

Memorial Endowment Fund. Funding 

available for projects is determined 

annually. 

Eligible applicants include anyone who 

can demonstrate serious interest in, and 

knowledge of, traditional small craft. 

Affiliation with a museum or academic 

organization is not required. Projects 

must have tangible, enduring results 

which are published, exhibited, or 

otherwise made available to the interested 

public. Projects must be reported in 

the Ash Breeze. 

For program details, applications and 

additional information visit TSCA on the 

web at www.tsca.net 

Benefactors 

Samuel E. Johnson 

Life Members 

Jean Gardner 

Bob Hicks 

Paul Reagan 

Sidney S. Whelan, Jr. 

Dan & Eileen Drath 

Generous Patrons 

Ned & Neva Asplundh 

Howard Benedict 

Kim Bottles 

Willard A. Bradley 

Lee Caldwell 

Stanley R. Dickstein 

Richard S. Kolin 

Richard B. Weir 

Capt C. S. Wetherell 

Sponsor Members 

Rodney & Julie Agar 

Captain James Alderman 

Roger Allen 

C. Joseph Barnette 

Ellen & Gary Barrett 

Bruce Beglin 

Charles Benedict 

Gary Blackman 

Robert C. Briscoe 

Richard A. Butz 

Capt John S. Calhoun 

Charles Canniff 

Dick Christie 

Steve & Gladys Clancy 

David Cockey 

James & Lloyd Crocket 

Terry & Erika Downes 

Frank C. Durham 

Albert Eatock 

Michael Ellis 

John D. England 

David Epner 

Tom Etherington 

Huw Goronwy Evans 

Richard & Susan Geiger 

John M. Gerty 

Gerald W. Gibbs 

Larrick Glendenning 

Max Greenwood 

Les Gunther 

Mr. & Mrs. R. Bruce Hammatt, Jr. 

Peter Healey 

Colin O. Hermans 

Dana Hewson 

Steve Hirsch 

Stuart K. Hopkins 

Peter A. Jay 

Michael Jones & Judith Powers 

John M. Karbott 

Phillip Kasten 

Steve Kaulback 

Stephen Kessler 

Thomas E. King 

Paul R. LaBrie 

Arthur B. Lawrence, III 

Chelcie Liu 

Jon Lovell 

The Mariners Museum, 

Newport News, VA 

Pete & Susan Mathews 

D. Turner Matthews 

Michael McClure 

Charles H. Meyer, Jr. 

Alfred P. Minervini 

Howard Mittleman 

John S. Montague 

King Mud & Queen Tule 

Mason C. Myers 

Michael Porter 

Ron Render 

Don Rich & Sheryl Speck 

Richard Schubert 

Paul A. Schwartz 

Karen Seo 

Michael O. Severance 

Austin Shiels 

Gary & Diane Shirley 

Walter J. Simmons 

Leslie Smith 

John P. Stratton, III 

Zach Stewart & Annie Somerville 

Robert E. (Bub) Sullivan 

George Surgent 

Benjamin B. Swan 

James Thorington 

Peter T. Vermilya 

Dick Wagner 

Tom Walz 

John & Ellen Weiss 

Stephen M. Weld 

Michael D. Wick 

Hank & Hazel Will 

Robert & Judith Yorke 

J. Myron Young 

Joel Zackin 


First TSCA Outing 

of 2009? 

by Pete Mathews 

Okay, perhaps the title is a little presumptuous.... 

Let’s just say it’s the first 

one I know of. This outing was the 15th 

continuation of an annual New Year’s 

Day canoe trip on the Kalamazoo River. 

It was started as a way to rid ourselves of 

midwinter “shack nasties” and stave off 

boating “withdrawal.” 

As previous, this trip was largely made by 

canoes, with one kayak. This is no way a 

reflection on those who prefer rowing. 

It’s just that they never show up. Our 

biggest year ever had over 30 boats 

going down the river; one of the local 

kayak clubs from Kalamazoo joined us. 

Hmmm, they’ve never been back.... 

This year’s fleet consisted of two stripbuilt 

18’ trippers, a 17’6” Atkinson 

Traveler cedar/canvas canoe, and a 

plastic kayak. In defense of the kayaker, 

he is also a wooden canoe builder. 

December in southwest Michigan 

presented us with 60” of snow. Starting 

the day after Christmas, it warmed up 

and rained for 48 hours. On New Year’s 

Day, however, the temperature never 

made it to the forecast low thirties. 

What the resulting 

runoff did to the 

Kalamazoo can be 

seen in the photos. 

This is the highest 

I’ve seen the river, 

and certainly the 

highest we’ve ever 

paddled it. We’ve 

all done this trip 

many times, know 

the river and with 

safety principles in 

place, decided to 

go for it. 

Yes, they ARE standing in the takeout parking lot. From left to right: 

Dick Dodson, Gary Bishop, Ben Tanis (with bag), Chris Tanis, and Nancy 

Bishop. 

The biggest safety issue was sweepers. 

None of us paddle the river often 

enough to have the addresses of all 

these waterborne “canoe-catchers,” and 

changing conditions create new ones 

annually. Our solution was to keep to the 

center of the river, and away from the 

sweeper trees and branches. 

The high water did have the advantage 

of limiting the number of fishing boats 

on the river. We usually encounter 

several steelhead fishermen starting the 

New Year off with their favorite pursuit. 

This year there was only one boat. 

Another advantage to the meltdown was 

that there wasn’t enough snow left to 

allow snowmobiling along the river. The 

sound of two-stroke engines doesn’t do 

much for the ambience of the woods in 

winter, or wildlife 

observation. 

Pete and Susan Mathews at the takeout “ice rink.” 

Because of the 

high water and 

swiftness of the 

current, our trip, 

which normally 

takes about an 

hour-and-a-half, 

was accomplished 

in just under an 

hour this year, with 

very little effort 

expended on our 

part. (Hey, we’re 

not Lewis and 

Clark, just making a symbolic welcoming 

gesture to the new season.) 

As for the wildlife, it, like the attendance, 

was a little on the light side. We did see 

Hairy and Downy woodpeckers, though 

not the Pileated we usually see. Three 

deer, Red Tail hawks, one Broad Wing 

Hawk, a Harrier, and two Bald Eagles 

were about it. No songbirds were 

apparent this year. 

The takeout at the end of the trip was 

easy. Our parking lot was under water, 

allowing us to literally paddle up to the 

vehicles. That saved having to carry gear 

and boats across the “skating rink.” 

Part of the tradition is dinner afterwards. 

The take out is near the small town of 

Fennville, home to Su Casa, an authentic 

Mexican restaurant. These pleasant folks 

are known for serving a wet burrito the 

size of a loaf of bread for a very reasonable 

price. That, with a cup of Mexican 

hot chocolate and good company, 

dispels any remaining chills left over 

after loading boats. Not at all a bad way 

to start the new year. 

About the author: Pete wears a 

multitude of small craft hats. He is 

currently vice-president of TSCA, 

secretary of the Michigan Maritime 

Museum TSCA chapter, and vicepresident 

of the Museum’s Board of 

Trustees. 


The Mighty Napa 

River Row 

By Jim Lawson 

October 4, 2008: It was a dark and 

stormy night, before the Napa River Row. 

