A few years ago, after participating in the Classic Boat Festival in Victoria with our historic wooden boat, we decided to visit the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. We found the excitement of being surrounded by other wooden boats and wooden boat owners to be very stimulating and encouraging. This painting depicts the scene early one morning before all the guests had arrived and shows the harbour where the non participants, but still mostly wood, anchored.
“Calm Before the Storm” ( off Steveston, BC)
As storm clouds gather, the sail training vessels “Lady Washington” and Hawaiian Chieftan” prepare to take in sail before the wind arrives.
“Evening in Thulin Passage” (enroute to Desolation Sound, BC)
When heading north to Desolation Sound many choose to pass through Thulin Passage. Now declared a Marine Park, it offers a delightfully protected anchorage for yachtsmen and kayakers alike.
“In Kynock Inlet”, (British Columbia’s central coast)
This deep fjord on the central coast was carved by ancient glaciers and some mountains are devoid of trees while others are covered by forests. It is a spiritual area for First Nations people.
The “Marine Star” was a very successful seine boat owned by the Wilson family of Bella Bella.
“An Evening Set” (Sea Reach, Ladner, BC)
Anyone who has spent time on the Fraser River will have experienced the fantastic sunsets that flood over the area. A small First Nations gillnetter makes a set in Sea Reach as the sun sets in the west. The marsh lands here are essential for wildlife and young salmon and must be protected at all costs.
“Tranquility” (Misty Fjords, Alaska)
This work takes you deep into the Misty Fjords of Alaska. Mountains tower into the sky, sculptured by glaciers and time. The heat of summer causes moisture to rise creating a unique light effect especially when the sun illuminates the valleys and peaks.
“Taking it Green” ( off Alaska, USA)
We owe so much to our commercial fishermen and women who often have to work in horrendous conditions. This large king crab fishing vessel fights her way through huge seas to reach the fishing grounds.
“Preparing the RAS deck” – HMCS Protecteur, RIMPAC somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
I was privileged to ship aboard HMCS Protecteur to capture events during one “RIMPAC”. This is an exercise where, in this case, 8 navies from our Pacific coast neighbours work together.
It was a great experience for me to travel aboard the supply ship for the operation and see how the “RAS” -Replenishment at Sea- operation unfolded. In this painting you can see how the lines were set up to move the fuel and water pipes across from Protecteur to the receiving vessel. It is a complex operation and safety is of prime importance. See explanation below.
Until the buffer realized that I was an experienced seafarer and would not get myself in danger, I was required to remain at quite a distance from the action. But very quickly he realized that I knew my way around and he allowed me to get close enough to photograph and sketch things.
Five weeks aboard allowed me to get to know my shipmates and become good friends with many of them. Tea time on the Protecteur is something I will always talk about.
Following is an explanation of what is happening in the painting:
Prior to conducting a replenishment at sea, the seamen/women (or bosuns) must prepare all the necessary gear. Messengers, or lines, to be passed between the ships must be “flaked out” on deck so that they will not become entangled as they run out. Once the lines have been prepared, a rifle will be used to fire a “gun line” that will be attached to other lines increasing in size and strength. Finally a taut wire is passed. down which will ride travellers supporting the large, heavy fuel lines as they are paid out from the tanker to the other vessel. Replenishment techniques were developed during the Second World War to enable ships to stay at sea longer, especially during lengthy convoy deployments.
Feluccas on the Nile, Valley of the Kings, Egypt
Mary and I visited Luxor, in Egypt and stayed at the lovely Winter Palace Hotel – where we could see the feluccas on the Nile. It was a very relaxing stay as the hotel has a lovely huge garden in the middle of the rectangular building. Mary loved all the different birds – especially the Hoopoe! I really enjoyed seeing the feluccas and of course had to paint them and the lovely Valley of the Kings on the opposite bank. I could not get over seeing the red paint on the huge columns in the temple at Karnak. I knew it had been buried under sand for many years but to see paint that has lasted over 2,000 years is just an amazing thing. We will return to Egypt some day to see the great pyramids.
“Meeting at the New Eddystone Rock” (Captain Vancouver in the East Behm Canal, Alaska, USA
This basalt rock, virtually unchanged since Captain Vancouver stopped here for breakfast in 1793, towers some 283 feet above its island. It is probably part of the centre cone of an extinct volcano. Vancouver was visited by natives who tried to entice the British to join them at their village. However, since they had been attacked by natives the day before, Vancouver declined the offer. Seen from a distance, the rock reminded Captain Vancouver of the Eddystone lighthouse off Plymouth on England’s south coast, so he named it the New Eddystone Rock, still its name today.