"Good News" story

[Frank]

I  posted this on the Ariel site during a discussion of the "Bridges Point 24".Wade Dow and his son Forest are the guys who commisioned the design and built them.They are in the small community of Brooklin Maine
"Sick of 'bad news stories'...here's a good one.
Wade's father was a lobsterman.Wade is a lobsterman and still uses his dad's boat that was built in 1941.To fill in the off season's they run the boatyard on the family's 18acres on the coast. They allow the local fishermen to haul out and work on their own boats..do their own engine repairs and maintainance as well as paint etc. There are fewer and fewer places to do this anymore as land is being sold to developers for condo/marinas etc leaving the working fisherman with virtually no place affordable to haul out.I think Wade and his son Forest are probably the last yard.Years ago he feared the fishery dwindling and with yard work slowing the idea of building a boat to fill in the off season came to him.There were several power boat builders already so a sailboat seemed a better idea. Please note...Wade is NOT a sailor. He approached Joel White (EB White's son) another Brooklin resident about his idea. Joel cautioned him about doing 'just another boat' as they would never compete with the mass producers and went about designing a proper little yacht...something nobody was doing.A lil yacht you would be proud to look at on her mooring.About 2 yrs later the plans for the Bridges Point 24 appeared and another couple of years passed before the 1st one was splashed. The GRP hull/wooden prototype cabin design was not yet final and the boat had not yet been fully seatrailed when they took off to the Newport Boat Show with her as they knew Small Boat Journal was doing a test of 4 -24fters and hoped to gain some exposure.They got her in the water and rigged in time. A crew of "professional sailors" went out alone in each of the 4 boats to test sail.They came away impressed dubbing her the "fleetest of the fleet". Now remember Wade is NOT a sailor and in his words "I had been out a couple of times during my life". Then they allowed the factory crews to go out. The "Bridges Point factory crew" consisted of Wade and an older gentleman-long time friend whom was somewhat scared when the boat heeled. Well....again in Wade's words..." we passed them all...all those professional sailors in their red pants and white shoes. It was entirely the boats fault...we sure had nothing to do with it"... "it was one of those special moments in my life I'll never forget". To be honest, meeting Wade was a majic moment for me. You instantly knew you were in the company of a good man. A lobsterman...a boatman.You could tell he had pride in his work and pride in his little community and way of life....a way of life that was getting tougher. I shook hands and thanked him for his time.We continued on to Bar Harbor for the night. While there I bought a magazine on Maine's boats and harbors.In it was a "good news story"...rare these days.An article about a family's love of their little community, a small hamlet of 800 people with a rich history of multiple boat designers,builders and fishermen.It was about their fear for the future of that lifestyle and the way so many boatyards sell out to condo developers as work slows. A fear of "where will the working fisherman go?". A fear of an era ending. As work slows and retirement approachs most of us look to see what we can sell off to support ourselves.We look to "cash out". Not this family.Although not rich financially, they chose to 'gift' their 18acre waterfront property to their little community once they quit.Their only stipulation "don't change it".They wanted to ensure a place for fishermen to work on their boats..to help keep a lifestyle alive.Figuring if you wanted a waterfront condo you should move to "The Hamptons", the lifestyle and community they love is more important to them than the gazzilion $$ they would recieve for their prestine waterfront.That family is Wade and Forest Dow. I came away from meeting him knowing he was a fine,honest and honourable man.After reading the article the next day I knew my instincts were right."
  Check the pic........sure is pretty

[AdriftAtSea]

very nice... wish more people were like that, instead of selling out for the big payoff...