I despaired, but it was only a little 

miserable in the morning. There was a 

lot to do around the house, so the 

decision to go or not go was easy. In 

fact, I arrived at the launch ramp an 

hour early. It was cold and blowing from 

where the clouds were big and dark, so I 

decided to put the boat in. 

Soon, Tom Kremer, the “organizer” of the 

row pulled in wearing a t-shirt and 

shorts, and I knew everything was going 

to be all right. And it was. The sun came 

out, the wind let up, and off we went. 

The wind moderated to a soft breeze, 

just enough to keep the rowers cool, and 

the sun was filtered by dramatic clouds. 

Launching from the town dock, city of Napa: from foreground, Tom Kremer 

and Ed Foster looking over a DeLapp Natomah Skiff; Ken and Virgina 

Tomaszewski, together with Bob-from-Alameda have a look at Bob’s 

bright-finished Whitehall; a mystery boat; Ken and Virginia’s Peapod. 

Our destination was Joe’s, a brewery 

and pub in Napa. The launch area is 

surrounded by chain-link fence, but Tom 

had probed for a weakness and found a 

way around it that involved trekking 

through foul mud, scaling a rocky hill, 

and climbing over a cement fence. 

The beach was across the river from 

Joe’s, but we could see it from the patio. 

Perfect. Just as it always does, it all 

worked out. We had a good lunch, and 

once in a while one of the adults would 

go to the edge of the patio and confirm 

that the boats were still there. 

Ken and Virgina in their lapstrake Peapod, built by Ed Foster. 

Just as we got to the launch ramp, the 

wind stiffened, the clouds filled in, and 

there was general agreement that the 

trip was exactly right. 

About the author: Jim Lawson is a 

member of the Sacramento River 

Chapter of TSCA. 

Bob-from-Alameda digs in at the oars in his bright-finished Whitehall. 


Esperanza: 

A Restored Cuban 

Refugee Boat 

by Doug Calhoun 

By now the people of Cortez (as well as 

readers of The Ash Breeze) may be pretty 

familiar with the story of the Cuban 

refugee boat, Esperanza (pictured 

above), that the volunteers at the Florida 

Maritime Museum at Cortez restored. 

They saw it when it was first brought up 

from Wyndley Key where the boat lay in 

weeds and bushes. 

Bob Pitt, Boatbuilder at the Museum, and 

Paul Thomas, President of the Florida 

Gulf Coast Traditional Small Craft 

Association, traveled to the Key to look at 

it. Bob’s cousin who owned the boat 

asked them if the Museum would want it. 

They said, “sure,” even with enthusiasm. 

Bob recognized that the boat has a 

history, a Florida history. It was used by 

six Cubans to escape their Communist 

homeland and sail to America. 

The fifteen-foot boat was found tangled 

in the grass flats on the Atlantic shore of 

Wyndley Key, FL, in 1990. Residents of a 

nearby trailer park said that six Cubans 

had braved the seas to reach freedom in 

her. For the next sixteen years the boat 

rested on land, as “lawn art” for a 

fishing cottage until its owner, Janice 

Rice-Carillo, decided to donate it to the 

Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez. 

Those years had taken such a toll on the 

boat that before trailering her back to 

Cortez from the Keys, Bob took several 

pictures. He and Paul worried about how 

much would survive the road trip, and 

they wanted to have at least an image of 

the original shape when they returned. 

When Bob and Paul got the boat back to 

the Museum, even the local Cortezans 

noticed it. Some Museum volunteers 

doubted the wisdom of trying to restore 

it; others welcomed the chance to 

preserve this boat as an historic relic. 

This was likely due to Bob’s own enthusiasm 

for both Florida boats and history. 

The museum’s Director, Roger Allen, 

went along with it when he was assured 

that little of the museum’s small budget 

would be used. 

When the volunteers finally got the 

opportunity to examine what was left of 

the boat and saw the extent of the 

deterioration the boat had suffered, they 

began to realize what a challenge they 

had to their skill and their will. 

Dry rot, termites, and carpenter ants had 

attacked a great deal of her, many of 

them riding to the new location. Mast 

and sails were long gone; residue of a 

shower curtain or similar material, used 

to help keep water out of the boat, 

remained. The entire bottom, adjacent 

planks, most of the frames, remnant of 

the keelson, centerboard trunk and the 

centerboard itself had to be removed. 

As the volunteers began taking the boat 

apart, they examined and measured 

what was left. The boat began to tell the 

volunteers its own story. They have 

gained a great deal of admiration for the 

skills of the Cubans who built her. Much 

of the wood appears to have been taken 

from other uses, other boats, perhaps 

docks or buildings. A couple of ways to 

tell this are by looking closely at the 

planks. Some of what looked like nail 

holes did not match frames and were 

filled with wooden pegs. Some planks 

were a bit short of reaching the next, so 

another frame was added inside, and a 

stub plank patched to it. 

Another act of ingenuity prompted by 

need is shown by the fasteners used. 

Frames and planks were held together 

with several types of fasteners. Some of 

the different-sized copper fasteners seem 

to have been cut and made from wires, 

maybe from house wiring, clenched in a 

vise and the top hammered to a head. 

Other copper fasteners looked as if they 

were cut from a flat sheet of metal. A few 

cut iron nails were used too that could 

have been made for the boat or adapted 

from a building or even furniture and 

maybe from a horse’s hoof. 

The experience gained in taking the boat 

apart, simply because there was not a 

great amount that could be saved, 

convinced us to use a similar scavenging 

process in restoring the boat. We used 

leftover wood from other projects, wood 

salvaged after a tree fell on Bob’s chickee 

(for you non-Floridians, an opensided 

dwelling or sun shelter, developed 

by the Seminoles) in a lightning storm, 

any suitable wood that we found. We 

used melaluca trees from the F.I.S.H. 

property; an entire tree for the boom and 

a branch for the tiller. We used an old 

cypress fence for floorboards. The 

transom was made from stringers torn 

out of the Cortez Schoolhouse floor. We 

did buy some “Cortez Teak,” pressure 

treated pine, for chines, keelson, 

centerboard, keel, and the skeg. The 

inner stem was donated red cedar. We 

bought almost all the bronze fasteners 

used. The mainsail and jib were donated 

and adapted. Bob said that the 

museum’s total investment may be as 

much as $300.00. 

Let me just add here that no one in the 

neighborhood should attribute anything 

missing to our restoration project. As 

reported in the last issue of The Ash 

Breeze, we finished the project in time to 

launch at our own Great Gulf Coast 

Small Craft Festival on April 19, 2008. 

That day she won the Lee Hickok Award 


for Traditional Design and Traditional 

Construction. 

After all this work, we began to feel 

pretty proud of this Cuban Refugee Boat 

and decided to take her to St. Michaels, 

MD for the 26th Annual Mid-Atlantic 

Small Craft Festival in October 

We entered in the Restoration class, and 

by virtue of being in the one class we 

were also in competition with all the 

other 130 boats in The People’s Choice 

category. These boats ranged from 

kayaks and Whitehalls, sharpies, to a 

draketail launch, beautifully finished in 

paint and brightwork. 

The boat was on display for both days of 

the Festival, and people seemed to be 

drawn to her. So many people were 

attracted to the boat that we were luckily 

joined by Jerry and Judy Biene from Erie, 

PA, who are winter volunteers at our boat 

shop. Jerry had worked on Esperanza 

and talked about her to many festival 

attendees. The first response when 

someone looking at the boat was told 

that she was a restored Cuban refugee 

boat was “really?” 

