"At one point in July, I had four boats under construction at the same time, the Vivier Ebihen 16 and three Bevin Skiffs. I had six instructors and was running between all of the builds almost daily. The final launch was October 5 with the Ebihen and the SEI Bevin, built with sophomores at Jefferson H. S. It was another beautiful day for a launch, although the winds were rather light. The staff (myself and two instructors) took the Ebihen out for another sail on Friday, 11/22, and made up for the lack of wind. It was blowing 28-34 and we really tested the rig, which performed great."
"The class that built the Ebihen turned out to be terrific. It took them thirteen weeks, plus one for fitting out, to have it ready for the show we put on in Pioneer Courthouse Square on Oct. 3. After the launch, we spent another three weeks fine tuning, without the kids. The funding source for the project was Worksystems Inc. and they were really excited about the outcome. Most kids said this project was why they got up in the morning. Here's a video taken at the mid point and at the final events:"
About the same time, Jennifer Anderson of the Portland Tribune wrote an excellent article entitled "Unsinkable Skills" , outlining Wind and Oar's mission.
In July, five of the original "Rosies", builders of the first Wind and Oar boat, traveled to Scotland to participate in the Skiffie Worlds competition with sixty St Ayles Skiffs. By all accounts they had a great time. Who won't?! Wish I'd been there myself.
For your enjoyment, here are a few shots of the Vivier Ebihen 16 under sail. Thank you, Peter!
Looks like they're having big fun in that Vivier.
ReplyDeletebtw, I may be in Portland in about six weeks.
That ebihan is one nice looking boat. Any update on the int 14 they were restoring a while back? Max
ReplyDeleteMax, I'm not informed on the fate of the 14. I'll check. It was a restoration for the Governor of Oregon, who sailed it when he was in college. My suspicion is that it was finished, but not launched.
ReplyDeleteThe story about the International 14 is in the dustbin for the time being. Apparently the funding dried up before the boat was fully restored and even ownership hangs in the balance. I'm afraid, Max, that Americans have very short attention spans - the people who wanted this boat restored for the Governor could afford it, but perhaps they didn't understand that it might take a year. Who knows? Right now the 14 is hanging in the rafters waiting for a benefactor.
ReplyDelete