Author: Oarlock and Sail Wooden Boat Club

The first annual “Heritage Harbour Classic” sailboat race was held on Sunday Sept 17, 2017 at the Vancouver Maritime Museum’s Heritage Dock Marina.

A total of five boats, four from the marina and one invited, participated in the event that saw a course run twice from the jetty point out to the gravel barge buoy and back. The winds and the weather were unpredictable, but the boats made the most of the challenging conditions.

Winsome 111, a 36 foot wooden sloop skippered by Steve Elder won handily, despite losing her halyard halfway through the race. The win was not surprising as she has won the Swiftsure three times. Watch the 1961 race:  https://youtu.be/tMPlDYW7o5M

Next was ERN, the 34 foot wooden cutter/sloop skippered by owners Rob O’Dea and Tom Arntzen followed by ODIN the 21 foot converted aluminium lifeboat rigged as a gaff sloop, skippered by owner Arnt Arntzen.  Next was the 46 foot  wooden cutter Aegean skippered by owner Dave Snell. Sylvester, the 16 foot wooden gaffrigged catboat skippered by owners Rob & Ellen Kondratowski did not finish due to light winds.

The race was followed with a barbecue on the dock in front of Oarlock and Sail Wooden Boat Club workshop.  It was attended by 3 museum staff, OLAS members and Heritage Dock members and their families.  The trophy designed and built by Arnt consisting of a traditional Lunenburg  wooden block mounted on a teak stand with brass plaque was awarded to Steve of Winsome 111, whose idea the whole event was in the first place.  He keeps the trophy for one year and then passes it on to the winner of next years Heritage Classic.

WINSOME 111

ALL THE SAILORS LOOKING AT THE COURSE

AND THEY ARE OFF. SYLVESTER, ERN WITH AGEAN STARBOARD SIDE, ODIN AND WINSOME 111

ODIN AND CREW CROSSING THE FINISH LINE

SEE BELOW FOR ODIN DOCKING UNDER SAIL….

ODIN CREW AND OLAS MEMBERS BRENT ASH AND BRUCE MACDONALD

SYLVESTER

ERN BACK AT DOCK AND BARBECUE UNDERWAY

TURNED OUT TO BE A LOVELY DAY SYLVESTER AND AEGEAN BACK AT DOCK

THE WINNERS OFF WINSOME 111 WITH THE TROPHY CAPTAIN STEVE IN THE MIDDLE

ODIN DOCKING UNDER SAIL

It’s been a while since our last post, and while summer is a bit of a slow time at the boat shed, we’ve made a fair bit of progress on the Providence River Boat.

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After fastening the final planks, the following week we took the hull out of the shed onto the dock, and flipped it right-side-up.  We then got it set up on the strong-back, to get ready for the next steps.  Steaming the white oak frames into the hull went well, and once they cooled down in their new shape, they got oiled and put aside for later.

We then shaped the floor timbers, which was a fascinating, finicky process, fitting the boards to the shape of the planking (making sure to leave limber holes for water to drain along in the bilge).  Once they were shaped, we fastened a pair of frames to each of the floors, and then attached them to the keel.

Next up was rivetting all the frames in place, through the planking.  We’ve finished riveting every 2nd set of frames, which are attached to the floors, and have started to complete the rest of the ‘in between’ frames.  It’s looking more and more like a boat every week!

Meanwhile, a few events which happened during the summer:

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Gathering some wood in anticipation of the next boat, at Brittania Heritage Shipyard.  They had a surplus of wood, and offered it to us at an attractive price.  A bunch of us went down to sort through their stacks, and came away with a bunch of potential planking stock.  While there, we gained some inspiration for a possible next project – a traditional west coast fishing boat.

We had several of our boats on display at the Brittania during the Richmond Maritime Festival, and a couple of our members spent some time there answering questions.

Our boats were also at the Granville Island Wooden Boat Festival, but we were woefully understaffed, due in part to the number of people away on holiday.  Hopefully next year will work out better, especially since the festival organizer is keen to revive the dinghy races which OLAS ran for a number of years!

And, a brand new event in its first year: the Heritage Harbour Classic, a fun and informal race amongst some of the boats berthed in our harbour.  The cold and rainy weather didn’t do much to dampen the enthusiasm, and 5 boats took part, including some of our members in their boats.  Afterward, the dock was busy with a BBQ and socializing.  This promises to be a great event next year, with the runners-up thinking of how to improve on this year’s results, to get their hands on the coveted trophy!

Now as we get into fall and winter, our floating boat shed will become a cozy place to spend a few hours every Saturday!  Come down between 10am and 1 or 2pm to see what we’re up to – we enjoy introducing people to our craft!