We brought along some of the original 

fasteners, pieces of the original aft deck, 

inner stem and transom. We also had a 

ringbinder with a description of the 

restoration process, photos of it, and 

previously published articles written 

about the boat. This was the idea of D. 

Turner Matthews, a previous winner at St. 

Michaels and occasional volunteer at the 

Museum. 

We were all very proud when we received 

the blue ribbon for Restoration, 

but dumbstruck when we were given the 

plaque for “The People’s Choice.” Both 

will be proudly displayed at the Florida 

Maritime Museum at Cortez. Come and 

see for yourselves. 

About the author: Doug Calhoun is a 

volunteer and Research Associate at the 

Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez. 

Standing in front of Trophy Winner Esperanza are (left to right) Paul Thomas, Jerry Biene, 

Bob Pitt (holding trophy), D. Turner Matthews, Cal Allen (Roger’s father). In front, Roger 

Allen. Photo by Steve Lattman. 

FMMC Boats Receive Multiple Awards 

at St. Petersburg Yacht Club Event 

by Doug Calhoun 

On Sunday, November 16, members of the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez 

took three of their boats to the St. Petersburg Classic Car and Antique Boat 

Show, put on by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, and brought back four trophies. 

Bob Pitt, Museum Boat Builder, Roger Allen, Museum Director, Paul Thomas, 

President of the Florida West Coat TSCA, along with Judy and Jerry Biene, and 

Bob Allison, volunteers, exhibited three of the Museum’s boats at the show. 

Turner Matthews, also a volunteer at the Museum, traveled to St. Petersburg with 

his classic Grand Banks motor dory, Ravenstrike. The 1956 Abaco dinghy, 

Babe, which was donated to the Museum by Dale Harvey of Englewood and 

needed restoration, won Best in Show for Restoration. This job was the first 

restoration project undertaken by volunteers at the new Museum Boatshop, and 

has since become a favorite at many shows on the eastern seaboard. Another 

project of the Museum, the Sallie Adams, a replica of a Cortez Sprits’l Skiff 

which worked area waters in the 1880s, won Best in Show for a Replica. This 

was the first replica project by the volunteers. 

Winning third and fourth awards was the restored Cuban refugee boat, 

Esperanza. She won an award for the most Accurate Restoration and a second 

award in the special category, “The Salty Sisters Award,” given by the Women of 

the St. Petersburg Yacht club. All of these boats were built or restored under the 

direction of the Museum Boat Builder, Bob Pitt. 

The Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez is a cooperative historical project 

between the Florida Institute for Salt Water Heritage, and the Manatee County 

Clerk of the Circuit Court, R. B. “Chips” Shore’s Historical Resources Department. 

The Museum is in the Historic Cortez Fishing Village, Manatee County, 

Florida. 


At left: ‘Tis himself. Above left: A view of the under-thwart engine installation aboard Phil’s 

Curlew. Above right: Skeg-mounted prop and shaft. 

Phil Maynard: 

TSCA’s Idea Man 

by Mike Wick 

It’s never too hot; never too cold. Phil 

Maynard is always ready to go sailing — 

April through December. 

Phil is also the Delaware River TSCA 

chapter’s boatbuilding “idea man.” At 

each monthly meeting, members line up 

to ask his opinion of their latest brainstorm. 

As the Delaware River’s answer to 

Inspector Gadget, Phil patiently replies to 

each of our questions. Each is considered 

and answered with only an occasional 

“Well, you could do it that way.” 

Even if the question is over the top.... 

Phil and Julia live in a lovely Victorian in 

Ridley Park that they restored. Phil 

transformed the house and Julia made 

over the shade garden. His tiny garage is 

a study of cubic close-packing: boats in 

the rafters; boats in special cradles on 

wheels, so they can be slid in and out 

like books on the bookshelf. All unique; 

all Phil. 

Phil started as a contractor and carpenter 

up in New England. He got the hobbybuilding 

bug and crafted an experimental 

airplane. When he saw his friends 

having crashes, he decided it was too 

dangerous and put his own plane to the 

chainsaw. 

After airplanes, he focused on boats. Phil 

told me it wasn’t just his love of boats 

that made the change, he found he liked 

the people better. I am grateful he made 

that shift; I am one of the regulars asking 

advice. 

Phil’s first boat was an Ed Monk Curlew; 

fifteen feet long, Marconi rig, lots of 

hardwood. A beautiful, old-fashioned 

boat. In addition to sail power, he added 

a lawnmower engine and a tiny prop: 

direct drive, no reverse, gravity feed tank 

for the gasoline.... He figured it all out. It 

works and it works well. 

Next is a light, fast rowboat that he built 

for Julia, a Merry Wherry with sliding seat 

and outriggers. The drop oars are a 

work of art. 

The beautiful, seven-plank melonseed 

that Phil had designed and built, and 

now sails, caught the attention of 

everybody in the chapter. She is fast and 

able, and this is melonseed country. So 

we scheduled him to give a talk at our 

monthly meeting about how he designed 

and built her. Phil started off his lecture 

by showing us his inch-and-a-half-toone-foot 

model, then he showed 

multicolor diagrams 

to illustrate 

how closely his 

stitch-and-glue 

chines matched 

the original plans 

from Chapelle. It 

was just the kind of 

thing you’d expect 

from a very 

talented builder. 

Julia and her Merry Wherry 

Then he stepped out of the room and 

returned with the next model: it was halfsize 

— six- and-a-half feet long. He had 

decided that he wanted something very 

big to study so he could get a feeling for 

the movement of the water around the 

hull. It was quite a dramatic moment as 

he brought in the model that was taller 

than he was. We all knew then that we 

had more than your typical builder/ 

owner in our midst. I remember that the 

early twelve-meter teams used to build 

six-meter models to test their ideas, but 

this was a melonseed. 

That boat, too, went through numerous 

changes over the years. First it was the 

scimitar daggerboard. Phil wasn’t happy 

with that. Out it came and in went a 

centerboard. Next was the sprit rig; out it 

went to be replaced by a full-batten, leg 

o’ mutton sail. 

Phil is tall and lanky; the melonseed is a 

small boat. He used to run before the 

wind standing up and sailing her like a 

windsurfer. He stood up just to get the 


upright tiller. 

Adapt, adopt, 

improvise; I think 

you get the idea.... 

Melonseed models: the half-size supporting the 1.5”-1’ version. 

kinks out of his back. For extra support 

he built a lazy-susan, swivel chair in the 

middle of the cockpit so he had something 

to lean his back against even when 

he was tacking. 

She is always in the lead when we race, 

but Phil is very modest and pretends he 

doesn’t know much about sailing. Those 

of us who have tried to keep up with him 

know better. 

Now, Phil had a spare sprit rig from the 

melonseed. It was only logical that he 

build a boat around this old rig; with the 

jib from his Curlew. That next project was 

a Steve Redmond Bluegill sharpie. Phil 

needed power to cruise this boat on the 

Delaware with its strong tides, so it had 

an outboard motor and twin rudders, 

steered by a remote, launch-style, 

Bluegill with sprit rig and twin rudders 

Tom Shephard, 

another chapter 

member, runs an 

orphan boat 

service. Stray boats 

come to Tom just 

the way stray cats 

gravitate to the 

local “cat lady.” 

