Sunday, July 7, Day 76 (Cont'd)
After we left Camano and fueled up, we headed to the Ballard area of Seattle. Before we left on our trip, we went to a photography show for a friend of John's. She and her daughter both had their photos there, both extremely talented! The daughter and her husband had recently purchased a boat they were refurbishing with the intent of living on board. Peter and Nancy have been writing a blog about it, which John has been studiously following. Peter was more than happy to talk to John at the photo show, showing him pictures of the work in progress.
So, before we left Camano, John called Peter and arranged to meet him at the boat so we could take a look at what they are doing.
To begin with, this is an 88 foot fantail boat which was originally built by the US government
for geodetic surveying in Alaska. The government wanted more info about the Aleutian Islands, because World War Two was on the horizon. There was an expectation that the Aleutian Islands were vulnerable to the Japanese who could gain a foothold in US territory. So, two boats were built for this purpose, the Lester Jones and the Triton.
As you can imagine, both boats were built to withstand the conditions in the severe Arctic weather. The hull is 8 inches thick. After 25 years of government service, both boats were sold to private owners and both are still around and in the Seattle area. The Lester Jones is now called the Summer Wind and the other underwent a number of name changes, the last of which was Patton when they bought her. The new name Peter and Nancy chose was the Gyrfalcon.
Both Peter and Nancy are research scientists and lived in the Queen Anne district of Seattle. They have had other boats, and decided to find one they could live aboard. This boat was sold as a "project boat", ie. a fixer-upper. And that is what they are in the process of doing!
Here's a picture of the boat as it appeared on the water.
And these are the sister ships, docked in Seattle at a date unknown to me.
They have all of the original plans, and speficiations for the boat, dating back to 1940.
The engine room is huge.
The boat was commissioned on December 4, 1941, just 4 days before Pearl Harbor!
If you are interested in following the progress of the rebuild, they do have a blog. gyrfalcon88.wordpess.com. Lots of pictures and explanations, especially for those old salts who are interested in marine construction! Also, Peter recommended a book, The Thousand-Mile War by Brian Garfield. This is about the war that actually did take place in the Aleutian Islands duringWWII. It's an incredible story!
In the meantime, the boat is docked in Ballard, more adventures to come, and we will be watching as they continue on this momentous journey. We look forward to being passengers on board when they are finished. Lots of Luck and Good Fortune, Peter and Nancy!
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