The joy of small-boat sailing 95 years ago, by Jack London

Jack London

Jack London Jack London

Here’s a quote from a fiery, passionate piece Jack London wrote for the magazine Country Life in America in 1912:

‘Barring captains and mates of big ships, the small-boat sailor is the real sailor. He knows—he must know—how to make the wind carry his craft from one given point to another given point. He must know about tides and rips and eddies, bar and channel markings, and day and night signals; he must be wise in weather-lore; and he must be sympathetically familiar with the peculiar qualities of his boat which differentiate it from every other boat that was ever built and rigged. He must know how to gentle her about, as one instance of a myriad, and to fill her on the other tack without deadening her way or allowing her to fall off too far.’

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A feast of rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show

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Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show

Two photos of one of Adrian Morgan’s little beauties.

Click here for more photos of Adrian’s work:
An impressive Viking invader
Adrian Morgan

See Adrian’s website: www.viking-boats.com

Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show

Some splendid Thames skiffs

The Thames Traditional Boat Society has some online plans for building a boat of this kind: http://www.ttbs.org/

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Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show Rowing boats at the Beale Park Boat Show

A Victorian-style Thames skiff built by an apprentice at Henwood & Dean

See their website: www.henwoodanddean.co.uk

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Nick Smith’s Clover at the Beale Park Boat Show

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Nick Smith, boatbuilder, at the Beale Park Boat Show

Nick Smith, boatbuilder, at the Beale Park Boat Show Nick Smith, boatbuilder, at the Beale Park Boat Show

Clover

I found a few more photos of Nick Smith’s work I’d forgotten to put up – so here they are.

For photos of Nick’s traditional motor launches, follow this link:
Nick Smith, boatbuilder, at the Beale Park Boat Show

Nick’s a member of the Wooden Boatbuilder’s Trade Association, and you can read more about him here: Nick Smith at the WBTA website

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