One day, a lovely Steve Redmond Whisp 

turned up. The builder had done about 

half the work and had run out of steam. 

This was Phil’s next project. 

I knew this would be just the kind of boat 

that would test Phil’s mettle. I had built 

one myself; sailed and rowed it. To say it 

is a difficult sail boat is an understatement. 

It had a leeboard. Its asymmetry 

made her balky, and she was built so 

light that some part of her broke every 

time out. It was so narrow that, once 

rigged, it would capsize before you could 

get aboard. I just couldn’t make it work. 

Not Phil. He has an entirely different 

approach. He knows that little changes 

can make a tremendous difference. He 

decided that if it had sails, he could 

make it sail. It just would take a gradual 

process of incremental changes. So he 

started a long series of “adjustments.” 

Most of us trailer our boats, but he props 

the sharpie in the back of his truck bed 

with half the boat sticking out beyond the 

bumper; a six-foot bed and a fifteen-foot 

boat. It looks a little strange, but it works. 

That’s the way with everything Phil does. 

He started off using his old faithful sprit 

rig, but he had to tie a reef in it to fit to 

his spars. He added webframes, gussets, 

sisterframes to strengthen the skinny 

plywood structure. All his strengtheners 

were tiny; barely enough to get the job 

done. And they looked right, too. He 

took the time to figure out all the 

stresses, and he made very specific 

repairs: a new hollow spar built by his 

Whisp centerboard and case 

own method so he could shake out that 

reef. She wouldn’t steer very well, so a 

new rudder came along. He devised a 

special centralized reefing system 

because you couldn’t move around in 

her without a capsize. Then the leeboard 

just had to go. He replaced it with a 

lovely centerboard. 

You will probably think he will rest for a 

moment, but not a bit of it. He is building 

a Platt Monfort canoe, with Dacron skin 

and Kevlar roving. At the last meeting, 

he brought in his model of a Hampton 

Bay One Design. He had built the model 

with a flat bottom just like the plans, but 

he thought she would be better with 

some deadrise and changed her over to 

a stressed arc-plywood bottom. There 

really isn’t room left in his garage, but 

don’t bet that it won’t appear somewhere, 

somehow. 

Phil is also a musician and plays a mean 

guitar. Lately he bought a video camera 

and discovered that he has an exceptional 

talent for making lovely films. He 

has been on three club outings and 

filmed three wonderful films aboard the 

sandbaggers, Bull and Bear, the 

Barnegat Bay A-Cats, and lastly the 

1888 Lawley racing cutter, Elf that we 

sailed on the Delaware River. You can 

see the further results of this talented 

Idea Man on his web page: 

www.pmaynard.lunarpages.com/ 


More News 

from the Shop 

by Dave Lucas 

Editor’s Note: In the last issue of The 

Ash Breeze, Dave gave us an update on 

a number of projects working away in 

Florida. Here is a further photographic 

status report of these projects. 

Above: Howard Heimbrock has made the gaff and boom for his Williams 18 catboat. All we can 

say is “wow.” Look at these things; neither of these sticks is the mast! Just how big is the sail on 

this boat? Below: Here’s your answer. Howard’s sail recently arrived, and it’s huge! 

About the author: Dave Lucas is a 

boatbuilder and traditional small craft 

enthusiast in Cortez, FL. He is pictured 

above with his granddaughter, Laylah, 

for whom Dave’s Melonseed is named. 

He can be reached at 

skipjack@tampabay.rr.com 

Above: Jim Enyart and his son went fishing in 

the Bahamas and came back with pictures of 

the perfect wooden boat. No worries about 

leaking seams or refinishing, and it keeps you 

stocked with drinks. What more could you 

ask? 

Right: John Calhoun made himself a paddle 

boat while he was up in the north land this 

summer. Now if only it had a sail with a bird 

on it he would have a real boat. I have to 

admit that it looks pretty good. 

Left: Canoe Dave has glassed his hull. After 

another coat of epoxy it'll look perfect. 


Above left and right: Stan Terryl made a crab claw sail for his little 

boat. It's two sided so it doubles as a tent. He likes multi-purpose 

equipment. At right is the first picture of José Avila's Core Sound 17 

with the sails up. The thought and workmanship that he has put into this 

boat are really first class. This is by far the finest CS I've ever seen. If it 

should ever come up for sale I would have to think about it. Below: 

Kathy is having a ball working on her Kayak. Stan cut out the blanks for 

it and showed her how to stitch-and-glue it together. 

Left: Rick at work on the dory; Sam is nowhere to be seen, whenever I 

have a camera. Sam and Rick are about finished with their little dory, 

which is a good thing, since Rick's going sailing soon in the Keys. 


John Gardner Chapter Happenings 

by Phil Behney 

Elections were recently held for the slate 

of the John Gardner Chapter of the 

TSCA (JGTSCA) officers who will be 

seated at the January 2009 meeting. 

They are: 

President - Russell Smith 

Vice President - John Hacunda 

Treasurer - Bill Armitage 

Secretary - John Symons 

We have a lot going on. The trip to see 

the "Spartan" was great despite the bad 

weather. Thanks to Bruce for letting this 

happen. Thanks also to John H. for 

putting the trip and pertinent info on the 

web site. 

Check out the link for more details about 

this and other chapter events: 

www.tsca.net/johngardner/ 

Events in planning for early 2009 

include: Seal Row – Date and time to be 

determined; Mystic Shipyard East, out to 

Fishers Island Sound, around Enders 

Island and Latimer Light. Snow Row – 

March 7; Hull, MA; three miles. Essex 

Row – May 7; Ipswich Bay, MA; five 

miles. 

John Hacunda is working on his first 

project: a 12' flat bottom, lapstrakeplanked 

skiff. The design is from the 

book Traditional Boatbuilding Made Easy 

published by WoodenBoat. The project is 

a true community effort and all club 

members have been pitching in to share 

their expertise and contribute to the 

process. Below are some photographic 

updates. 

Clockwise from above left: John Hacunda (left) and Bruce Cresser fit the chine; Rob Pittaway works on the chine pocket in the transom; Bruce 

and Rob work on other chine pockets; John and Bruce mark and fit the garboard. 


Traditional Small Craft Association, PO Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355 

The 2009 Annual Meeting of The Traditional Small Craft Association (TSCA 

TSCA) will be held on Sunday, , June 21, during 

the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Festival at the Independence Seaport Museum, Penns Landing, Philadelphia, PA. The 

Council will meet following the general meeting. 

2009 Ballot 

Please vote for THREE candidates to serve on the TSCA National Council for three-year terms, June 2009 to June 2012, and 

either FOR or AGAINST the proposed changes to the TSCA Bylaws. Deadline for receipt of ballots is June 1, 2009, via e- 

mail or regular mail. Mail ballot to the Secretary, Traditional Small Craft Association, PO Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. E- 

mail to TSCAsec@attglobal.net. See other side for additional balloting instructions. 

TSCA National Council — vote for no more than THREE (3) candidates. 

Dusty Dillion, Lost Coast Chapter 

Tom Haglund, Michigan Maritime Museum Chapter 

Bill Doll, Sacramento (River) Chapter 

Andy Wolfe, at large 

Write-in Candidate _______________________________________________________________________________________ 

TSCA Bylaws Change Proposal — vote either FOR or AGAINST. 

