Peregrine, a pilgrim. Not the Thanksgiving type, a traveler, a wanderer. Traveling with a purpose. Bring something somewhere and finding something to take on to the next port. We tend to think of this as a mercantile transaction, but there are other things we might carry besides a cargo. What if we carry a skill,ContinueContinue reading “Peregrine, a 46′ Schooner”
Tag Archives: Writing on Design
Quoddy Light
There were two strains of peapods built downeast along the coast of Maine. The first, and arguably most common, were for inshore lobstering. A man or boy, often an old man or a young boy, would tend a few traps in among the rocks and ledges too close in for the larger sailing lobstermen toContinueContinue reading “Quoddy Light”
The Schooner Actæon
In my novel, Shoal Hope a rum-runner sails a schooner named Actæon. It’s larger than this one, loosely based on McCoy’s Arethusa. This Actæon is much smaller; but still a large boat. When MacFarlane first sees his Actæon: That old boat was in bad shape. Went up to New England, looking for a replacement. HeardContinueContinue reading “The Schooner Actæon”
Craft Untethered
The last post broached the subject of the complicity of our boating heritage.It shouldn’t come as much of a shock, but it does.This disillusion strikes close to home.It resides in the silence of guilt and taboo, where our discomfort is unmoored from its cause – deemed too painful, intractable to any possibility of address –ContinueContinue reading “Craft Untethered”
Disentangling Craft from Technology
I’m drawn to articulate a distinction between craft and technology. It is an enormous topic. That is part of the trouble with it, where to begin, or, if we’re past the beginning, where to continue…. It does seem that what is required is a process of disentanglement. Technology is a term that appears to coverContinueContinue reading “Disentangling Craft from Technology”
The Surface of Mortality
Looking out across an unfrozen yet still icy-cold salt pond, a boat goes by, reminding me of times on the water in winter. Winter sailing makes one thing supremely clear. Every time we leave dry land there is a realization that this reflective, undulating surface not only buoys us up. It is how and whyContinueContinue reading “The Surface of Mortality”
Boats for difficult times 