A LITTLE VILISAR HISTORY; CARACOLITO; CUENCA & GUAYAQUIL WITH WILLIAM
Guayaquil, Ecuador, 07 July 2007
A little Vilisar history
I mentioned that I have been in email correspondence with Joe May, one of Vilisar´s previous owners and now a resident of Alaska. He gave a potted history of his years aboard Vilisar with his wife Sandra. I got the photo off the internet. Not sure how old this photo is but it was he was still competing in the Iditarod dogsled race.
Vilisar history:
June 12, 1987: Took possession from Bill Taylor of Maple Bay, B.C.
June to September, 1987: B.C. & SE Alaska
Winter 1987/88: Hoonah, AK. Interior work and wiring.
May to October 1988: B.C & SE AK. southward.
Winter 1988/89: Friday Harbor, B.C. & Port Townsend, WA. Overhauled engine.
May 1989: Trucked boat to Lake Michigan necessitated by illness in the family in Wisconsin.
October to December, 1989: Illinois River to Mississippi to Ohio to Tennessee to Tombigbee to Black Warrior to Mobile River to Mobile, AL.
February to November, 1990: Mobile to Tortugas, Gulf etc. then north to Chesapeake Bay.
Winter 1990/91: New Bern N.C. Built wind gen & overhauled engine on "Sheherazade".
May to September, 1991: New Bern N.C. to Sturgeon Bay, WI. via Hudson River, Erie Canal, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron.
December 1991: Trucked boat back to Port Townsend WA.
Winter 1991/92: Port Townsend. New mast.
May to July 1992: Port Townsend to Prince of Wales Island via B.C. coast.
July 1992: Purchased Thorne Bay (SE Alaska) residence. Set mooring block in anchorage and moved ashore.
1992/98: Short trips, fishing, grocery & supply trips mostly in the Wrangell/Ketchikan/Sitka area. Routine maintenance Organized and ran "Great Northern Boaters Net".
June to July 1998: Thorne Bay, AK. to Bainbridge Island, WA. for sale of boat.
Many miles, many harbors, many people, many adventures, mostly good, a few best forgotten. 1998 was just a year to turn a page in a life of many chapters. Vilisar was better when I passed her on than when I took possession. That's the proudest thing a wooden boat sailor can say. We live now on a homestead a hundred miles north of Anchorage at the end of a gravel road with a salmon creek on one side and a sandhill crane sanctuary on the other. Sandra, my wife, is an ex-patriot Brit and a sculptor and painter of no small ability. She teaches art classes in the community, gardens in season, and fears not for the anchor dragging in the night anymore. I've made a life's work of turning pages. Licensed Merchant Marine captain, gold miner, homesteader, trapper, dog musher. Some ventures more successful than others but always with satisfaction and a joy for life....Joe May (June 2007)
SV Caracolito
The photo of Vilisar was taken while she lay at anchor in the estuary of the Rio Chone at Bahia de Caraquez. You can visit the photographers, Pierre and Helen of S/V Caracolito out of Toulouse, France. They are now on the way to French Polynesia with their tiny new-born daughter Eleanor. http://www.caracolito.net/
Guayaquil, Ecuador, 07 July 2007
A little Vilisar history
I mentioned that I have been in email correspondence with Joe May, one of Vilisar´s previous owners and now a resident of Alaska. He gave a potted history of his years aboard Vilisar with his wife Sandra. I got the photo off the internet. Not sure how old this photo is but it was he was still competing in the Iditarod dogsled race.
Vilisar history:
June 12, 1987: Took possession from Bill Taylor of Maple Bay, B.C.
June to September, 1987: B.C. & SE Alaska
Winter 1987/88: Hoonah, AK. Interior work and wiring.
May to October 1988: B.C & SE AK. southward.
Winter 1988/89: Friday Harbor, B.C. & Port Townsend, WA. Overhauled engine.
May 1989: Trucked boat to Lake Michigan necessitated by illness in the family in Wisconsin.
October to December, 1989: Illinois River to Mississippi to Ohio to Tennessee to Tombigbee to Black Warrior to Mobile River to Mobile, AL.
February to November, 1990: Mobile to Tortugas, Gulf etc. then north to Chesapeake Bay.