✁ 

FOR the Bylaws Changes 

AGAINST the Bylaws Changes 

Cut on dotted line below; fold, address-out, as indicated on other side. Tape edges, affix First Class postage and mail. 

TSCA Council Candidate Biographies: 

DUSTY DILLION, , Lost ost Coast Chapter — I was born among 

the people of the river. I came to the river and found community. 

We discovered TSCA and sponsored a chapter here in Noyo, 

Lost Coast Traditional Small Craft Association with a current 

membership of more than 80 families. I have built and founded 

“Worlds End Rowing Club” on the dock here on the river and 

currently operate the “Whatever Works Marine Services.” 

BILL DOLL, , Sacramento Chapter — I have worked at four 

maritime museums since 1975: Mystic Seaport, Maine Maritime 

Museum, Penobscot Marine Museum, and presently as Curator 

of Small Craft for the National Park Service at San Francisco 

Maritime NHP. Since 1973, I have always owned a wooden boat 

and I enjoy being on the water rowing, motoring and sailing in a 

small boat. As a member of the Sacramento chapter of the 

TSCA, I get out on the water at least once a month with my wife 

Wendy, and enjoy meeting up with folks who enjoy doing the 

same. I have spent most of my life instructing small boat 

enthusiasts on how to enjoy all aspects of small traditional 

watercraft, from building to seamanship. Aside from playing the 

fiddle I cannot think of a better thing to do than drifting along in 

a small boat on America’s great waterways. 

building classes from Mike Keifer and am now finishing my third 

professionally designed boat, the Whilly boat by Iain Oughtred. I 

have also owned various other sail boats. During college I 

worked for the college’s natural history museum as registrar of 

acquisitions, gave tours, set up displays including scale model 

making and restoration. I was one of the founding members of 

the West Michigan TSCA Chapter in southwestern Michigan and 

am currently a member of the Michigan Maritime Museum and 

Michigan Maritime Museum Chapter of TSCA. 

ANDY Y WOLFE — A veteran boat designer and builder, Andy 

operated Upper Deck Boatshop for 13 years before a shoulder 

injury left him on the docks. He served the TSCA board from 

2000-2003. He also wrote many articles for The Ash Breeze; the 

most notable being: Boat Building by Committee. Andy developed 

the Rib-Strip boat building method, and has appeared 

several times on DIYTV.net Build A Boat series. He resides in 

Buena Vista, Virginia, a riverfront town 1000 feet above sea 

level. Andy makes his living editing and publishing books and as 

creative director of Mariner Media, Inc. 

TSCA Bylaws Change Proposal: 

The Council is recommending we change the Bylaws to extend 

the window when the Annual Meeting may be held, to clarify the 

TOM HAGL 

GLUND 

UND, , Michigan Maritime Museum Chapter - 

annual turnover of the duties of the Council and Officers, and to 

Boats have been a part of my life since childhood. My first boat 

formalize the requirement for some reports. The proposal is 

was a pond yacht. The second boat was one I designed and built 

summarized on page three of this issue, and the complete 

when I was about 16 years old. It was made of pine boards held 

proposal is available at www.tsca.net/bylaws.html. 

together with roofing tar and box nails. It lasted two fun-filled 

summers. Later in life I restored a wooden Lightning, took boat 


Secretary 

Traditional Small Craft Association 

PO Box 350 

Mystic, CT 06355 

Cut on dotted line at left; fold on dotted line, above. 

Tape edges, affix First Class postage and mail. 

Place 

First Class 

Postage 

Here 

✁ 

Voting Instructions 

Make sure that your membership 

is current through April 2009 or 

later — check the date on your 

Ash Breeze address label! If not, 

mail your renewal with your ballot, 

or note on your voting e-mail 

that your renewal has been 

mailed. 

You can vote by e-mail or regular 

mail. 

To vote by e-mail 

-mail, send a message to 

TSCAsec@attglobal.net 

In the Subject line, type: Your Last Name, Your Member 

Number (check your Ash Breeze address label), three (3) 

ballot Last Names (full name for Write-in); “FOR” or 

“AGAINST” (the Bylaws change proposal. Quote-marks 

optional). 

In the Body Text 

ext (optional, but recommended), , type: Your 

full name and member number, then list the names of your 

three (3) choices for Council membership, one name per line. 

Then, indicate “FOR” or “AGAINST” the Bylaws Change. 

To o vote by mail, fill out ballot on back, cut top half, fold and 

tape for mailing. Affix First Class postage and mail to the 

return address printed on the card face. 

— or — 

Photocopy or hand-write your ballot, name, and member 

number, and place on post card or in envelope. 

Mail to: 

Secretary 

Traditional Small Craft Association 

PO Box 350 

MYSTIC CT 06355 


Caught Out & Trapped: 

A Cautionary Tale 

by Ed Neal 

I left my home thinking it was a perfect 

day for an afternoon Lake Erie sail, 

cloudless blue sky and a constant, warm 

breeze. So how did this ideal afternoon 

on the lake turn into a seven hour ordeal 

that ended in darkness and left me with 

a stiff and sore body? Much as a 

penance for my deeds, I am telling the 

story in sharp detail so you might avoid a 

similar mishap in the future. 

I arrived at Bradstreets Landing in Rocky 

River at 3 PM. Unhitching the trailer, I 

wheeled it to the beach and prepared 

Miss Retta for a pleasant afternoon sail. 

I inserted the mast, rigged the sail with 

the sprit pole and furled it all up with a 

bungie cord. Double checking my lines 

and gear, I walked around the boat while 

zipping up my PFD. Lifting the stern off 

the sand, I pulled the boat into the water, 

turning it to face incoming chop. 

A constant breeze of 10–12 knots from 

the northeast ruffled the lake with an 

occasional whitecap. Facing no breakers, 

I rowed out. The boat moved through the 

chop with considerable hobby-horsing. 

As I got beyond the fishing pier, the 2-3’ 

waves became more even and the boat 

found a comfortable groove. I unfurled 

the sail and headed west on a reach. 

After a half-hour run, I turned into the 

wind and headed back to the fishing 

pier. By now, the wind had picked up a 

bit and produced more whitecaps. 

Clearing the pier and looking at the 

beach, it appeared that breakers were 

now forming. Rather than try to sail or 

row in through the breakers, which might 

swamp the boat, I decided to stay out 

and kill time by running a quarter-mile 

loop around the end of the fishing pier, 

hoping that the wind would die down as 

it often does in the late afternoon. 

It was a good plan, but the wind wasn’t 

listening. It kept blowing with no let up. 

Miss Retta in quieter times. Ed built the 12’ sailing dinghy from John Brooks’ Ellen design. 

By now it was after 6 PM. The waves 

were increasing to 4’. As I continued my 

loops, I thought through several approach 

options for getting back to the 

beach. Each had a high degree of risk. 

With any approach to the beach, my flat 

stern would face the on-coming breakers 

and I could be swamped by a wave 

breaking into the boat. Struck by a wave, 

the boat would broach and then be 

capsized by the next incoming breaker. 

A few years back I had tried to row out 

through breakers at that very spot. It is 

stunning how much water a breaker 

pours into a boat, stopping it cold. The 

second incoming breaker, a few seconds 

behind the first, then twists you sideways 

and pushes the gunwale under. The lake 

holds all the cards in this situation. 

