OkoumeFest 2012
After fourteen years the OkoumeFest program is familiar. On Friday we throw open the doors to our Annapolis showroom, shop, and factory for tours and seminars. In recent years we've rented a tent and set it up in the front parking lot to accommodate the growing attendance. Here, everyone watches our own David Fawley give a varnishing demonstration.
Neat wooden things of all shapes and sizes rolled in from many states. Phil Towne brought two Shearwaters and a Kaholo 14 from upstate New York.
David Fawley, CLC's production manager of more than seven years, is standing on the CNC machine and demonstrating how it works.
Nick Schade drove down from his home base in Groton, Connecticut, and gave a seminar on fiberglassing. This is a Kaholo SUP with a "hybrid" cedar-strip deck.
Every year we get a little smarter when Saturday morning comes around. We added a lot of extra staff this year to shift 55 CLC demo boats---all of which live at the CLC shop in Annapolis---to the beach at Matapeake State Park. It takes several big trailers and the roof racks on every single staffer's car.
One CLC design that DOESN'T live at the shop is the 31-foot proa, "Madness." Madness arrived on her own keel after a 26-mile sail from the nearby Wye River.
Our colleague Matt Cave, on the left, spent the winter building a Nymph 12. Before the throngs arrived on Saturday morning, he scooted out for a quick trial, accompanied by Geoff Kerr on his Kaholo 14.
Also trying out new designs were Nick Schade, left, in his Ganymede design, and Eric Schade, right, in his Shearwater Sectional design.
Madness was moored off the beach. John Harris, the only skipper who might have given proa rides all day, preferred to stay on the beach visiting with people.
Saturday started off with light air. The waters were thick with small wooden boats. That's the twin spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, several miles distant.
The CLC SailRig Mark III, on the right, was one of the CLC kits that never sat idle all day long.
The fleet of Kaholo paddleboards also never seemed to touch shore.
By late morning, the beach was a glossy thicket of okoume (and cedar, and sapele) kayaks and smallcraft.
This is an especially pretty Mill Creek 16.5.
The conditions were too gentle for surfing, but Nick Schade's surf kayak, the Matunuck, got lots of trials.
All shapes and sizes of people and boats...
The Passagemaker Dinghy continued to surprise and delight with its speed and handiness. Trivia: Before it was "adopted" by Passagemaker Magazine, the design name for this 11'7" dinghy was the "Surprise Dinghy," after the famous ship in the Patrick O'Brian novels, and because its excellent sailing qualities were a constant surprise to everyone.
It was NOT a surpise that the CLC SailRig Mark III, with its enormous and efficient new rig, was cutting up the Bay at high speed all day.
Madness stood by impatiently while the smallcraft fussed about, all gleaming Awlgrip, carbon fiber, composite sails, and trunkloads of Harken hardware.
Great shot of the Skerry eating up the steady moderate breeze in the afternoon.
Another view of the SailRig Mark III. The sail area has been punched up from 55 square feet to 70. It buzzed around like a swallow.