Tuesday 16 December 2008

Onawind Blue

The main topic of these pages has long been absent, and though she’s not the jealous kind all this ogling of polbeiros and currachs is not entirely healthly. To redress the balance here are some photos of the old girl one and a half years after her launch. Coincidently that makes it exactly two years since I began this blog. The idea was simply to document the build but here I am, still waffling on 730 days later. Look at the pictures and judge if I still have a boat worthy of web page or not.


Large autumnal seas pumping over the beach filled the wasteland behind the dunes. The area was originally a lagoon until some bright, considerate souls decided it would be better as a carpark and displaced the water and wildlife with builder’s rubble, since then others have found it an ideal spot for illicit rubbish dumping. Paddling with one oar from a standing position in the bows I enjoyed the area as it would have been. Though blissfully gliding over the shallows I gazed down into the modern underwater world of half bricks, broken tiles and, at one point, the gaping bowl of a toilet.


Then a backhoe digger appeared on the beach and dug a channel across the sand. The water drained out of the lagoon, land was prised from the fingers of the sea and order re-established. OB and I went home and are still waiting for a window between the successive southwesterly swells to let us launch onto our favourite playground.


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Onawind Blue is Eye Sweet

AnalogKid said...

Hi Ben,
I definitely think OB is worthy of her own blog. I've been reading your pages for the last few months and enjoy the articles about the history of the boats in your region as well as the building and using of OB.
The boat building bug has bitten me. I'm practising with a kayak at the moment, just about on schedule for a Christmas launch, but have further ideas of a sailing/rowing dingy. I love Gavin's design and would try the light trow myself but its a little too long for my storage space.
Keep up the good work,
Andy.

Ben said...

Hi Andy,

Nice to see you round here. Good luck with the launch it’s a big moment for any boat builder—I cherish the day OB first touched the waves.

Hope you find that cruising design that fits all your criteria. You might want to check with Gavin if the LT could be modified or scaled down to fit your space.

Ben

Unknown said...

Hola, Ben!

Felicitats pel segon aniversari del teu bloc, que s'ha convertit en un espai de visita obligada. El teu interès i el teu punt de vista sobre les embarcacions tradicionals d'aquí aporten una nova visió de tot aquest món que resulta molt interessant.

M'agraden molt aquestes fotos de l'Onawind. On les vas fer?

Aprofito per desitjar-te que acabis de passar unes bones festes i que durant el 2009 es facin realitat tot els teus projectes.

Salutacions des de Premià de Mar!

Ben said...

Hola Joan!

També et desitjo bones festes i que el ’09 sigui un bon any per a tu.

Les fotos estan fetes aquí a Creixell, a una zona que es diu el Gorg i que és com una continuació de la zona humeda dels Muntanyans de Torredembarra. Passa que fa anys la laguna del Gorg es va omplir de runa i després van voler edificar a sobre. Ara sembla que aquest perill ha passat encara que mai aquestes temes que mouen tanta pasta son segures. Bé, per ara, quan fa un bon temporal i les ones passan per damunt de la platge el Gorg torna a tenir el aspecte dels anys ’70 i és un bon lloc per anar amb la barca i els nens que encara les dóna una mica de por sortir a la mar.

Quan vingui el bon temps et convidaré a que vinguis a coneixer la zona.

Mentrestant—Salutacions des de Creixell!