Even ugly boats, from underwater, are fair and fine. To sell a boat give the man a snorkel mask and swim him under.If he doesn't fall in love send him to buy a camper or a trailer. This blog is about building,sailing,caring for and hanging out with boats. It's about a distant and familiar shore, left behind, and the search for a distant sweet adventure and the making of a new you. It's a joyful thing the gentle pull of tiller in hand, while feeling sorry for the lubber left on land.
This Prelinger owned video Is so beautiful that it seems a shame for it to be setting in an archive. So here it is. I changed the music as I felt the the film maker didn't have the opportunity to get Creative Commons music to use as we do today. I can only thank those that create art of all kinds and give it to the public to use free of charge. I would be hard pressed to write and perform music to put in video. It's great to earn money with art but it's also nice to give it away to all. I am slowly putting my work out there for all to use most anyway they like. Doug
This video is for all my shanty boat friends. This is where it all began with a man named Hank. He left on one of these flat boats up on the Ohio, where he drifted with a load of corn and hemp. He went down river to New Orleans where he met a Creole Women that he couldn't shake off. They raised the roof and moved aboard. The boat looked like the shanty he lived in with a squaller of kids back at home in old Ohio. He called her his shanty boat and with a hint of Irish he called the gal, his shanty women. Now one night Hank came home drunk with a desiring look in his eye. The Creole Lass, asleep in her bunk, awoke and shouted toward the winder. "Who is that at my shanty boat winder awearin' eyes that I cannot see." Now Hank with a sly disguise in his voice, replied, "It is Willy your own true lover". Just a thing to make her laugh. “Oh please come in”. said she, in a beckoning way. Now that was a blow, and Hank replied with a report from his Smith and Wesson. With a wound in her breast, the lass slid from the bunk with a questioning glance stood with help from a shaken Hank. He held her in her dying embrace. With a tear in her eye, she drove her blade right through his aching heart.
So, if it's a shanty boat you want and you take on board a Creole women. Don't be sneaking home at night calling in a strangers voice. This story was told to me by William Masoncup. Hank was his Grandfather. Doug
I was raised of parents that allowed me the freedom to wonder the county, Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay. We kids built things, boats, model airplanes, kayaks and other toys. This building of things continued on and was my play, and finally landed me in the machine shop business. It caused me to build sailboats, to take them to sea. My wife and I sailed to Bermuda, the Bahamas and Florida keys. We lived aboard our boat, Kate, fourteen happy years. Some described what we did as a midlife crisis. Does to leave business and home, go off to laze in blue waters and green Islands. To eat lobster,conch,speared fish, wander sandy beaches, to sip sundowners, while surrounded by Island music sound like a crisis? We plotted another course, and gained an outlook not shared by all. In passing, I sometimes see the wizened glance of another who has known a wonderer's freedom. I write fiction and fact, paint a picture and do a now and then sketch then on to build a boat or kayak. I live among, and love the Virginia mountains. Still, I long for the feel of waves, the scent of brine, a press of canvas on spars and line. I'll whistle up a little breeze for my tiny sailboat fair and fine. Doug
Of Mooncursers and other SpunYarns "Mooncursers" takes place near Baltimore, Maryland during the early part of WWII. A story of two boys, each battling his own devils. Both are strengthened through adventure and the overcoming of self imposed guilt. They decipher a cryptic note and right an old wrong. All this in order to give new meaning to the life of an elderly lady living in an old Baltimore slum and to return to her what is rightfully hers. This is a story of boys who find young manhood and lifelong confidence through adversity. Between these covers are other short stories for old boys and young men. Some will delight, drawing a chuckle and others to inspire thought. A few will leave an introspective question or two to ponder. One story is pure piffle. See if you recognize which one.
OF Mooncursers and other Spun Yarns
Here's a book to take you back to another time. A book of stories for boys and men. A book of boats growing up and adventure. Buy the book or download. It's easy and quick . Click the link and go read a few sample pages.
Click link below for a quick easy look at, Of Mooncursers and other Spun Yarns
