I find it somewhat strange how excited I am for school to start. You would have thought by now at my age that this would be old news. Maybe it's because this is not "school" in the traditional sense but more of an "adventure" or in my case a career transformation. The day started with introductions of the staff and instructors telling how they ended up at the Boat School. The new director of the school is an ex-Microsoft turned wooden boat devotee that went to another boat school to learn how to repair her wooden boat. Unfortunately (or fortunately) just before graduation her boat burned and sunk in a marina fire at the Seattle Yacht Club. The ensuing full restoration of the boat ignited (no pun intended) her passion for wooden boat building and a career in the non-profit side of the industry. A very inspirational story (see below).
Another interesting story comes from one of the instructors (who happens to be my instructor for the fall term) in that his love of wooden boats had become something best described as a disease. His disease was extremely infectious but he knew that the moment he stepped onto campus for the first time he had found the cure. I think that this is the case with boating in general but wooden boats and people who love them seem to take it just a little further. Maybe it's like comparing the common cold virus with Ebola?
Overall the first day was great. We opened up all of our new tools like it was Christmas morning and got to play with them for a bit and learn how to condition them. Sharpening does not seem to be a lot of fun but for some reason I feel that I will be doing it often and for long periods of time this year.
GLORYBE Wooden Boat Restoration
http://www.offcenterharbor.com/flotsam/betsy-davis-glorybe-wooden-boat-restoration/?awt_l=3_7PQC&awt_m=3eXX1giFMWmOk9k
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