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Old 01-30-2008, 09:51 PM   #33
Nomad Willy
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City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,743
RE: Your boating history...

After 6 mos in Anchorage my 1st wife and I decided to move to Washington state. We sold or shipped all of our belongings not on the boat and headed south. We first went to Glacier Bay and then to Angoon where my father had a nice big house on a point of land sticking out into Kootznahoo Inlet where Creakie the eagle lived, float planes landed and whales fed beyond the kelp. It was such a magic place one could sit for hours and look out the window on a rainy day.
Walt ( Seahorse II ) has been there. After Petersburg and Ketchican we headed out to cross Dixon Entrance and got stuck in 10' head seas. Too far to go so we stopped at Foggy Bay. We surfed in on a rushing big sea, over a saddle and into the peaceful inner harbor. For three days the spray went over the bridge of ferries and ships. We ran out of water. I rowed up the river with the dink to find water. The tide changed and I could'nt row against it. Took me 5hrs to get back to the boat and Kathleen thought sure I was bear dinner. I always love to stop in Prince Rupert. I remember Oliver Inlet, Milbanke Sound and Bella Bella. We stopped at Butedale. At that time ( 73 ) Butedeale was still in good shape ( it isn't now ) and we were treated to showers ( hot and as long as we wished as the pelton wheel was still in operation). We took a month and a half to make the trip and thats what I plan to do this summer going north. In Vancouver BC we stood in awe at the tall buildings like we'd never seen um before. Shortly after we arrived in Washington I went to work at Uniflight in Bellingham. I worked on Whaleboats and Navy Utilities like FFs boat installing rudder ports, shaft logs and engine beds untill I got placed in the engineering department where I did drafting and equipment installation changes. It seems they could'nt build a boat that floated on an even keel so we had to move stuff around to ballance the boat. I was sort of involved in the development of the 28' Omega model ... Keith Walton NA.
Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK
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