MacGregor’s ‘Rob Roy’

Sleeping aboard ‘Suddenly’ for the first time last night I discovered the perfect situation for reading and dreaming about a voyage. Snug in the harbor of the Berkeley Marina while the sailboat rolled and bobbed in the wind and changing tides, I switched between “1000 Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe” (1865) and “The Voyage […]

Vaka Moana

One of eight vaka sails into the harbor of San Francisco’s Treasure Island Last week I attended the welcoming ceremony for a fleet of vaka moana that had just crossed the Pacific from New Zealand, where the eight craft were built. Using traditional sailing rigs supplemented by solar-powered electric motors, the craft and crew made […]

Dory Revival

The mouth of Tomales Bay As a lifelong student and enthusiast of small boat design, my tastes lean towards working craft, which I define as any boat whose primary goal is to reach a destination, either as transportation or in the seasonal pursuit of a fishery. Working craft adapt and evolve over generations of trial […]

Colin Reedy’s Dispatch from Bali

A Balinese Jukung (photos by Colin Reedy) The following text and images are by my old friend Colin Reedy, who has been making an extended excursion by scooter throughout the countryside of western Bali. Colin is a Seattle-based designer and adventurer, who recently completed an expedition down the Mekong River by kayak. Thanks Colin! Balinese […]

Micro-Expedition, Sessions 12 and 13

“The Gust”, Willem van de Velde, 1680 The bad news is that we had to cancel our final voyage as planned, due to a foul weather forecast and the state of completion of the students’ watercraft projects. The good news is that we’ve agreed to complete all vessels for a March 19 launching, the first […]

Micro-Expedition, Sessions 10 and 11

Grace prepares the chine logs for her portable catamaran project While the students continue to make admirable progress on their water craft, they are beginning to understand why I was so eager to encourage simplicity of design and execution early in the semester. I’ve made pains not to discourage anyone brave and bold enough to […]