Letter to Friends about the Summer

/This is a letter to those who have been interested. Ty is good in that, storytelling. There have been previous letters too, but this one is a pretty good summary, also it can be handled as an introduction. So, take it personally and let yourself go in, into the adventures and insights. Enjoy! ~M./

 

Dear friends and Family,

     What a fantastic summer it has been! I write to you all from my parents newly reno’ed home in Vancouver.  I’m packing and finishing up plans and all that good stuff before heading off tomarrow on the brothers road trip (avec une Jenna) to Illinois.  Following that we are flying off for New Zealand on September 20 from Seattle.  I’m excited to go reconnect with that magic place and to do it with the bros! 14 years later and we’re going back.

   But what’s more is I’d like to share with you all (cause I know some of you are dying to know…) some stories from this summer with Freya, the new lady in my life.  And in many of our lives as its come to be!

   My last letter was about plans to step the masts, the work we had been doing, painting varnish on her booms and gaffs and all that good stuff.  Well that was almost two months ago! Boom!  I understand from some of the feedback I got that the infamous “wishlist” was a little daunting and there are many things that not everyone has kicking around (deadeyes anyone?).  Anyway, just know that we are managing very well with the help and support we have got, turns out five guys and our Estonia momma/sister can do alot of work.  Along with the help of so many others!

   But the exciting stuff!  Two weeks ago we stepped Freya’s masts into her hull.  It was Monday morning and the evening before myself, Georgio, Ollie, Marian and the gals from the Redfern house motored Freya from her moorage in Cadboro bay, 4 hours up the coast to anchor for the night in Saanichton bay.  Now Dylan and myself at 3am met Jason (the man with the truck connection) with the 24 foot flatbed truck and crane.  We loaded up the masts, both over 35 feet and made of fir, her rigging and booms and gaffs.  
    The plan was to use the winch at a dock in Sidney to lower the masts (heel first) into the holes in her decks and thus ‘step’ the masts.  Well since the winch was only ten feet tall and the dock 15 to 20 feet above the water and our biggest mast was 45 foot, we needed the lowest tide we could get and naturally the lowest tide was at 8am, which meant that we, being inexperienced, as prepared and organized as we could be, had to start early to get it all ready: which meant 3 am.  So we bust out to sidney, masts bouncing like stiff spagehtti on the flatbed and got to the dock on schedule.  Well, no Freya.  Two hours went by.  The tide was going down, great, but no boat.  Then as our mast stepping consultant Ted is groaning about being unprepared and the breakfast he was promised, Freya shows up.  
    Anyway, buzzing on coffee the boys and marian get to work.  We lay out the rig, tie it to the masts to secure it in place and since its now getting on and the tide is coming in, and since we have this wonderful man named Jason with a massive crane on his truck! We use the crane to plunk first the foremast and then the main into their appropriate holes.  
   I attatched some pictures of the seen, because really it was a smooth operation, but the group of us together: shaggy, barking at each other, certainly was a specktackle (and i say that with pride).  My favorite image is of Jason:  barefoot, holes in his dirty jeans, hair stiff with dirt from working the farm and he’s got the remote control device for the crane around his waist as he climbs into the “harness” dangling from the crane and moves himself around to get at the mast and wrench on a turnbuckle.  Great memory!

   Well, as you all know I can write long emails and tell longwinded stories so I will leave it at that for the stories.  

  Now the rest of it is that after stepping her masts, reaving lanyards through deadeyes and getting the rig tight, we have fully uprigged her with booms, gaffs, running rigging and sails!  We even took her out for a short sail on Monday morning.  Sails halfway up, anchor being hauled back and George at the helm yelling: “I CAN’T SEE!” as we motor ourselves out of the harbour.  
   As well last week Hilary had the great idea of putting on a pirate skit while the mentally challenged teens that she worked with came out and watched us fall over board and fight each other with mallets and swords.  All good fun. WHOOP WHOOOP!!

   One final and ineresting note was on Sunday Ebbe hansen and his wife Bernice Priest came and visiting Freya.  Now that may not mean too much to some of you, but to me it was awesome!  For Ebbe is Aage’s son and Aage is the original builder of Freya who has since passed away.  But Ebbe was full of stories of how his father took 4 and half years to build Freya and how he wouldn’t let anyone else work on her, how he couldn’t afford lead so he had the keel poured of concrete and iron chunks.  One of the funnier stories that we had puzzled over was why all of our blocks (pulley’s) had two penny’s tacked on either side.  Well ebbe explained that where the shiv (wheel in the pulley) is bolted through, two washers must be place to hold the bolt in place.  Well a washer in 1975 was two bitts (50 cents) and a penny, well a penny was a penny!  So they are now mailing copies of photos and the design plans of Freya! super Exciting!

  Anyway, I’ll leave it at that, thank you all for reading and there’s lots more to be told if anyone is curious…I know you want some more stories!

Lots of love,

Ty