As I sailed, an occasional whitecap 

would slap the bow, hurling a drenching 

spray. Nothing I could do but take it. At 

least the weather was warm. As I came 

in closer to the pier I could see the backs 

of the breakers rearing up as they began 

to curl. I could see rather violent waves 

crashing against the pier wall. Wind held 

the park flag straight out. The sight did 

not encourage any thoughts of attempting 

a run to the beach. 

If I turned east and sailed two miles to 

Rocky River, I could enter the river and 

land at the public ramps. The difficulty 

would be the upwind tacking and 

dealing with the severe chop that 

northerlies form at the mouth of the river. 

The advantage would be no surf and, 

once ashore, I could walk back to 

retrieve my truck and trailer at 

Bradstreets. 

There was still no let up in the wind. It 

blew hard and constant, like an industrial 

exhaust fan. Rocky River was my best 

choice; I tacked into the wind and 

headed east. I apprehensively watched 

each wave approach and helped the 

boat shimmy up and over each 4-5’ 

(sometimes larger) crest. 

Miss Retta swam in it like a fish. We’d 

heel over as the wave took us up its 

back. I sat with my butt on the floorboards 

and braced myself across the 

boat — back to the gunwale on one 

side, feet aginst the gunwale on the 

other. One moment we’d be in three-foot 

chop, a mound of water caught between 

the crests of larger waves. Then the boat 

would swim over the crest to find a sixfoot 

hole in the water and down we’d go 

into the hole, facing oncoming waves as 

tall as a man. 

I was able to tack my way east. But by 

now, 3” of water had accumulated in the 

boat and sloshed from side to side. I was 

reluctant to head up into the wind and 

bail, since I would have to let go of tiller 

and sheet and leave Miss Retta to the 

forces of nature. I didn’t know if she 

would be stable in those conditions and 

not capsize. I had to take the chance. 

The weight of the water was making the 

boat sluggish and potentially unsafe. 

continued on the next page 


A Cautionary Tale, cont’d. 

Heading into the wind, the sail thrashed 

and the sheet flailed as I let go and 

grabbed the bailing scoop. Quickly 

bailing, I kept my eye contact on water in 

the boat. Without control, the oncoming 

water, outside the boat, was too spooky 

to look at. I had to trust the boat to take 

care of herself. 

Scooping out big heaps with each roll, I 

quickly got all the water out. I pulled in 

the sheet and got underway. I felt a bit of 

joy in drier surroundings knowing that 

Miss Retta can keep her head to the 

wind without any problems. 

Then, looking up, I noticed something 

odd about the sail: the end of the sheet 

was jammed in the clew. The sheet’s 

flailing on the quarter knee had thrashed 

the bronze swivel clasp until it uncleated 

itself. Nothing anchored the sheet. 

Letting go again, I grabbed the bottom 

edge of the jumping sail and struggled to 

unfree the twisted rope and clasp from 

the clew. Once again, Miss Retta held 

her head into the wind just fine. I untangled 

the mess and got under sail. 

By now, the fun was gone; anxiety was 

rising, and time was getting short. A 

glance at the sun told me I had an hour 

of daylight left, but I had covered only 

one-third of the distance to Rocky River. 

My tack was taking me north, further out 

into the lake. The waves were large, 

easily 5’, and I concentrated on moving 

up and over them on a safe diagonal. 

My forward motion slowed. 

If I pointed away from the wind, to gain 

power, I started to get dangerously 

parallel to the wave crests. If I pointed 

higher, the sail luffed, angrily popping. I 

had to stay on a narrow, safe, but slow 

track that balanced the risks. 

I put the tiller over, to come about to tack 

toward the shore. The boat would not 

cross the wind. I fell off and tried again. 

Again, it would not cross the wind. I 

continued my heading, but I was moving 

farther north into the lake. Now I started 

to feel trapped. Real danger lay ahead in 

venturing further off-shore with night 

coming on. At some point I would be 

overwhelmed. 

Once again, I pushed the tiller over and 

she still wouldn’t cross the wind. On the 

next attempt I fell off the wind sharply, 

picked up speed, gained 30’ and pushed 

her quickly back into the wind. This time 

she crossed and with relief, I took a 

heading back toward shore. 

I set my course toward the pavilion at 

Wagar Beach. The waves now had a 

predictable rhythm. I could dodge most 

breaking crests, but not all. In perfect 

unison, the gunwale met the broadside 

slap of a whitecap, drenching me and 

dumping gallons into the boat. I shivered 

but recovered quickly. The PFD helped 

keep me warm. I continued to pick my 

way through the large waves. 

As the sun melted into the horizon, I 

noticed a slight drop in the wind speed. 

The wind would die more quickly and the 

wave heights should begin to diminish as 

night came on. But what if the wind died 

and the waves continued at 4-5’? I 

couldn’t row against them. I had no 

running lights, only a flashlight. 

I thought of turning around and heading 

back to Bradstreets Landing and chance 

a capsize in the surf. To turn around 

would mean gybing the boat, a movement 

I disliked even in low winds. A gybe 

would whip the high peaked spritsail 

recklessly across the boat and add 

capsizing momentum to the mast. This 

was not the time to experiment with the 

technique. Sailing to Rocky River continued 

to be the safest option. 

My landward tack had taken the boat 

within 200 yards of rock-armored shore. 

I tacked while I still had enough maneuvering 

room to try again if the first 

attempt failed. Luckily, I came about 

easily and began to head back north out 

into the lake. 

I checked my progress. In what I estimated 

as a half-hour, I had made only a 

hundred yards of progress to the east. I 

was now trapped. I couldn’t go back to 

Bradstreets and I couldn’t go forward to 

Rocky River. I was in strong winds and 

dangerously big water that took my full 

attention to maintain control of the boat. 

Twice in the past ninety minutes my cell 

phone rang. I knew it was my wife 

calling. I couldn’t let go of tiller and 

sheet to dig the phone out of my ready 

bag. I should have been home two hours 

ago. With the sun setting, I had to try to 

contact her. 

Bailing proved that Miss Retta could 

swim with her head into the wind, so I let 

her go and dug in the bag to get the cell 

phone out. There was no answer at 

home but I left a message: “I’m on the 

lake. I’m OK; I’m going to make it. I’m 

headed to Rocky River.” 

By now, the sun had set and I attempted 

to come about again, heading back 

toward shore. The third attempt worked 

and I set my heading again to Wagar 

Beach. I began to think that I might try to 

crash land at Wagar, take a chance in 

the surf while there was still some light. 

The phone rang again and this time I 

was able to answer it. My wife had come 

down to the lake to look for me. She 

could see me from Wagar Beach and 

wanted to know what I was doing. While 

I tried to explain my trapped situation, I 

noticed a half-mile away, a boat with a 

blue flashing light approaching me. I 

told her I could see the Rocky River Police 

boat coming out and I ended the call. 

The gray and black police boat pulled 

into hailing range. “Where are you 

headed?” 

“Rocky River,” I replied. 

“Are you taking on any water?” 

“No.” 

Idling nearby, the police boat lurched 

about as if in slow motion. ”What is your 

plan? Do you have lights? Do you want a 


tow?” They circled me as I continued to 

concentrate on sailing my boat and 

staying safe in the waves. 

