Doug's Boatyard

Gotten some good work done. Finished yesterday in the V-berth (forepeak, front of the boat). It looks good to my standards. I worked fast. So much painting to do. And so much more. I have loads I want to get done and I’m real excited about how the boat will come out looking and behaving at the other end. She’s gonna be dry, she’s gonna be clean, and she’s gonna be ventilated. God help me stay strong and motivated and see my chores through. I need a month or two of motivativation.

The running has been good too. After work, regardless of how tired I am I get out and stretch my legs. The run goes along the coast line, lots of ups and downs, but with great views of the Bay of Islands—always boats coming and going under sail.

Just read a terrific boat. John Wray’s South Pacific Vagabonds. It is supposedly rare, but my god what a story. I want to find a copy ( I was lent one) and send it home to some mates and have it passed around. (I am getting into the swing of NZ dialect.) J Wray built a boat in his parent’s front lawn when he was 20 years old. He had just been fired and only had 8 pounds, 10 shillings—this was in 1931. And he built a tough wood boat without a clue beforehand, no experience at all—only a dream. And he did it. Then his cruising was extraordinary. So many storms. But the S Pacific in the ‘30’s must have been simply incredible. This book is every bit of Slocum’s Around the World Alone or Cpt Voss’s Venturesome Voyages of Cpt Voss, which are two of my favorites.

A fast read to be sure.

Also it is a good lesson to me in my priorities. I can’t elaborate right now. I just finished it last night. But he has a lot to say about dreaming, about modernity—some of which is not so relevant to me—more about the power of dreaming and working hard, very hard at something and how the world can conspire in your favor. 8 Pounds! 8 Pounds! Incredible.