Boats and Sailing
Lesson One, John Van Slembrouck's rendering of Ian Oughtred's 7'6" Acorn Tender.
Orchard Lake Regatta, 2006
After 36 years, I finally got to visit Mystic Seaport for a day at the end of a family trip to Washington D.C.
Waves coming over the breakwater at Port Austin, Michigan.
The Gales of November, or When Not to Sail the Great Lakes
A friend of mine decided to buy a 30-foot Cape Dory on the first day of November. It was, however, two Great and one Not-So-Great Lakes away from where it had to end up. Did we decide to ship it overland? No. That would have made sense. Instead, the three of us agreed to sail it home. Did I mention it was November? Do a Google search on "Witch of November"
We almost made it too.
A sunny day on Lake Huron
The Chronicles of Commedia Around "The Mitten" of Michigan by Geoff Safron
After repair and refitting, the Cape Dory was successfully sailed from Saugatuck to the Detroit area.
A completed "Apple Pie"
This was my first boat-building experience-a seven-foot dinghy built to free plans drawn by Chuck Merrel from Duckworks online magazine.
Egret class sharpie
The "Apple Pie" was practice for this project; a 28-foot sharpie in plywood and fiberglass. This is a reconstruction of a design by Ralph Munroe Published in WoodenBoat magazine in 1984.
All images and text Copyright Dale Austin, 1962-2018