“I’m trying to get to Rocky River but I 

can’t make progress against the waves,” 

I shouted. “They’re too big. But the wind 

will die soon and they’ll come down.” 

The police boat started its second 

complete circle around me. The two 240- 

horse outboards hanging off the stern 

puttered in the water. “Do you want a 

tow to the public ramp?” 

“I’ll be doing better soon. The waves 

should be coming down since the sun 

set,” I said, evading the question. 

They came around again. “Do you want 

a tow, yes or no?” Their tone expressed 

this was their final offer. 

I hesitated a moment, “Yes.” 

“Furl your sail. We’ll throw you a line.” 

I watched those two outboard motors for 

a half-hour as they bubbled just above 

an idle, towing me at five knots up, over, 

and down each wave. It was pitch dark 

before we got to the mouth of the river. 

Motoring up river, we passed large 

yachts with boaters tidying up. They’d 

stop to stare. I wished the police would 

turn off the flasher. In the darkness, it 

drew too much attention to my embarrassing 

situation. 

The police boat nuzzled me into one of 

the three deserted and empty public 

docks. I wondered what sort of ticket or 

reprimand I would receive. As I undid the 

towline, I thanked the officers for their 

help and the tow. 

The deck officer started to take in the 

line. “We got some 911 calls about you,” 

he said. That made me feel really bad 

and stupid. There must have been a 

shoreside audience I couldn’t see. 

“I just got trapped out there.” And I 

retold the story of how I had left from 

Bradstreets. They started to back out into 

the river. “Where do you live?” he asked. 

“Westlake.” 

“What’s your name?” There was a tone 

in his voice indicating that my name was 

going to be added to a back-pocket list 

of problematic characters lacking in 

common sense. They backed away and 

headed down river into the darkness. 

My wife and her brother appeared at the 

dock when we came in. “So what 

happened?” The conversation finished 

with my wife asking, “Did you learn 

anything from this?” She heavily emphasized 

the word learn. 

Here’s what I learned. Boatbuilding and 

boating is not about seamless woodworking 

and perfectly varnished wood. 

That is nothing but vanity. 

What it is about is finding a boat that can 

swim, a design that can carry you safely 

through conditions beyond the normal 

operating envelope. It is about knowing 

your boat’s capabilities very well, knowing 

how she behaves, her strengths and 

weaknesses, and how to handle her. 

It is about weather, respecting its power 

and caprice, and knowing that even one 

whitecap, under a northeast wind on the 

lake, means a time-out ashore. 

It is about maintaining a margin of safety 

and always operating so that the margin 

is not used up but rather available if 

necessary. 

It is about the kindness of others to help 

those in need. 

Since this outing on the lake I have 

debated whether I should have tried to 

land at Bradstreets when I first found the 

waves building. I could have chanced it, 

possibly damaging the boat. But I love 

my boat and didn’t want to see her hurt. 

I think she returned the favor and kept 

me safe through many hours in big stuff 

on the lake. 

Luckily, I got off very light for the ordeal. 

Damage only to my ego and a ten-dollar 

parking ticket for leaving my truck at 

Bradstreets after it closed at dusk. 

I checked the weather data the day after 

this ordeal. The afternoon winds averaged 

14 mph with gusts to 21 mph. 

Maximum gust was 24 mph. From 3:00 

to 8:30 PM the wind blew dead straight 

out of the northeast. The wind velocity 

came down with the setting sun. At 1:00 

AM, the wind speed was zero. 

About the Author: Ed Neal is a member 

of the Cleveland Amateur Boatbuilding 

and Boating Society, an Ohio chapter of 

TSCA. Ed also maintains the chapter’s 

website: www.cabbs.org 

Urchin 

by Mike Wick 

Two years ago, Wendy Byar, a 

teacher at Philadelphia College of 

Art and an experienced builder, 

inherited a very special boat. 

Urchin is a Salisbury Point Skiff, 

built twenty years ago by Lowell’s 

Boat Shop. Like all boats, she 

needed some work, but she suits 

Wendy and her husband, Peter. 

They sail her with a balance lug or 

row with double bank oars. They 

keep her at the Red Dragon Canoe 

Club on the Delaware River. Wendy 

can easily transfer her from the 

trailer to an electric launch cradle 

even when she is alone. 

They have sailed her at several 

regattas and won prizes for 

restoration at the MASCF. 


Salisbury University 

Sailing Club Aboard Elf 

by Rick Carrion 

On November 2, 2008, students from the Salisbury University 

Sailing Club, Salisbury MD, had a day aboard Elf, sailing out 

on the Miles River. Though it was a chilly day, the wind cooperated 

and we set the main, jib staysail, and flying jib. 

Elf carries over a half mile of rigging line. The students may 

have been easily confused, but each crew member was 

assigned tasks and performed them well. We were able to 

move at more than eight knots. The students were overjoyed 

with the performance of a traditional sailing craft. 

In 1970, while a student at Salisbury, I formed a sailing club 

around a 28-footer that Dean Yobst had donated to the school. 

The next year, I purchased Elf and brought her to Salisbury, 

lived aboard, and sailed her with other club members. 

Part of the Classic Yacht Restoration Guild mission is to encourage 

student involvement in the Guild. We welcome student 

members to learn how to sail using the traditional rig that Elf 

now carries. 

About the author: Rick Carrion is Chairman of the Board of 

the Classic Yacht Restoration Guild, Inc. (www.cyrg.org). CYRG 

was founded in 1982 by Rick to foster traditions associated with 

American maritime culture and boat building, particularly those 

associated with the northeast United States and the Chesa- 

Front row, left-to-right: Stephanie Seggel, Caren Wiley, Gretchen 

Esbensen. Middle row, left-to-right: Kyle Miller, Cassidy Carrion. Back 

row, left-to-right: Joseph Taylor, Richard Carrion, Ann Damianes 

peake Bay. Elf, the oldest known small yacht in America, is a 

30-foot class wooden sailing yacht built by George F. Lawley & 

Sons in Boston in 1888. She has been a continuous part of 

American maritime culture for over a century. 

Really 

Small Craft 

At right is a scale model 

of a Dela-ware Ducker, 

beached among wild 

rice plants. The model 

was built by Edward R. 

Thieler III. 

The wild rice in this 

diorama is yak hair, 

which is normally used 

for fly tying. Each strand 

was inserted with a Y-shaped tool through the sand into a foam board base. The 

sand was then “hardened” with highly-diluted white glue. 

From the Forecastle Report, newsletter of the Midwest Model Shipwrights. John 

Mitchell is Signals Officer (editor): www.greatlakesmodeling.com/clubs/ 

clubs.htm#Chicago%20Area 

Our thanks to Roger Allen for passing this along. 

Urgent 

legislative 

topics 

Urgent topics, which could 

affect small boaters, are 

surfacing in the Florida and 

California legislatures. To find 

out more, check the website, 

www.tsca.net, , or subscribe to 

one of the Yahoo Groups e-mail 

forums: http://www.tsca.net/ 

puget/forum.htm 

If you have information about 

pending legislation, or other 

urgent news, please send it to 

TSCAsec@attglobal.net 


FNCMM 

Skiff Raffle 

by Brent Creelman 

A beautifully crafted 12-foot Acorn 

sailing dinghy was built at the North 

Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort, 

NC, for the Friends of the Museum’s 

2008 raffle. This fundraiser benefits the 

museum’s Harvey W. Smith Watercraft 

Center. 