Winter 1990/91: New Bern N.C. Built wind gen & overhauled engine on "Sheherazade".
May to September, 1991: New Bern N.C. to Sturgeon Bay, WI. via Hudson River, Erie Canal, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron.
December 1991: Trucked boat back to Port Townsend WA.
Winter 1991/92: Port Townsend. New mast.
May to July 1992: Port Townsend to Prince of Wales Island via B.C. coast.
July 1992: Purchased Thorne Bay (SE Alaska) residence. Set mooring block in anchorage and moved ashore.
1992/98: Short trips, fishing, grocery & supply trips mostly in the Wrangell/Ketchikan/Sitka area. Routine maintenance Organized and ran "Great Northern Boaters Net".
June to July 1998: Thorne Bay, AK. to Bainbridge Island, WA. for sale of boat.
Many miles, many harbors, many people, many adventures, mostly good, a few best forgotten. 1998 was just a year to turn a page in a life of many chapters. Vilisar was better when I passed her on than when I took possession. That's the proudest thing a wooden boat sailor can say. We live now on a homestead a hundred miles north of Anchorage at the end of a gravel road with a salmon creek on one side and a sandhill crane sanctuary on the other. Sandra, my wife, is an ex-patriot Brit and a sculptor and painter of no small ability. She teaches art classes in the community, gardens in season, and fears not for the anchor dragging in the night anymore. I've made a life's work of turning pages. Licensed Merchant Marine captain, gold miner, homesteader, trapper, dog musher. Some ventures more successful than others but always with satisfaction and a joy for life....Joe May (June 2007)
SV Caracolito
The photo of Vilisar was taken while she lay at anchor in the estuary of the Rio Chone at Bahia de Caraquez. You can visit the photographers, Pierre and Helen of S/V Caracolito out of Toulouse, France. They are now on the way to French Polynesia with their tiny new-born daughter Eleanor. http://www.caracolito.net/
Cuenca & Guayaquil with William
Kathleen and I are in Guayaquil today after a week with our son William in Cuenca in the Central Sierras of Ecuador. Cuenca was for years a forgotten gem hidden in the Andes. It is an archtecturally harmonious "colonial" ciudad that reminds you somewhat of a middle-sized Italian city. Very enjoyable but much colder than the coastal region. Take something warm to wear, especially at night since Ecuadorian hotels assume everyone is as accustomed to the alpine climate as a sherpa. In addition to visiting museums and natural alpine thermal baths, we played a lot of Scrabble on our travelling Scrabble board. I regret to have to admit that William turns out to be a brilliant player of this game. Don´t bet against him, is my advice.
Today we are relaxing in Guayaquil. William leaves by air tonight for New Orleans after six weeks with us. Unfortunately, the promised voyage with him to The Galapagos Islands has not materialised since the mast is still lying on sawhorses in the yard of the local Club de Yate. Now that we have the wood AND the epoxy, till now the main causes of delay, the mast can now be repaired and re-stepped. At the speed at which things happen in Ecuador we should have everything re-assembled by next spring. Hope springs eternal in the human breast.
Kathleen and I are in Guayaquil today after a week with our son William in Cuenca in the Central Sierras of Ecuador. Cuenca was for years a forgotten gem hidden in the Andes. It is an archtecturally harmonious "colonial" ciudad that reminds you somewhat of a middle-sized Italian city. Very enjoyable but much colder than the coastal region. Take something warm to wear, especially at night since Ecuadorian hotels assume everyone is as accustomed to the alpine climate as a sherpa. In addition to visiting museums and natural alpine thermal baths, we played a lot of Scrabble on our travelling Scrabble board. I regret to have to admit that William turns out to be a brilliant player of this game. Don´t bet against him, is my advice.
Today we are relaxing in Guayaquil. William leaves by air tonight for New Orleans after six weeks with us. Unfortunately, the promised voyage with him to The Galapagos Islands has not materialised since the mast is still lying on sawhorses in the yard of the local Club de Yate. Now that we have the wood AND the epoxy, till now the main causes of delay, the mast can now be repaired and re-stepped. At the speed at which things happen in Ecuador we should have everything re-assembled by next spring. Hope springs eternal in the human breast.
posted by rjb @ Saturday, July 07, 2007
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