At the Friends of the Museum Annual 

Membership Meeting on December 7, 

Dr. John Costlow, Friends founder and 

past president, pulled the lucky ticket for 

this elegant lapstrake lug-rigged dinghy. 

John Crown (pictured above right with 

his new boat), from Morehead City, is the 

proud new owner. 

Volunteers built this cypress and plywood 

sailboat in the museum’s Watercraft 

Center on the Beaufort waterfront. This 

boatbuilding project was financed and 

supported by the Friends of the Museum 

organization, as are many of the 

museum’s regular programs. 

The 2009 raffle boat is a 16’ Swampscott 

Dory. Be a winner in more ways 

than one — support the North Carolina 

Maritime Museum by buying a raffle 

ticket ($5), or two! Tickets available in 

the museum store or call 252-728-7317. 

Drawing is December 5, 2009 and one 

need not be present to win. 

About the author: Brent Creelman is 

executive director of the Friends of the 

Museum, North Carolina Maritime 

Museum, Inc. The Friends’ website is 

www.ncmm-friends.org. 


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25

Monthly we arrive in your mail with interesting articles from our readers about 

dreaming of, designing, building or restoring, sailing, rowing, paddling and 

adventuring in small boats. Plus readers’ letters, Bolger on Design, featured 

columnists, advertising from boatbuilders, restorers, and suppliers of plans and 

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Summer 2009, volume 30, number 2 

Deadline: April 1, 2009 

Articles: 

The Ash Breeze is a member-supported 

publication; members are welcome to 

contribute. We strongly encourage you to 

send material electronically. Send text in an 

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Send photos as e-mail attachments, in 

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also submit photographic prints, clean line 

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Please contact us in advance if you must 

submit handwritten text or material in 

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Advertising Rates: 

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Corporate Sponsors with full page ads will 

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Members’ Exchange: 

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TSCA WARES 

Back Issues 

Original or duplicated back issues are 

available for $4 each plus postage. 

Volume 

Year 

Issue 

Newsletter ......... 1975-77 .......... 1,2,3,4 

1 ........................ 1978 ............... 1,2,3,4 

2 ........................ 1979 ............... 1 

3 ........................ 1979,0,1 ......... 1-9 

4 ........................ 1982 ............... 1,2,3,4 

5 ........................ 1983 ............... 1,2,3,4 

6 ........................ 1984 ............... 1,2,4 

7 ........................ 1985 ............... 1,2,3,4 

8 ........................ 1986 ............... 1,2,3,4 

9 ........................ 1987 ............... 1,2,3,4 

10 ...................... 1988 ............... 1,2,3,4 

11 ...................... 1989 ............... 1,2,3,4 

12 ...................... 1990 ............... 1,2,3,4 

13 ...................... 1991 ............... 1,2,3,4 

14 ...................... 1992 ............... 1,2,3,4 

15 ...................... 1993 ............... 1,2,3,4 

16 ...................... 1994 ............... 1,2,3,4 

17 ...................... 1995 ............... 1,2,3,4 

18 ...................... 1996 ............... 1,2,3,4 

19 ...................... 1997 ............... 1,2,3,4 

20 ...................... 1998/99 .......... 1,2,3 

21 ...................... 1999/00 .......... 1,2,3,4 

22 ...................... 2001 ............... 1,2,3 

23 ...................... 2002 ............... 1,2,3 

24 ...................... 2003 ............... 1,2,3,4 

25 ...................... 2004 ............... 1,2,3,4 

26 ...................... 2005 ............... 1,2,3,4 

27 ...................... 2006 ............... 1,2,3,4 

28 ...................... 2007 ............... 1,2,3,4 

29 ...................... 2008 ............... 1,2,3,4 

Contact Flat Hammock Press for backissue 

ordering details. 

Flat Hammock Press 

5 Church Street, Mystic, CT 06355 

860-572-2722 

steve@flathammockpress.com 

Caps 

Pre-washed 100% cotton, slate blue with 

TSCA logo in yellow and white. Adjustable 

leather strap and snap/buckle. $20. ($18 

to members if purchased at TSCA meets.) 

T-shirts 

100% cotton, light gray with the TSCA 

logo. $15.00 postpaid for sizes M, L, and 

XL and $16.00 for XXL. 

Patches 

3 inches in diameter featuring our logo 

with a white sail and a golden spar and 

oar on a light-blue background. Black 

lettering and a dark-blue border. $3.00 

Please send a SASE with your order. 

Decals 

Mylar-surfaced weatherproof decals 

similar to the patches except the border is 

black. Self-sticking back. $1. Please send 

a SASE with your order. 

Burgees 

12" x 18" pennant with royal blue field 

and TSCA logo sewn in white and gold. 

Finest construction. $25 postpaid. 

Visit: www.tsca.net/wares.html 

for ordering information. 

TSCA MEMBERSHIP FORM 

New Membership 

Membership Renewal/Upgrade 

Change of Address 

Individual/Family: $20 annually Sponsor: $50 annually Sponsor with ad: $60 annually 

Corporate Sponsor with ad: see above 

Patron: $100 annually 

Canada or Mexico: Airmail, $25 annually Other Foreign: Airmail, $30 annually 

Enclosed is my check for $ ______________________ made payable to TSCA. 

Chapter member? Yes No Which Chapter? __________________________________________________________________________ 

Name _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Address _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

City ______________________________________ State/Prov. _________ Zip/Postal Code _____________ 

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E-mail _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Mail to: Secretary, Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc., P. O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. 

Note: Volume Individual 30, Number and 1 Family Memberships qualify for one vote and one copy of each TSCA mailing. 

27 

Family Memberships qualify all members of the immediate family to participate in all other TSCA activities.

Winter Sailing 

by Mike Wick 

Assateague Island Federal Seashore is an Atlantic barrier island off Maryland’s 

Eastern Shore. Almost always deserted, this is unspoiled, four-season camp cruising 

country. The protected bays are shallow and all of them are just a short hike from an 

exquisite beach. 

On December 21, 2008, Doug Oeller and I celebrated the Winter Solstice with a 

pleasurable, if a bit frost-bitten, daysail on Sinepuxent Bay, just west of the barrier 

island. Doug, a veterinarian, brought along his faithful foredeck hand, Jack Tar, who 

brought a new meaning to the term “dogwatch” (below). 

About one week later, the weather window opened briefly for another daysail, this 

time at Union Lake, near Millville, NJ, with Phil Maynard and John Guidera. 

As you can see from the photos, proper flotation and foul weather gear, along with 

prudent reefing and seaworthy boats, can safely extend the small craft season well 

beyond what 

others may see as 

“normal.” 

Good friends, 

good boats, 

good times. 

Above right, Phil and 

John reefed down 

and running free. 

Right, Mike hunkers 

down in his Bolger 

Gypsy. 

Time to Renew? Help us save time and postage by photocopying the membership form on page 27, or clipping and returning 

the lower portion of this cover — with your name, address and membership number on it — and renewing before we send you a 

renewal request. 


The Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc. 

PO Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355 

Non-Profit Org. 

US Postage 

PAID 

Providence, RI 

Permit No. 1899 

Address Service Requested

Vol. 30, No. 1 - Traditional Small Craft Association

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